Fourteen
Characteristics of Romanticism in Conrad's "Heart of Darkness"
During the
turn of the twentieth century, a new genre emerged called Modernism.
The Modern period came about as a protest to the values and rules
of the Victorian age. Although seventy years had passed since
the Romantic period had begun, the fourteen universal characteristics
of romanticism had remained. Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad,
as a whole utilizes many similar characteristics of the Romantic
period. Defining the predominant characteristics of romanticism
in Conrad's Heart of Darkness enhances the reader's appreciation
and understanding for this novel.
Joseph Conrad's vivid description of the protagonist Marlow's
journey into the depths of Africa represents the author's purgative
purpose of art. Joseph Conrad, in fact, was a sailor before he
had became a writer. During the year of eighteen ninety, Conrad
was aboard a steamboat that traveled down the Congo River. The
plot of Heart of Darkness utilized Conrad's own horrific experiences
on that journey.
The protagonist Marlow's sympathy towards the natives represents
the four romantic characteristics of democracy, protest and dissent,
confessionalism, and primitivism. Conrad, during his lifetime,
had protested in several of his other literary works the theme
of oppression. Most of Joseph Conrad's life was lived during the
peak of Imperialism, and as an author, Conrad repeatedly attacks
Imperialism and recounts the evils brought to those under its
rule. And his constant attention to oppression, caused by the
negativity of Imperialism, is Conrad confessing the wrong doings
of England and all those that participate in similar actions.
While the character Marlow was at the first station, he witnessed
the atrocities of slavery. "They were dying slowly--it was
very clear, " explains Marlow, "They were dying slowly
-it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals,
they were nothing earthly now -nothing but black shadows of disease
and starvation, lying confusedly in the greenish gloom. (Conrad
1969)." Conrad protests against the inhumane treatment of
the slaves, and believes that Imperialism is wrong and protests
the justification of interfering with native cultures. Primitivism,
as Conrad points out, includes the "noble savage" of
the African people and culture. Conrad has sympathy towards the
natives and evokes a feeling that compels the reader to them.
Untainted by the advances around the world, the natives of Africa
are not inferior to the people living in the realm of progress.
Another characteristic of romanticism demonstrated in the novella
is humanitarianism. With chaos encompassing Marlow, he struggles
against insurmountable odds in order to rescue Kurtz, an impeccable
man gone insane from the harsh realities of the jungle. Although
Marlow had never met Kurtz, he had begun to admire the man through
communication with those that knew him. Against all odds, in a
surprise attack by the natives, Marlow orders his crew to advance
in order to rescue Kurtz.
The character Kurtz's mental disintegration is a form of anti-intellectualism
and a protest against the romantic characteristic of progress.
Before being left in the seclusion of the jungle, Kurtz was a
man loved and envied by all those who knew him. Even the protagonist
Marlow had a deep respect for Kurtz, before he had even met him.
As Kurtz became increasingly alienated in the intolerable African
jungles, his conscience had begun to attack him. Kurtz knew the
horrors of technology and progress, in that, they would be used
to conquer and manipulate. Claiming to be protecting the natives
and spreading Christianity, England was actually rationalizing
its Imperialism, which was nothing more than self-interest for
profit. Even though Kurtz discovers that increased intelligence
encourages tyranny and conquest, Kurtz begins a slow mental breakdown
that eventually leads to his demise. On his deathbed, Kurtz murmurs,
in a self-reflection, the progress of Imperialism as "The
horror! The horror (Conrad 2010)!"
The characteristics of orientalism and the love of the wild and
picturesque are evident in Conrad's lush description of the jungle
and the foreign locations. The jungles of Africa are, in fact,
still unknown to the general population. Individuals of today
and most certainly of the past, have not a thorough education
of the harsh diverse environments represented in Africa. Marlow
defines the love of the wild and picturesque, as "The voice
of the surf heard now was a positive pleasure, like the speech
of a brother. It was something natural, that had its reason, that
had a meaning (Conrad 1966)."
Marlow, as a character, has a medieval tendency towards the simpler
pleasures of life. This tendency of relishing simplicity is the
characteristic of medievalism. Early in the novel, Marlow reveals
his ambition of being an ambitious, young sailor. Marlow then
after subsequent experiences as a sailor, tackles the duty as
steamboat captain on a mission to travel into Africa. After Marlow
conquers the horrors of his expedition in and out of Africa, he
reclaims his post of sailor.
An understanding of the predominant characteristics of romanticism
enhances the reader's understanding and appreciation of Heart
of Darkness. After Marlow reveals his horrid tale of the harsh
realities of the natives and his journey, his crew and himself
journey into "the heart of immense darkness (Conrad 2017)."
The importance of Heart of Darkness cannot be denied as a century
has passed and its popularity still continues. The novel is timeless
because of its universal themes of prejudice, inhuman acts of
one man against another man, and the evils of Imperialism.
