Trigger warning: mentions of racist and sexist instances
Joseph Conrad’s book, “Heart of Darkness” is an incisive take on white people’s exploitative urge to loot the resources of Africa, Asia, and more, in the guise of civilising the black and brown black people. Conrad conveys this using many symbols.
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The novella, “Heart of Darkness” was written by Joseph Conrad in 1902. This novella is has the most appealing symbols in it. Reading this magnificent piece of art is to take a journey into a symbolic world. It seems like every upcoming symbol is more significant than the previous one, in the text.
Reading the novella without paying attention to the rich organisation of symbols is worthless, because the story is told through symbols that are abstract and impregnated with ideas.
Critic Ian Watt stated that:
“One could argue that the distinctive aim, not only of Conrad but of much modern literature, is not so much ‘to make us see’, but, somewhat more explicitly, ‘to make us see what we see’, and this would ultimately involve a view of narrative in which every detail is inherently symbolic.”
Guarding The Doors Of Colonialism
The very title of the novella has a symbolic appeal. The title refers to the dark civilisation, the bosom of the dark.
It implies that the whole novella is about that dark place. The title is contradictory in itself, for the heart stands for sacred, pure, closeness, while darkness stands for evil, bad, etc.
The place which is being explored through the colonialist is as pure and sacred as one’s heart, but is seen as devilishly as darkness can be. But, the purity of the Congo (now, Democratic Republic of the Congo) changes Kurtz and Marlow.
Both are symbols of darkness, with their evil motives. The place is both dark and heart-like: dark for explorers and heart-like for natives.
In the first part of the novella, we are introduced to the female characters. They symbolise the danger that lies in store for the men traveling to the Congo. They are guarding the door of colonialism.
“In the outer room the two women knitting black wool feverishly.”
White Women Aided White Men’s Exploitation
They were there to welcome new people to their business of exploitation. “Black wool” is a symbol of evil there. They are weaving the threads of evil in Europe to make the white race’s business stronger in the Congo.
“She seemed to know all about them and me too. An eerie feeling came over. She seemed uncanny and fateful.” These two women knew every evil related to their empire. They also knew the fate of people traveling to the Congo like Marlow.
Critic Helen Callaways analysed in her book how—the work of white women was central to running an empire—and how they helped their men in their motives.
Towards the end of the narrative, we are introduced to another woman, the African mistress of Kurtz. She is a symbol of naivety. The first two women in the narrative are seen as knowers of truth, and keepers of the secrets.
To the contrary, the African woman is deliberately kept away from the truth by Marlow. He lies to her that the last words Kurtz uttered was his mistress’ name, but the truth was something else. Kurtz’s last words were: “The horror! The horror!”
Colonialists Sexually Exploited Native Women
The African mistress of Kurtz is betrayed by him and Marlow. In relation to this, critic Jeremy Hawthorn stated that:
“…number of native women in Conrad’s fiction who are betrayed through their love for, or involvement with, a white man…an aspect of imperialism has always been that of sexual exploitation of native women by male representatives of the exploiting power, an exploitation which does not typically involve any permanent commitment to the women involved…”
The “white sepulcher” is a symbol of hypocrisy. When Marlow visits Brussels to get an appointment with someone, he describes the same city as a white sepulcher. According to Christian theology, this phrase is used to for hypocrisy.
The city of Brussels was very beautiful from the outside, but when he enters the office, the place where the company’s headquarters was located, was very dark and deserted. “I arrived in a city that always makes me think of a white sepulcher.”
Europeans Murdered And Plundered
It is a very significant symbol used in the first part of the novella. A white sepulcher is a symbol of hypocrisy which the white race possesses. Europeans made their empire wealthy and advanced, at the cost of nations in Africa, Asia etc.
At the beginning of the novella, we are also introduced to the symbol of the “Buddha” (enlightened one) without a lotus in his hand. The Buddha is known for his teachings and journey towards spiritual enlightenment.
The lotus flower in his hand symbolises mental purity and spiritual perfection. Conrad is allegorising his race through different symbols. Through this symbol, he tries to convey that Europeans are good at rhetoric, but lack mental purity.
“…he had the pose of a Buddha preaching in European clothes and without a Lotus-flower.”
Europeans consider themselves enlightened, they are indeed, but they lack mental purity. For their materialistic benefits, they exploit, murder, and kill the people of the so-called dark lands.
The White Superiority Complex
There is a symbol of a donkey carrying a white man, which symbolises lacking wisdom. “…each section headed by a donkey carrying a white man in new clothes and tan shoes.”
We can say that Conrad has used these symbols to show us that his race is lacking in wisdom. A white man goes to dark places carrying his white superiority complex, without knowing the inherent power of that place.
Reaching the Congo is not an easy task, but when Kurtz reaches there, his subconscious finds life and he loses himself in the realm of epiphany (revelation).
Europeans take big risks to go to the Congo. The journey seems difficult to them, but they ignore the powers which lie there.
Donkeys are a symbol of service. In the following line from the text both, the white man and donkeys are compared: “Long afterward the news came that all the donkeys were dead. I know nothing as to the fate of the less valuable animals. They, no doubt, like the rest of us, found what they deserved.”
Europeans Didn’t Civilise, They Enslaved
The word “dark” is used from the title of the novella to the very end. This symbol is used in the beginning to set the stage for Marlow’s dark adventure. “The air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back, still seemed condensed into a mournful gloom.”
When Marlow visits his office, he says: “Often far away there I thought of these two, guarding the door of Darkness.”
Symbolically, the readers are being informed that the darkness lies in Europe (the so-called civilised race), not in the land of the Congo. The darkness is steeped in the European mentality.
As far the context of this novella is concerned, Europeans considered some places as dark and uncivilised. They thought they have to civilise people out there. Under the garb of civilisation, they exploited many nations.
No doubt, the Congo is dense, dark, but it is also as powerful and rich. The place which colonialists think is dark, is the same place that provides them with revelations about human nature.
The Shallowness Of White People’s Desires
The dark, selfish desires of Kurtz are overpowered by the primitive nature of man.
In the novel “Passage to India” written by EM Forster, Marabar caves are the turning point in the plot of that story. When Miss Moor visits Marabar caves with Aziz, Adele, and others, no one knows what happened to her.
She came to the realisation of the hollowness of imperialist existence in India. And, very soon, she takes a journey to England, but dies on the way. The Congo also helps Kurtz and Marlow to realise their shallowness.
Critic Ian Watt stated:
“…light is not only a lesser force than darkness in power, magnitude, and duration, but in some way subordinate to it, or included within it; in short, that the darkness which Marlow discovers in the wilderness, in Kurtz and himself, is the primary and all-encompassing reality of the universe.”
Using The Same Symbol In Different Contexts
The “fog” is a symbol of chaos and mystery in the Conrad’s novella. The beauty in Conrad’s use of symbols is that he uses them differently in different scenes. Sometimes he wants to show them positively, and sometimes, negatively.
The symbol of fog used here first: “Here and there a military camp lost in a wilderness, like a needle in a bundle of hay- cold, fog, tempests, disease, exile and death….” Here, the word fog is used with the negative implications.
It is accompanied by death and the exile-like thing which can prove very dangerous for the soldiers. Later in the novella, Conrad uses the same fog as something illuminating:
“When the sun rose there was a white fog, very warm and clammy, and more blinding than the night. It did not shift or drive; it was just there, standing all round you like something solid.”
Here, the writer has used the word fog with the positive implications like warm and clammy.
Dark and mysterious things sometimes can show us a way, illuminate, as dark the Congo has the power to activate the inbuilt mechanisms of human nature, which are seen in Kurtz and Marlow.
The Congo River As A Symbol Of Progress
The “Congo river” in the novella is a symbol of progress. This river is between Africa and England: without crossing this river, one can’t reach Africa.
The colonialists are exploiting the heart of Africa. They took a lot of ivory from the Congo and transported it to England through this river, and made their fortunes. At the beginning of the narrative, the river seems like a snake to Marlow:
“But there was in it one river, that you could see on the map, resembling an immense snake uncoiled…”
This dangerous river proves to be the source of wealth, progress for Europeans in the novella. This is not dangerous at all like a snake, but fruitful for the colonialists.
As Marlow is about to reach the Congo through this river, his inner self is progressing the same way as Kurtz’s had been, towards the end. The Congo river symbolises the progression towards one’s self.
The Never-Ending Greed For Ivory
“Ivory” symbolizes the greed of colonialists. It’s their major attraction to head to Africa. Europeans worship ivory. Marlow says, when at the outer station, that:
“The word ‘Ivory’ rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to it.”
Ivory seems to be everything, for the Europeans. They are so into it that they even hear it everywhere.
Kurtz’s sense of ownership in the last section of the novel has been warped by his status as a “god” amongst the native Africans. He thinks everything belongs to him.
“You should have heard him say, ‘My ivory.’ Oh, yes, I heard him. ‘My intended, my ivory, my station, my river, my everything belonged to him.”
Kurtz is very famous for transporting more ivory than any other agent, because he used his extreme force to murder people. He killed and whipped natives for his religion of ivory. He was willing to go to any extremes to fulfill his desires.
The White Man’s Love For Power
Kurtz’s painting depicts a woman, blindfolded, carrying a lit torch. This painting symbolises the European race. They come to so-called dark continents to civilise the natives, but they shut their eyes, and exploit the masses.
They are known for the rhetoric (“white man’s burden“) to civilise people, but they loot and exploit. The torch in the painting can be seen as a symbol of European enlightenment which is, time and again, used to justify their imperial enterprise.
Critic Jeremy Hawthorn stated that, “The blindfolded women suggests that this determining influence may not be a knowing or intended one.”
Kurtz himself is a symbol, a symbol of many things. For instance, he symbolises greed, hypocrisy, white supremacy, their love for power, and most importantly: the power of primitive nature on man.
“The Horror, The Horror!”
As mentioned above, he is famous for transporting large amounts of ivory. His extended stay in the Congo made him forget, lose power over the principles associated with his race and empire. The great potential of primitive nature overpowers him.
His constant encounter with the natives of the Congo make him realise that he (empire) is wrong. We are shown Kurtz’s pathetic end of life, with the words which he uttered on his deathbed: “The horror, the horror!”
It seems that a dark place like the Congo has the power to illuminate souls. Here, again, there is a reversal of symbol. The place that was considered to be dark and uncivilised helps Kurtz attain his moral epiphany.
In the dark mind of Kurtz, human values are being ushered in only by countries like the Congo.