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| Paperback cover of the Signet Classics edition of Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer, by Joseph Conrad. |
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| Author Joseph Conrad, 1857-1924. English was his third language. |
While reading King
Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild, which I reviewed here, I decided that I
needed to finally read Heart of Darkness by
Joseph Conrad. Hochschild devotes a fair number of pages in King Leopold’s Ghost to examining Conrad’s
1890 trip to the Congo Free State. Conrad was a sea captain then, and not yet a
novelist. This 1890 journey up the Congo River would inspire one of Conrad’s
most famous works, the 1899 novella Heart
of Darkness. Hochschild does an excellent job detailing Conrad’s
experiences in the Congo Free State, and he profiles several colonial officials
who may have been the models for Kurtz in Heart
of Darkness.
Joseph Conrad had a very interesting backstory. He was born Jozef
Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski to Polish parents in Berdychiv, in what is now the Ukraine.
English was his third language, after
Polish and French, and he didn’t start to learn English until he was in his
twenties. Pretty impressive, as he is now considered one of the greatest
novelists of the English language. After a career at sea, Conrad published his
first novel Almayer’s Folly: A Story of
an Eastern River in 1895, when he was thirty-seven years old. Conrad
devoted himself to writing for the rest of his life, and he produced a
substantial body of work.
The Signet Classic edition that I read pairs Heart of Darkness with the short story The Secret Sharer. The Secret Sharer was
first published in 1910. It’s the tale of a young man who is making his first
voyage as a captain. He is insecure as he takes command, as he thinks: “I
wondered how far I should turn out faithful of that ideal conception of one’s
own personality every man sets up for himself secretly.” (p.5) He has the
opportunity to face a moral test right away, as while he is on watch, he finds
a young man clinging to the ship’s ladder. The young man’s name is Leggatt, and
he has escaped from his ship after killing a fellow crew member. The captain
makes the dangerous decision to shield Leggatt from danger.
The captain and Leggatt resemble each other physically, and
this is remarked on many times during the story. It may be the reason why the captain
decided to hide Leggatt in the first place. It seemed to me that there was a
fair amount of sexual tension between the captain and Leggatt. I have no idea
if that was intentional on Conrad’s part, of it that’s simply me reading too
much into it. However, the captain and Leggatt are always in close quarters, as
Leggatt must be hidden at all times in the captain’s cabin. Just after he has
discovered Leggatt, the captain narrates, “I was extremely tired, in a
peculiarly intimate way, by the strain of stealthiness, by the effort of
whispering and the general secrecy of this excitement.” (p.21) There are other
times when the two men are very close together: “…we took up our position side
by side, leaning over my bed place.” (p.32) “I conveyed that sincere assurance
into his ear.” (p.33) “At night I would smuggle him into my bed place, and we
would whisper together, with the regular footfalls of the officer of the watch
passing and repassing over our heads. It was an infinitely miserable time.”
(p.35) Infinitely miserable? The captain doth protest too much, methinks.
One of my favorite quotes from The Secret Sharer is from the beginning of the story, as the
captain is conversing with Leggatt for the first time. After hearing Leggatt
say that he had two choices: keep swimming until he drowned, or come on board
the ship, the captain narrates, “I should have gathered from this that he was
young; indeed, it is only the young who are ever confronted by such clear
issues.” (p.10) So very true.
Heart of Darkness isn’t
very long, just about 100 pages in the Signet Classics edition, but it’s a
dense book that packs a powerful punch. It’s a strong indictment of imperialism
and colonialism, specifically as practiced in the Congo Free State. (Although
the colony Marlow travels to is never identified by name in the text, it’s
obviously meant to be the Congo Free State.)
Marlow has a brilliant quote at the beginning of the story: “The
conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who
have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a
pretty thing when you look into it too much.” (p.58) Marlow then relates what
he has seen.
Heart of Darkness is
a very impressionistic piece of writing. We don’t learn specifics, like other
character’s names. All we get is Marlow’s vision as we listen to him tell his
story. The only other name in the text that matters is Kurtz. Kurtz is in
charge of one of trading stations in the colony. He is mentioned many times by
many different characters, and he becomes a figure of mythic importance.
Fortunately, I knew from watching Apocalypse
Now that Kurtz’s appearance in the narrative would inevitably be
anticlimactic. Thanks, late-period Marlon Brando.
I wonder if Samuel Beckett was influenced by Joseph Conrad?
There were definitely characters in Heart
of Darkness, like the brick-maker and the Russian disciple of Kurtz, who
could easily crop up in Beckett’s barren landscapes, waiting for a Godot who
will never come, occupied by nonsensical rituals that hold meaning only for
them.
Heart of Darkness is
full of Conrad’s beautiful prose. One of the sentences that stood out to me was
Marlow’s description of one of the trading stations: “And outside, the silent
wilderness surrounding this cleared speck on the earth struck me as something
great and invincible, like evil or truth, waiting patiently for the passing
away of this fantastic invasion.” (p.80)
Marlow’s view of life is beautifully, if harshly,
summarized: “Droll thing life is-that mysterious arrangement of merciless logic
for a futile purpose. The most you can hope from it is some knowledge of
yourself-that comes too late-a crop of unextinguishable regrets.” (p.144-5)
Heart of Darkness has
become one of Joseph Conrad’s most famous works, and I found that it lived up
to its reputation as a brilliant and important book.
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