Toma Toma Cristina Ana-Maria Faculty of Letters Romanian-English Department 2nd Year Year The title of the novella “Heart
of darkness”
Heart of Darkness (1899) Darkness (1899) is a short novella by Polish novelist Joseph Conrad, Conrad, written as a frame narrative, narrative, about Charles Marlow’s Marlow’s life as an ivory ivory transporter transporter down the Cono !iver in Central "fri#a$ "fri#a$ %he river is &a mihty bi river, that you #ould see on the map, resemblin an immense sna'e un#oiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest #urvin afar over o ver a vast #ountry, and its tail lost in the depths of the land$ n the #ourse of his travel in #entral "fri#a, Marlow be#omes obsessed with Mr$ *urt+ *urt+$$ %he story is a #omple eploration of the attitudes people hold on what what #onstitutes a barbarian versus a #ivili+ed so#iety and the attitudes on #olonialism #olonialism and and ra#ism that were part and par#el of -uropean imperialism imperialism$$ .riinally published as a three/part serial story, in 0la#'woods Maa+ine,, the novella 2eart of 3ar'ness has been variously published Maa+ine pub lished and translated into many lanuaes$ n 1998, the Modern 4ibrary ran'ed 4ibrary ran'ed 2eart of 3ar'ness as the sity/seventh of the hundred best novels in novels in -nlish of o f the twentieth #entury$ 5irst of all, should mention that #hose for my essay to analy+e the title of this novella, be#ause find the plot of the story full of symbolism and in parti#ular the main element whi#h perfe#tly frames the entire masterpie#e is the title$ title$ 6tartin from from a basi# meanin, heart is the #hambered mus#ular oran oran in vertebrates that pumps blood re#eived from the veins into the arteries, thereby maintainin the flow of blood throuh the entire #ir#ulatory system and the vital # enter and sour#e of ones bein, emotions, and sensibilities$%he basi# meanin of dar'ness is refle#tin only a small fra#tion of in#ident liht or absen#e of liht$ 7e #an read the the title at the level of symbol and at a literally level$5rom level$5rom the literally literally level we dis#over a dar' #ontinent named "fri#a, in the heart of the #ontinent is #entered the a#tion, in Cono$%he symbolism is represented by the #olour, the bla#' people of Cono and the dar' soul of people$ 0etween heart and dar'ness it is is an antithesis be#ause heart shows positive positive emotion, heart may be represented by white people who are enterin in the dar'ness of neative emotion, the bla#' people$n the ourney of Marlow and his #ompanions they sin' in the #ore of a unle, the
symbolism of the unle is related to the nature of habitants who are wild and brutal as the lands#ape$ %he title fun#tions also as an anti#ipatory element for #hara#ters of the novella$*urt+, Marlow are stron persons, but #onstru#ted by the du al theme of the title, they pendulate between white and bla#', between ood and bad, between two worlds whi#h are fa#in$*urt+ is not aware of his deep dar'ness, the rade of impli#ation in the bla#' world of Cono$ "s far as am #on#erned, the #ombination of the words &2eart of dar'ness have a stron impa#t on reader’s mind, it implies that it is about somethin fas#inatin and it really is, somethin mai#al, intriuin$ :"nd this also has been one of the dar' pla#es of the earth$: are the words of Marlow, reali+in the uni;ueness of "fri#a in #ontrast with the #ivili+ed so#iety$"pplied to the deeper mea nin of the title it is the relation of opposite people, souls, mentality, traditions$%he union whi#h is settled by the trade of Marlow with ivory ( s ymbol of white #olour, as the purity of a heart ) by #omin fa#e to fa#e with #anibalism, a dar' side$ "lso Marlow, durin the novella o throuh an inside ourney of his state of mind, of his personality$n his attempt to #ivili+e the savaes, he be#omes one of them$Marlow brins out the dar'ness from himself and he is not #ons#ious about this$n that spa#e ta'es pla#e a battle between mind and heart, the emotions wins aainst what is rational$ %he lands#ape, the surroundin spa#e is bounded with the atmosphere of a mysti# #ountry, the vast rivers establish the #onne#tion between humanity and what is un'nown, the surfa#e of water and depths of it$%his may be the synesthesia of a deeper intera#tion between w hat we see and what is hidden$7e see Cono by eyes of James Conrad, but what is hidden is 'ept in the heart, in the bla#' heart of people who are in the #ountry$7hite people #ame with white heart, but after livin there, their heart be#ome bla#'$%he dar'ness is temptin and they were attra#ted to what is mysterious, even the fear eisted as a predominant feelin, but the power of mystery over#omes boundaries of wea'ness$ "t some point, one ;uestion #ame into my mind, why the title is 2eart of dar'ness and not 2eart and dar'ness$ responded myself that these two elements #ann ot be separated, be#ause they are similar and must belon to ea#h other$4i'e Marlow witness how Mr$ *urt+ is livin with some s'ulls haned in his residen#e, their hearts live with the dar'ness$2eart and dar'ness also #ould be #onsidered two worlds, the world of heart lives in the world of dar'ness, so the heart be#omes a part of what is dar'$%he bla#' world absorbs heart step by step, as for eample Mr$ *urt+ is the one who is the most involved in this mysterious world$
*urt+ is the main symbol of the title, bein the #atalyst of #hane, he is adaptin in "fri#a li'e he was born there$2e does not fiht with dar'ness, himself is a part of it< Marlow says about him that is hollow, illustratin the fa#t that is as same as the dar'$3ar' is an illusion made by liht, also for *urt+ many illusions build him, the way des#ribes Marlow him mied with opinion of *urt+’s fian#=e who believes that he is humanitarium and enius$n fa#t, *urt+ remains an enima for all, even for Marlow ust li'e a shadow$ 7e always refer at *urt+ and Marlow reardin to their life in "fri#a, but we should also 'eep in mind that there were hard times for "fri#ans, livin in a time of -uropean Colonialism$%herefore, we also should too' into #onsideration that the heart of natives ot bla#'er and bla#'er as a result of oppression of white people$t is a#tually the heart of dar'ness of every human, the duality whi#h eists in us, but dar'ness of "fri#ans is hiher be#ause of the environment, traditions, rituals and other thins spe#ifi# for them$ %he word &heart appear many times in the novella usin two senses, one spe#ify lo#ation, position, as #ore, heart of the heart of territory, heart of an impenetrable dar'ness$%he se#ond sense has multiple spe#ifi#ations as state of mind, aspe#t, emotion, in the novella it may be noble heart, torn, heavy be#ause of the pain in the moment when *urt+ dies, heart whi#h stops when Marlow says to *urt+’s fian#=e about last words of *urt+, tellin her a beautiful lie$ "ll these #ontets in whi#h appear the first words of the title show the supreme feature of bein #omple, reali+in that humans have heart even they are -uropean or "fri#ans, but also a #ontinent #an have heart$ >radually, you enter in the a#tion of the boo' the intense atmosphere it is felt, the intensity is iven by the #olour bla#', the more you et involved the more you et deeper in the terrifyin unle, in the fas#inatin, but also insane world of the #annibalism, of people who are dis#riminated$ %he unle is the surfa#e of the heart, is the surfa#e of the dar'ness, be#ause it is lo#ated in the #ore of Cono, surrounded by rivers, whi#h are lin' to life and death, the duality epressed by the title$Junle la#'s liht, bein #overed by foliae and mists implyin the synesthesia of natives with nature, they identify with surroundins and their heart is li'e the unle, without liht, seein thins throuh fo$%he #ivili+ed world presumes openin, liht, open spa#es as their heart and mind whi#h are opened to what is new, to what is normal$n bla#' heart of Cono you dis#over what is evil in you and you ust #lose your soul$ Many #riti#s interpret that the novella was written in a ra#ist tone, due to the period of #olonialism$J$Conrad des#ribes a world of primitive surroundins, mentionin that you feel li'e you are at the beinnin of the man'ind and natives too are a#tin li'e primitives, *urt+ it was
li'e a >od for the savaes$%here you #an feel free, but in a wild and #ra+y way, it also implied the fear of bein unsafe and the stron solitude$ %he title is a name used to show a eploration in the mind of humans, in enerally, dis#overin the brutality at raised levels, the mar' of preudi#es is present as a predominant sin whi#h reveals the worst of them$%he nature surroundins #an ma'e the natives blind, the fo have an impa#t on them visually and mentally, the dar'ness is set in their eyes and espe#ially deep in their hearts$2eart is deep as the Cono !iver< the #onne#tion with the nature is the first one reali+ed by humans, #onse;uently the primitive #hara#ter of bla#' people still eists and manae to influen#e #ivili+ed people$"fri#ans do not intend to #hane the traders who #ame in their world, but in the fa#e of mistery, of somethin dar' and new, mai#al, unforeseeable the heart of traders surrender ust li'e the water of river flows$ %he #hoi#e of Conrad for title may be interpreted as the way he viewed the #ontinent "fri#a, we dis#over a new world by his eyes and by the main #hara#ter, Marlow$7e #an remar' a sube#tive note in the #ombination of words, da r'ness than dar' or bla#' have a more intense impa#t and reveals the stron impression of author abou t "fri#a$f you enter in the unle you will see dar', but even more and in fa#t you will en#ounter a reat and powerful dar'ness whi#h tou#h your heart, it is no way out$.n#e you entered the dar'ness the brutal instin#ts e#eed rational thin'in$"fri#ans were in a time of mperialism and Colonialism and they were led by instin#ts$ %he shape of the river is des#ribed as a bi sna'e, this also may be a symbol for the title, be#ause sna'e in 0ible was the one who tempted humans to taste the sweet and forbidden fruit of sin$n novella the sweet and forbidden fruit is represented b y the temptin se#ret of a mai#al #ontinent, Mr$ *urt+ taste fruit of sin with sadi# pleasure$ %itle of this bla#' novella reveal a ame of mas's$!iver and the unle are the mas's of a deep dar'ness, Mr$ *urt+ wears multiple mas's, first of all, mas' of a #ivili+ed man, but inside lays su#h an evil and wild man$%he nature and #hara#ters of the opera are represented by mas's$"s same as the title whi#h wears the main mas', the dar' has the mas' of a heart$ wondered how dar' #an have heart, but #on#luded that it has$5or eample, the #annibals were a #alm and tempered roup, but inside there is that wild instin#t, but in a twisted way the y have heart$ .n the other hand, we #annot admit that "fri#ans are ust dar', dar'ness, sin, wildness be#ause they are not wild animals, they are humans with a heart whi#h beats$f we all try to eplore ourself in a ourney li'e Marlow and *urt+ we will be surprised to find out that we have a heart of dar'ness$n my opinion, this boo' is not only about bla#' people versus white people, is also about a personal ourney, be#ause you #annot have a distant attitude above novella, you feel li'e you are in "fri#a$
n #on#lusion, title has multiple meanins and is opened to more meanins$%his title is an interestin #hoi#e of words and memorable, a short #o mbination, but #at#hy$2eart of dar'ness is the eploration of a #ontinent, of a mind, of a heart, of nature, of people and their duality$n this ourney the title was the main element used as a de#hipher$(des#ifrator)