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Heart of Darkness

Joseph Conrad

Edinburgh/London, 1899

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Literary Classic

Novel
Modernism

What It’s About

A Journey into the Darkest Abyss of the Human Heart

It’s with bated breath that the reader follows the brief but harrowing account of Charlie Marlow, who, in dense prose, recounts his journey up the Congo River and into the heart of Africa – and the “heart of darkness” – for it is also a journey into the dark places of the human soul. In the latter days of European colonialism, Marlow becomes the captain of a run-down steamer for a Belgian trading company. When he arrives in Africa, he hears rumors about a Mr. Kurtz, who reportedly lives (and rules) hundreds of miles upriver. Having a charismatic personality, Kurtz is the most successful trading agent of the company, delivering huge amounts of ivory. Overcoming much adversity, Marlow travels upriver to meet the man – an encounter that leaves a deep and lifelong mark on Marlow. Throughout the novel, author Joseph Conrad’s detailed and realistic description of the wilderness and cruel colonial rule stands in contrast to the narrative symbolism of the story. As white men confront a starkly depicted primeval world, Conrad evokes a dark and terrifying image of human nature and creates one of the bleakest narratives on European colonial rule in modern literature.

Take-Aways

Heart of Darkness is one of the earliest modernist novels of the 20th century. It takes readers on a journey into the heart of the African continent – and the human soul.
Charlie Marlow travels up the Congo River into the interior of the African continent. He is looking for a trading agent called Kurtz, who has used his career to act out a reign of terror upon the native Africans.
Kurtz is a horrifying example of how extreme circumstances can transform human beings.

About the Author

Joseph Conrad was born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski to Polish parents in Berdyczew, Ukraine, on December 3, 1857. Poland at that time was under czarist autocracy, and Conrad’s father was an activist in the fight against Russian rule. His activities led to the family being exiled to Russia. Conrad’s mother fell ill during their exile and died. When his father died in 1869, Conrad’s uncle took him in; the boy’s wish to go to sea appalled him. The uncle did everything to dissuade him but eventually gave in. In 1874, Conrad began his service in the French merchant navy. Soon after, he got involved in smuggling and, as a result, lost all his money. After a failed suicide attempt, he joined the British merchant navy and started a career as an officer. In 1886, he became a British citizen and received his Master’s certificate in the British merchant service. Three years later, he started writing his first novel, Almayer’s Folly, in English – his third language. A journey to the Congo turned into a traumatic event, and Conrad was horrified to discover how the colonialists treated the natives. The stress of the journey and the climate so severely affected his health that he had to return to England sooner than planned. He finished his first novel in 1894 and published it under the name Joseph Conrad, which he used from then on. The novel received positive reviews from the critics, and Conrad decided to settle in Kent with his wife, Jessie George, and become a writer. One of his most important works was the short novel Heart of Darkness (1899), in which he processed his experience of the Congo. Conrad died of heart failure on August 3, 1924.