For this blog entry, I would like to explore the use of religious symbols and connotations within Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. While reading the book, this topic was one of the first that struck me as interesting and I continued to locate the various religious symbols throughout the reading. One of the first questions that came to mind when discovering Conrad’s use of religious symbols was something along the lines of: does Conrad actually believe in the religious figures that he uses in the story, or is he using them as a stark contrast to the reality he is trying to depict? There are many times within the story where “Good God!” or “Good Lord” are used as terms of surprise but I’m going to not include those as I do not think those have any real hidden or deeper meaning (62, 63).
The very first mention of religion occurs on page 21 when Marlow is describing one of his past encounters with “conquerors” on a trip that he took. During this speech, it is said that Marlow is sitting in “the pose of a Buddha” which has many implications behind it (21). It seems as though Conrad is explicitly comparing Marlow to Buddha which carries with it the idea that Marlow is some sort of prime example and practitioner of peace. Marlow is again referred to as a “meditating Buddha” at the very end of the story on page 94. To compare Marlow to Buddha is to claim that Marlow has the qualities of Buddha or a follower of Buddhism such as “sharing, ethical morality, patience, renunciation, wisdom, diligence, truthfulness, determination, loving-kindness and equanimity” (SOURCE). There are definitely points in the book where Marlow does display these qualities which would explain Conrad’s description of Marlow in such a way.
The terms apostle and disciple also show up in Darkness, both words having very strong ties to religious backgrounds, especially Christianity. Jesus was known to have apostles and disciples that followed him around in order to learn from his teachings, for example. The term disciple appears on page 74 in which a man is described as “Kurtz’s last disciple”. Using this term obviously then raises Kurtz to a religious figure which has gained some sort of following of students wanting to learn from and emulate his ways. Does this mean that Kurtz could be compared to Jesus, the main teacher in the Christian religion? Following the use of terms tied in Christianity, the terms, devil (31), snake (22), and faith (88) also are used in the book multiple times. Conrad even explicitly relates back to the events that occurred in the Bible’s book of Genesis when he uses the phrase “the snake had charmed me” on page 22. To use a phrase that portrays such an obvious scene in the Christian Bible is a decision that had to be carefully thought out and contemplated. Which brings me back to my main question: is Conrad using these terms sincerely or to show contrasting events/people/ideas?
There are many, many more religious terms and connotations which I could discuss but I will have to end this post at some point. So I’d like to ask you: why did Conrad reference and include so many religious figures and events?
Autumn, I think these are some awesome symbols that you picked up on!
When thinking about Marlow’s journey that he is describing, I think about the darkness and “evils” which he was exposed to the entire way. Marlow observes the sins and atrocities of his fellow traders and how they influence the native/ innocent people of the country. Marlow’s journey climaxes with his meeting Kurtz, a man who has become insane by forfeiting himself to the temptations around him, mostly ivory. In a way, Marlow’s journey reminds me of both the journeys of Jesus and Buddah as they exposed themselves to the elements and experienced awakenings. Marlow’s experience appears to have yielded a similar awakening as he recounts his story, criticizing man and his evil acts. I think that Conrad’s representation of Marlow as a prophet or enlightened individual is entirely intentional and serves as a means of further critiquing his imperialistic society.
He refers to the religious figures and ideas in his novel to represent the idea of colonialism– especially white men over those of the Congo. This idea that the invaders have the correct ideology and the inhabitants need a structure to protect them from their own ivory. They might not have come to the Congo to be liberated, but it was to liberate the ivory from the people and turn it into their purses. The use of religious figures– like the pilgrims is to illuminate the idea behind invading one another for the conquest of who has the right ideas, because the only thing that matters is who has the most power.
Your comments about Marlow as Buddha raise questions about how readers (or his shipboard auditors) might respond to his story. The narrator’s comments about where to look for the meaning of Marlow’s stories–in what surrounds them– suggests that if they convey wisdom, it might only be because they displace some kind of “haze” (20). Maybe the meaning(s) of his story, to say nothing of his experience, is, like wisdom, hard to come by. Certainly, one gets the sense from the narrator’s comments that Marlow is accepted as being sort of an odd duck, which might raise questions about how seriously they take him–and his wisdom. The Brantlinger essay we’ll read will talk a bit about “idols” so it may help you work through some of the imagery/ideas.