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Heart of Darkness 1

Heart of Darkness 1. First serialized in Blackwood ’s Magazine from February to April 1899 First published in book form in 1902 in the volume Youth , a Narrative and Two O ther Stories. Heart of Darkness 2.

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Heart of Darkness 1

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  1. HeartofDarkness 1 • First serialized in Blackwood’s MagazinefromFebruarytoApril 1899 • First published in book form in 1902 in the volume Youth, a Narrative and TwoOtherStories

  2. HeartofDarkness 2 • “Itwas in 1868, whennineyearsold or thereabouts, thatwhilelooking at a mapof Africa of the time and puttingmy finger on the blankspacethenrepresenting the unresolved mystery ofthatcontinent, I saidtomyselfwithabsoluteassurance and anamazingaudacitywhich are no longer in mycharacternow: ‘When I grow up I shall go there’ […] Yes, I did go there: therebeing the regionofStanelyFallswhich in ‘68 was the blankestofblankspaces on earthsurface” Joseph Conrad, A Personal Record, 1912

  3. HeartofDarkness – The context • 1876: Leopold II ofBelgiumorganizedThe International African Society • 1878: Stanley hiredby Leopold toexplore the Congo region • 1884-85 - BerlinConference: Leopold appointedhimselfsovereignrulerof the Congo Free State • 1908: Congo Free State wasannexedtoBelgium and became the Belgian Congo

  4. HeartofDarkness – authobiographicalelement • Conrad on HD: “itisexperiencepushed a little (and onlyverylittle) beyond the actualfactsof the case for the perfectlylegitimatepurposeofbringingit home to the minds and bosomsofreaders.”

  5. HeartofDarkness – authobiographicalelement • “Before the Congo I was mere animal”, Joseph Conrad, Letterto Edward Garnett • Conrad defines the exploitationof Congo: “the vilestscrambleforlootthateverdisfigured the historyofhumanconscience and geographicalexploration”, in Geography and Some Explorers

  6. Conrad in Congo • November 1899 Conrad appliedto the SociétéAnonymeBelge pour le CommerceduHaut Congo • 1890 Expedition in Congo recorded in the Congo Diary • Conrad wastoreplace a certainFreiesleven (Marlow’s Fresleven) • From Boma, on the mouthof the Congo, hetravelledtoMatadi (Outer Station), thenhetrekkedoverlandto Kinshasa (Central Station) and sailed up the Congo on the RoidesBelgesas far as the Stanley Falls (Inner Station)

  7. HeartofDarkness • Physicaljourney in which Marlow seeksKurtz in the jungle • a journeywithin, a spiritual journeyintodarkness in searchofself-knowledge • aninquiryinto the hiddendepthsof man’s psychology • a quest • aninquiryinto the moralvaluesofwhitecivilization • ananthropological and Darwinianinvestigationof man’s primitive roots • amythicalinitiation trial

  8. Colonialism - Imperialism • ChinuaAchebe “An Imageof Africa: Racism in HeartofDarkness”, 1975: • “Joseph Conrad was a thoroughgoingracist … The realquestionis the dehumanizationof Africa … the veryhumanityofblack people iscalledintoquestion” • CedricWatts “ ‘A BloodyRacist: AboutAchebe’s Viewof Conrad”, 1983: “itispreciselyagainstthisdehumanizationthat the tale amplyprotests … ofall the people describedby far the happiest, healthiest, mostvital are the groupofblackpaddlingtheir canoe through the surf … Furthermoreagainstthis stance ofnaturalvitalitywe can measure the state of the ‘hollowmen’, the Europeanpilgrims”

  9. Fates: ClotoLachesisAthropos • Multiplicityofliterary and historicalassociations pervade the scene • Dante, Divina Commedia  «Ma perché lei che dì e notte fila,non gli avea tratta ancora la conocchia, che Cloto impone a ciascuno e compila…» Purgatorio, Canto XXI, vv. 25.27 •  Virgilio, Eneide, “sic volvereParcas”, Libro I, v. 22 • The symbolicconnotations take us far beyondourprimarysenseof the fateful, uncanny atmosphere of the scene

  10. Fates • Unconcerniswhat the fateshave in common with the twoothermainhistoricalparallelsevoked in the passage: the Frenchtricoteusescallouslyknitting at the guillotine, and the Roman crowdstowhom the gladiatorsaddresstheirscornfulfarewell in Marlow’s ratherpretentiousinterjection: “Ave, oldknitterofblackwool, Morituri te salutant”

  11. Fates • Thinknitter: doesnotspeakto Marlow, doesnotseehim, movementsunrelatedtootherhumanbeings. The knitter’s appearanceincreasesthissenseof the nonhuman. Sheis a dehumaniseddeath in life and a prefiguringsymbolofwhat the trading company doestoitscreatures • Olderknitter: visualimageofphysical and spiritual deformity

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