Introduction to Darkness in Heart of Darkness
Darkness in Heart of Darkness is is associated with all types of sins committed in the third world countries in the name of civilization. This is not only in Christianity but also in all the other religions of the world, because darkness is considered as breeding ground of sins where a person can observe his mistakes and blunders and see the truth. It is said in Mathew 4:16, “The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned” which means that those who live in darkness can see the light or the truth before them. Even the holy Koran states the same thing as it is given in Chapter Baqra, “Allah is the Protecting Guardian of those who believe. He bringeth them out of darkness into light. As for those who disbelieve, their patrons are false deities. They bring them out of light into darkness” (2:245). Here darkness is akin to ignorance and state of having no knowledge or willful neglect of the knowledge that a person could become addicted to or victim of.
Marlow and Darkness in Heart of Darkness
It means that darkness is usually associated with backwardness, ignorance and willful neglect of civilized norms and cultured behavior. Marlow would not have seen the horrors of the modern civilization through darkness in Heart of Darkness, had he not visited the Congo himself and seen the situation of savagery on the ground. That is why Conrad has used darkness as a part of the title of the novella, which shows that darkness is not only of the outer world but also of the inner world — the inner-deep recesses of human mind and heart. However, he has also used it as a symbol, which shows that where there is civilization and learning, there is light of knowledge. The civilizations have evolved rapidly, but it is also said that where there is darkness, there is no knowledge. Using as a title of his novella to show the darkness that burgeons in the heart of men, Conrad has not only used darkness as a recurring symbol of the darkness of one’s soul and heart, but also a symbol of ignorance, and savagery. It is also a motif of evil far away removed from the civilized world in the absence of social norms, traditions and laws.
Title and Darkness in Heart of Darkness
The title of the novella of Conrad is very provocative and inciting. It is because it shows the darkness lurking in the heart of men that is explored in the entire short novella. The title is reflective of the darkness of the soul of the characters, of the entire civilization and of the corporate world that was engaged in operations in the “dark continent” in Henry Morton Stanley’s word as quoted by Macwan Hiral Josep in his paper “Justification of the Title – Heart of Darkness.” He is of the view that the title is apt as it shows not only the “dark continent” but also the imperial designs of the European nations, their cruel treatment with the natives, their barbaric disregard of the localities and natives and their senseless plundering of resources at the cost of exterminating the native Africans. Commenting on all the connotative and denotative meanings that darkness demonstrates in the novella, Hiral Josep states that, “Darkness is important enough conceptually to be part of the book’s title. However, it is difficult to discern exactly what it might mean, given that absolutely everything in the book is cloaked in darkness” (Joseph 160-164). It is because Conrad has used it in the novel around 25 times, each time using it in different meanings that could be anything for the reader. However, all of those meanings are linked with the darkness that is sometimes impenetrable, sometimes conquerable, sometimes stream of darkness while at other times it is heart of darkness of darkness of the heart as he ends his novel saying that their backward journey was to “lead them into the heart of an immense darkness” while commenting about his ideal, Mr Kurtz, he says, “The thing was to know what he belonged to, how many powers of darkness claimed him for their own” (Conrad 81-88). Therefore, it is clear that he has intentionally chosen the word darkness in Heart of Darkness for his title to show that men are prone to fall in the pit of darkness if they want to do so.
Symbol of Darkness in Heart of Darkness
The symbol of darkness in Heart of Darknessis that of darkness of heart and soul. It means ignorance and behavior sans any evolved social customs and laws that once England was, “But darkness was here yesterday” (6). Conrad starts this from the city of London that is now city of light. Once it was all darkness on the Thames and around it that was the city of London in the past. Now it leads to another darkness, the Congo river that is now the darkest corner of the world where the darkness rules the roost. The reason of this darkness is the absence of knowledge, civilization and light. The people living over there obeys the conventions and customs far removed from the rational mind and rational souls that now live in the light or civilized culture. However, when a civilized man enters that place, he is prone to fall prey to the same darkness. His heart and mind falls prey to it, and he follows the same course of action as the natives do. This the idea of darkness that is the conquest of the earth that “means taking it away from those who have a difference complexion” (8). Here they are the black Africans where Marlow’s experience about the darkness of the soul culminates.
Symbol of Ignorance
However, at the same time, Conrad has used darkness as a symbol of ignorance, and savagery at several places. Marlow states, “We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness” (57). Kurtz could not resist to this, while Marlow followed a difference course that he first “took him for a sort of vision” not a complete ideal (26). Therefore, he saves himself from the savagery and in which Kurtz has fallen. Kurtz, therefore, falls prey to this darkness that is a symbol of savagery, but it is also where the land make them “feel savagery, the utter savagery” (7). That is why Kurtz he holds himself over there the supreme deity of that place. As the entire Europe has contributed his making, he himself admitted that perhaps the natives consider them savages as they approach them with the power of a “supernatural being [or] a deity” (82). They, then, exercise that power like a supernatural being too. However, Marlow “resist[s] the lure of the darkness” states Jo Stafford in his article “Pathways to Making Meaning: Inroads to Interpretation of The Nature of Evil in Heart of Darkness”, adding that is why Marlow returns as a changed man as he has seen the darkness of the white people in the dark corner of the world (Stafford).
Darkness in Heart of Darkness
Darkness in Heart of Darkness symbolizes absence of society, social norms and laws, because there is no administration, no social set up to puncture the false beliefs and no cops to cope with the violation of set rules and laws. The light of knowledge has not reached that part of the world Marlow describes. As Marlow leaves for Congo to meet Kurtz, the icon of colonialism, he comes across several incidents where no rules, no laws and no social customs are observed and “anything — anything can be done in this country” where there are no laws or no fear of cops (52). Ziaoxi Li and Caie Qu in their paper “Light and Dark Symbols in Heart of Darkness” states that “When Marlow first learns of Kurtz’s activities in the jungle, he attributes Kurtz’s moral downfall or madness to his lack of connectedness with civilization” as he is away from Europe (85). It is because Marlow and his successors are far away from the civilized Europe of rule-imposed society, and Marlow and other whites are considered “the new gang — the gang of virtue” (39). It is because they have considered it a virtue to spread the light of civilization and knowledge to this farthest corner of Europe, where the darkness holds supreme over human beings. However, despite this, human beings are used as tools, beasts of burdens and laborers to feed the economic wheel of Europe. Although the objective announced and demonstrated regarding this journey and expedition is to show the performance of the white in response of Kipling’s phrase “the white man’s burden” that is to teach these savages. However, he observes that as there are no laws, the white men have become equally savages and have started observing and following the same rituals such as Kurtz did. Therefore, this darkness becomes a cover for evil — the major motif of the novella that runs through it from the first sentence to the last one.
Motif of Darkness in Heart of Darkness
That is why Joseph Conrad has used darkness in Heart of Darkness as the title, the major symbol and the main motif in the novel. This darkness overwhelms a man, howsoever civilized he is, creeps into the inner recesses of mind where evil lurks. He finally succumbs to this and becomes a supernatural figure for the natives despite knowing that he is committing blunders and dancing with the devils. This transformation could happen consciously or unconsciously or due to the prevalent environment or absence of a “cop” or ignorance. In case of Kurtz, this is a willful transformation. But darkness with Conrad has become a symbol of savagery and barbarism through which Marlow comes out successfully and lives to tell the tale. That is why it is akin to his allegorical journey into his own dark mind, and then his backward journey toward humanity. However, he has also seen that his loved figure, Kurtz has willfully lived in that darkness and has exploited the locals to extract ivory. In other words, it means that he has willfully lived in the darkness — a move that has portrayed him as an authoritatively dark soul, who has finally uttered his famous words “the horror, the horror” despite writing the postscript of his report “Exterminate all brutes” (83,116). This is the culmination of the use of darkness as a motif, a theme and a symbol throughout the novel as well as in the title to show darkness in Heart of Darkness.
Works Cited
- Achebe, Chinua. “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness'” Massachusetts Review. 18. 1977. Rpt. in Heart of Darkness, An Authoritative Text, background and Sources Criticism. 1961. 3rd ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough, London: W. W Norton and Co., 1988, pp.251-261.
- Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Planet Ebooks. Online ebook. 2009.
- Jordison, Sam. “Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad – a trip into inner space.” The Guardian. The Guardian. 29 July 2015. Web. 21 Sep. 2015.
- Joseph, Marwan Hirapal. “Justification of the Title-Heart of Darkness.” The International Journal of Humanities and Social Studies. 2 (1). (2014). 160-164.
- Li, Xiaoxi & Caie Qu. “Light and Dark Symbols in Heart of Darkness.” Asian Social Science. 4(5). May 2008. 85-87.
- Stafford, Jo. “Pathways to Making Meaning: Inroads to Interpretation of The Nature of Evil in Heart of Darkness.” Yale National Initiative. Yale Initiative. n. d. Web. 21 Sep. 2015.
- The Holy Quran. Trans. Marmaduke Pickthall. n. d. Web. 21 Sep. 2015.
- The Holy Bible. Hendrickson Marketing LLC. Peabody MA. Print. 2006.
Relevant Questions about Darkness in Heart of Darkness
- What does Heart of Darkness represent in the story, and how does it relate to the physical journey into the African Congo and the moral journey into the depths of human nature?
- How does Conrad use darkness as a symbol in Heart of Darkness, and what does it reveal about the themes and characters in the story?
- How does the novella Heart of Darkness use darkness to critique the imperialist project and shed light on the consequences of European expansion into Africa?
