Joseph Conrad Was Confused
Joseph Conrad Was Confused
People would think Heart of Darkness was about imperialism. It is true that the novel was mainly about imperialism. However, it was not fully about imperialism. Other meaningful topics inside the story are just overshadowed by it, and homosexual desire is one of them. In Heart of Darkness, in spite of its ambiguity, homosexual desire was implied in certain parts of the story. For instance, Kurtz’s “unspeakable rites” (Conrad 50), involving “various lusts” (Conrad 57), were, Andrew Michael Roberts argues, not about imperialism or cannibalism, for it was not unspeakable to Conrad. He had talked about them when the African cannibals were mentioned or as the book was used to accuse European society of being imperialism. Then, what Kurtz did had to be even more unspeakable, at least to Conrad: homosexuality (Roberts 459-460). Nothing was specified by Conrad or by Marlow. Nevertheless, homosexuality is a clear and proper conclusion out of the context, and it is unspeakable. The ambiguous yet undeniable homosexual desire in Heart of Darkness is a demonstration of Joseph Conrad’s confused sexuality, and also a way for him to express his own mixed feelings regarding to it.
One of the evidences of homosexual desire in the novel was showcased when Marlow told his audience on the Nellie, the ship, about how he thought of Kurtz: “This is the reason why I affirm that Kurtz was a remarkable man. He had something to say. He said it. Since I had peeped over the edge myself, I understand better the meaning of his stare…he had stepped over the edge, while I had been permitted to draw back my hesitating foot…” (Conrad 70). Marlow thought Kurtz was remarkable, for Kurtz could say things he could not, and for Kurtz “had stepped over the edge”, an edge that Marlow could only peep over but not dare to jump off. That means it is an edge that both Kurtz and Marlow knew, an edge that both of them had encountered in their lives. One would wonder what kind of edge
People would think Heart of Darkness was about imperialism. It is true that the novel was mainly about imperialism. However, it was not fully about imperialism. Other meaningful topics inside the story are just overshadowed by it, and homosexual desire is one of them. In Heart of Darkness, in spite of its ambiguity, homosexual desire was implied in certain parts of the story. For instance, Kurtz’s “unspeakable rites” (Conrad 50), involving “various lusts” (Conrad 57), were, Andrew Michael Roberts argues, not about imperialism or cannibalism, for it was not unspeakable to Conrad. He had talked about them when the African cannibals were mentioned or as the book was used to accuse European society of being imperialism. Then, what Kurtz did had to be even more unspeakable, at least to Conrad: homosexuality (Roberts 459-460). Nothing was specified by Conrad or by Marlow. Nevertheless, homosexuality is a clear and proper conclusion out of the context, and it is unspeakable. The ambiguous yet undeniable homosexual desire in Heart of Darkness is a demonstration of Joseph Conrad’s confused sexuality, and also a way for him to express his own mixed feelings regarding to it.
One of the evidences of homosexual desire in the novel was showcased when Marlow told his audience on the Nellie, the ship, about how he thought of Kurtz: “This is the reason why I affirm that Kurtz was a remarkable man. He had something to say. He said it. Since I had peeped over the edge myself, I understand better the meaning of his stare…he had stepped over the edge, while I had been permitted to draw back my hesitating foot…” (Conrad 70). Marlow thought Kurtz was remarkable, for Kurtz could say things he could not, and for Kurtz “had stepped over the edge”, an edge that Marlow could only peep over but not dare to jump off. That means it is an edge that both Kurtz and Marlow knew, an edge that both of them had encountered in their lives. One would wonder what kind of edge
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