NRJ#2

I think how Conrad portrays women in Heart of Darkness is intriguing. His opinions run the entire gamut. At one point the women are like the fates, sitting on a chair knitting the black wool of someones life. Then comes the secretary, whos stare sees into the truth of men, “same quick glance of unconcerned wisdom. She seemed to know all about them and about me, too. An eerie feeling came over me. She seemed uncanny and fateful.” And then of course comes Marlows Aunt, who through a friend of hers (another women who manipulates her husband) was able to get Marlow the job in the Congo. These women are powerful, effecting men and shaking Marlow to his core.

These images of truth and power are contrasted when his aunt says “ It's queer how out of touch with truth women are. They live in a world of their own, and there has never been anything like it, and never can be. It is too beautiful altogether, and if they were to set it up it would go to pieces before the first sunset. Some confounded fact we men have been living contentedly with
ever since the day of creation would start up and knock the whole thing over.” This would be the classic 19th century view of women. How women are so out of touch with reality, they live in their own world that is so beautiful it could not stand up to harsh reality.

By contrasting these views of women, I think Conrad was trying to show how women often have great power to effect the lives of men.

NRJ #1

From the start of the novel I can see a clear motif of light and darkness. Various elements of the novel are often likened to being either light or dark, civilized or uncivilized. The civilized in the novel being those that work for The Company and the uncivilized being the savage natives. Maslow, at one point even refers to himself as “an emissary of light”, and even goes as far to say he is “something like a lower sort of apostle” (Conrad 10). The character description of light when referring to members of the Company is in contrast to how natives of the Congo are referred. Marlow routinely refers to the natives in a derogatory manner, calling them “savages”, “cannibals”, or other outdated terms. The term “savage” is often connected to the darkness and uncivilized nature of the continent itself. Conrad uses this theme to convey how the “civilized” are seeking to impose their will on the “uncivilized”. This is evident in a scene where one of the “savages” is escorting his shackled country-men. The man is described as “one of the reclaimed, the product of new forces at work, strolled despondently, carrying a rifle by its middle. He had a uniform jacket with one button off, and seeing a white man on the path, hoisted his weapon to his shoulder with alacrity” (Conrad 13). Since the man was referred to as being a “reclaimed one” we can come to the conclusion that civilization was able to bring this savage back to the light and use him to help in the enslavement of the other savages.