Women’s rights are consistently suppressed in Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” while in Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart”, the powerful Mother of the Spirits is revered and her daughters beaten and persecuted because of their gender. These authors were vividly depicting the reality of the repression of women during this time period. They exploit the vulnerabilities of women by criticizing all of their stereotypical feminine qualities. To be called a “woman” is among the utmost offensive insults spewed upon the feeble and meek.
In “Heart of Darkness”, the story is told through the voice of Charlie Marlow, a skeptical and prejudicial white man. In fact, all of the characters, including major and minor, narrator and protagonist are all white European men (Smith xx-xx). The underlying limits against women in this society are very evident in the narrator’s lack of understanding and emotional detachment. Ellen Rooney describes these portrayals of women as the “masculine ‘narrative of femininity’” which uses “stereotypes of woman and women” in order to affirm “patriarchy’s many stories” about femininity, masculinity, and power relations (73)(Smith xx-xx).
Without any names recorded in Conrad’s book, women are known only in relationship to man. For example, the semi-important women characters are known as “the intended” and “the mistress”. “The intended”, is so identified because of her relationship to Kurtz’s as his future (or intended) fiancé. “The mistress” is Kurtz’s African lover whom he is cheating on “the intended” with. Marlow doesn’t even grace these women with the simplest of all courtesies: referring to them by name. They are too inferior and insignificant to deserve such respect. The mistress and the i...
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...emininity Quotes Page 1." Shmoop. Shmoop University Inc., n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2014.
Postcolonial and Postimperial Literature: An Overview. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2014.
Smith, Kathryn. "Revis (it) ing Joseph Conrad's" Heart of Darkness": Women, Symbolism, and Resistance Kathryn Haynicz-Smith (Kathryn Smith) Academia.edu." Academia.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2014.
"SparkNotes: Heart of Darkness: Analysis of Major Characters." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.
"SparkNotes: Heart of Darkness: Character List." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2014.
"SparkNotes: Things Fall Apart: Themes, Motifs & Symbols." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. SparkNotes LLC, n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2014.
"Things Fall Apart Theme of Gender." Shmoop. Shmoop University Inc., n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2014.
Watts, Cedric. 'Heart of Darkness.' The Cambridge Companion to Joseph Conrad. Ed. J.H. Stape. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. 45-62.
Kurtz’s “superb … magnificent” mistress who “[has] the value of several elephant tusks upon her” (Conrad 137) also exemplifies power. The Russian reveals the extent of her influence on Kurtz as he recalls how she once “talked like a fury”, but Kurtz “felt too ill that day to care, or there would have been mischief” (138). The Russian also feels threatened by Kurtz’s mistress, as he “has been risking [his] life everyday … to keep her out of the house” (138). The sexist and racist attitudes of that era, in addition to the idolized Kurtz’s savage behaviour towards the Africans, amplify the anomaly of an African woman instilling fear into colonial white men. Conrad establishes the influence that women can have, as it clearly contrasts Hardy’s insinuation of the powerless nature of females when compared to men.
Bausch, Richard, and R. V. Cassill. "Heart of Darkness." The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. 126-86. Print.
Asking the right questions is indeed an art form . It is however an even bigger burden to try to answer from an analytical presepective these subjective questions which inspire answers and explanations to the ultimate “why” and “how” . As readers we are obligated to carry with us an open mind, an analytical eye and room for suggestive arguments when trying to dissect a piece of writing. Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness offers the perfect platform for interpretation. With a dozen shades of foggy gray's, the short story is begging for a set of eyes that can see it through. Without proceeding too far into the novella, one can draw out a great deal of analytical suggestions as to what the title itself implies. The word Darkness seems to be a consistent theme throughout the book. So much so, that the amount of weight it carries has given it a special place on the cover. Many critics have found common ground on deciphering the interpretation of the word .The concept of darkness could be respresenting evil. However, some significant subjective questions remain unaswered: Exaclty which character in the novella has fallen victim to this evil? Is it Conrad himself, Marlow, Kurtz or the natives? All of them? Are there different forms in which this evil can manifest itself? Is it talking about darkness in the literal or figurative sense? Would we be considered naïve if we thought evil could be contained or is darkness a necessary evil we all posses and an undeniable part of our reality?
Conrad, J. (2006). Heart of darkness. In P. B. Armstrong (Ed.), Heart of darkness (4th ed., p. 5). New York London: Norton Critical Editions.
Conrad, Joseph. "Heart of Darkness." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams et al. 6th ed. vol. 2. New York: Norton, 1993. 1759-1817.
Rosmarin, Adena. "Darkening the Reader: Reader Response Criticism and Heart of Darkness." Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness: A Case Study in Contemporary Criticism. Ed. Ross C. Murfin. New York: St. Martin's, 1989.
Conrad, Joseph, and Paul B. Armstrong. Heart of Darkness: Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Contexts, Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2006.
middle of paper ... ... Conrad and Masculinity” are all very persuasive essays that suggest there is in fact a gender theme throughout Heart of Darkness. Smith, Watson, and Bergenholtz give both Marlow and Conrad a different voice that some readers may miss. Works Cited Belsey, Catherine. A. Critical Practice.
In 1899 Joseph Conrad published a short work of fiction called Heart of Darkness. This novella is often read, discussed, criticized in literature programs throughout the world. It is a work that allows us to tackle a variety of topics, and is therefore responded to in a variety of ways. The work itself as one critic puts it “might most usefully be considered hyper-canonized” (Padmini “Why” 104). The work is taught beyond the realm of a normal work in the literature program. Many forms of criticism have taken on the subject matter within the book. Feminism, psycho-analytic, Marxism have all had things to say about the novella. They’ve discussed things such as imperialism, the psychology of Marlow and Kurtz, the role of women in the novella (both literally and symbolically), all these issues are important topics in the novella. For a long time, however one crucial issue in the work was not addressed, that of race.
A. Michael. Matin. Introduction to Heart of Darkness and Selected Short Fiction. New York: Barnes & Noble Classics, 2008. Print.
Heart of Darkness. The Bedford Anthology of World Literature. Ed. Paul Davis. Vol. 6. Boston,
"SparkNotes: Heart of Darkness: Themes, Motifs & Symbols." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. Web. 23 Mar. 2011. .
Women have gained equality with men over the many centuries of the evolution of the modern western civilization. Hence, it cannot be overlooked that there still exist many literary examples of social disregard for woman potential. Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" exemplifies the Western patriarchal gender roles in which women are given the inferior status. Not only are women portrayed as being inferior to men, but Marlow's (the protagonist's) seldom mentioning of them in his Congo adventure narrative symbolizes his view of their insignificance. There is a total of five women presented in Marlow's narrative but only three of them are significant minor characters: Marlow's aunt, Kurtz's African mistress, and Kurtz's "Intended." The following essay will examine how the presentation of each of these three women in Marlow's narrative contributes to connecting events in the story.
...viewed as mere symbols and not real characters. There are no quoted in the entire story where a woman says something intelligent, meaningful, or important. Conrad only used the women in the story as symbols for his thematic metaphors. The women represented large facets of society or nature, but were not given much personality on individualism. By the end of the story, the reader knows a tremendous amount of information about Marlow and Kurtz, and Conrad?s novel could be called a case study for either of them. No new information is known about the psyche or inter-workings of the women of Heart of Darkness and even though the females in the story represent vast societies, their personal anonymity could leave the reader empty and searching for substance.