An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrads Heart of Darkness

Chinua Achebe
Massachusetts Review. 18. 1977.
Rpt. in: Kimbrough, Robert (ed.). Heart of Darkness, An Authoritative Text,
Background and Sources Criticism: !1"#1. $ondon: %. % &orton and 'o.,
1988 ((rd ed.).
)n the *a++ o* 197, ) was wa+-ing one da. *rom the /ng+ish 0epartment at
the 1niversit. o* Massachusetts to a par-ing +ot. )t was a *ine autumn morning
such as encouraged *riend+iness to passing strangers. 2ris- .oungsters were
hurr.ing in a++ directions, man. o* them obvious+. *reshmen in their *irst *+ush
o* enthusiasm. 3n o+der man going the same wa. as ) turned and remar-ed to
me how ver. .oung the. came these da.s. ) agreed. 4hen he as-ed me i* )
was a student too. ) said no, ) was a teacher. %hat did ) teach5 3*rican
+iterature. &ow that was *unn., he said, because he -new a *e++ow who taught
the same thing, or perhaps it was 3*rican histor., in a certain 'ommunit.
'o++ege not *ar *rom here. )t a+wa.s surprised him, he went on to sa., because
he never had thought o* 3*rica as having that -ind o* stu**, .ou -now. 2. this
time ) was wa+-ing much *aster. 67h we++,8 ) heard him sa. *ina++., behind me:
6) guess ) have to ta-e .our course to *ind out.8 3 *ew wee-s +ater ) received
two ver. touching +etters *rom high schoo+ chi+dren in 9on-ers, &ew 9or-, who
: b+ess their teacher : had ;ust read 4hings <a++ 3part. 7ne o* them was
particu+ar+. happ. to +earn about the customs and superstitions o* an 3*rican
tribe.
) propose to draw *rom these rather trivia+ encounters rather heav.
conc+usions which at *irst sight might seem somewhat out o* proportion to
them. 2ut on+., ) hope, at *irst sight.
4he .oung *e++ow *rom 9on-ers, perhaps part+. on account o* his age but )
be+ieve a+so *or much deeper and more serious reasons, is obvious+. unaware
that the +i*e o* his own tribesmen in 9on-ers, &ew 9or-, is *u++ o* odd customs
and superstitions and, +i-e ever.bod. e+se in his cu+ture, imagines that he
needs a trip to 3*rica to encounter those things.
4he other person being *u++. m. own age cou+d not be e=cused on the
grounds o* his .ears. )gnorance might be a more +i-e+. reason> but here again
) be+ieve that something more wi++*u+ than a mere +ac- o* in*ormation was at
wor-. <or did not that erudite 2ritish historian and Regius ?ro*essor at 7=*ord,
@ugh 4revor Roper, a+so pronounce that 3*rican histor. did not e=ist5
)* there is something in these utterances more than .outh*u+ ine=perience,
more than a +ac- o* *actua+ -now+edge, what is it5 Auite simp+. it is the desire
: one might indeed sa. the need : in %estern ps.cho+og. to set 3*rica up as
a *oi+ to /urope, as a p+ace o* negations at once remote and vague+. *ami+iar, in
comparison with which /uropeBs own state o* spiritua+ grace wi++ be mani*est.
4his need is not new> which shou+d re+ieve us a++ o* considerab+e
responsibi+it. and perhaps ma-e us even wi++ing to +oo- at this phenomenon
dispassionate+.. ) have neither the wish nor the competence to embar- on the
e=ercise with the too+s o* the socia+ and bio+ogica+ sciences but more simp+. in
the manner o* a nove+ist responding to one *amous boo- o* /uropean *iction:
Coseph 'onradBs Heart of Darkness, which better than an. other wor- that )
-now disp+a.s that %estern desire and need which ) have ;ust re*erred to. 7*
course there are who+e +ibraries o* boo-s devoted to the same purpose but
most o* them are so obvious and so crude that *ew peop+e worr. about them
toda.. 'onrad, on the other hand, is undoubted+. one o* the great st.+ists o*
modern *iction and a good stor.te++er into the bargain. @is contribution
there*ore *a++s automatica++. into a di**erent c+ass : permanent +iterature :
read and taught and constant+. eva+uated b. serious academics. Heart of
Darkness is indeed so secure toda. that a +eading 'onrad scho+ar has
numbered it 6among the ha+*"doDen greatest short nove+s in the /ng+ish
+anguage.8 ) wi++ return to this critica+ opinion in due course because it ma.
serious+. modi*. m. ear+ier suppositions about who ma. or ma. not be gui+t.
in some o* the matters ) wi++ now raise.
Heart of Darkness pro;ects the image o* 3*rica as 6the other wor+d,8 the
antithesis o* /urope and there*ore o* civi+iDation, a p+ace where manBs vaunted
inte++igence and re*inement are *ina++. moc-ed b. triumphant bestia+it.. 4he
boo- opens on the River 4hames, tranEui+, resting, peace*u++. 6at the dec+ine o*
da. a*ter ages o* good service done to the race that peop+ed its ban-s.8 2ut the
2
actua+ stor. wi++ ta-e p+ace on the River 'ongo, the ver. antithesis o* the
4hames. 4he River 'ongo is Euite decided+. not a River /meritus. )t has
rendered no service and en;o.s no o+d"age pension. %e are to+d that 6Foing up
that river was +i-e trave+ing bac- to the ear+iest beginnings o* the wor+d.8
)s 'onrad sa.ing then that these two rivers are ver. di**erent, one good,
the other bad5 9es, but that is not the rea+ point. )t is not the di**erentness
that worries 'onrad but the +ur-ing hint o* -inship, o* common ancestr.. <or
the 4hames too 6has been one o* the dar- p+aces o* the earth.8 )t conEuered its
dar-ness, o* course, and is now in da.+ight and at peace. 2ut i* it were to visit
its primordia+ re+ative, the 'ongo, it wou+d run the terrib+e ris- o* hearing
grotesEue echoes o* its own *orgotten dar-ness, and *a++ing victim to an
avenging recrudescence o* the mind+ess *renD. o* the *irst beginnings.
4hese suggestive echoes comprise 'onradBs *amed evocation o* the
3*rican atmosphere in Heart of Darkness. )n the *ina+ consideration his method
amounts to no more than a stead., ponderous, *a-e"ritua+istic repetition o* two
antithetica+ sentences, one about si+ence and the other about *renD.. %e can
inspect samp+es o* this on pages (# and (7 o* the present edition: a) it was
the sti++ness o* an imp+acab+e *orce brooding over an inscrutab+e intention and
b) 4he steamer toi+ed a+ong s+ow+. on the edge o* a b+ac- and
incomprehensib+e *renD.. 7* course there is a ;udicious change o* ad;ective
*rom time to time, so that instead o* inscrutab+e, *or e=amp+e, .ou might have
unspea-ab+e, even p+ain m.sterious, etc., etc.
4he eag+e"e.ed /ng+ish critic <. R. $eavis drew attention +ong ago to
'onradBs 6ad;ectiva+ insistence upon ine=pressib+e and incomprehensib+e
m.ster..8 4hat insistence must not be dismissed +ight+., as man. 'onrad critics
have tended to do, as a mere st.+istic *+aw> *or it raises serious Euestions o*
artistic good *aith. %hen a writer whi+e pretending to record scenes, incidents
and their impact is in rea+it. engaged in inducing h.pnotic stupor in his readers
through a bombardment o* emotive words and other *orms o* tric-er. much
more has to be at sta-e than st.+istic *e+icit.. Fenera++. norma+ readers are we++
armed to detect and resist such under"hand activit.. 2ut 'onrad chose his
sub;ect we++ : one which was guaranteed not to put him in con*+ict with the
3
ps.cho+ogica+ predisposition o* his readers or raise the need *or him to contend
with their resistance. @e chose the ro+e o* purve.or o* com*orting m.ths.
4he most interesting and revea+ing passages in Heart of Darkness are,
however, about peop+e. ) must crave the indu+gence o* m. reader to Euote
a+most a who+e page *rom about the midd+e o* the stopGwhen representatives
o* /urope in a steamer going down the 'ongo encounter the deniDens o* 3*rica.
6%e were wanderers on a prehistoric earth, on an earth that wore the aspect
o* an un-nown p+anet. %e cou+d have *ancied ourse+ves the *irst o* men
ta-ing possession o* an accursed inheritance, to be subdued at the cost o*
pro*ound anguish and o* e=cessive toi+. 2ut sudden+. as we strugg+ed round
a bend there wou+d be a g+impse o* rush wa++s, o* pea-ed grass"roo*s, a
burst o* .e++s, a whir+ o* b+ac- +imbs, a mass o* hands c+apping, o* *eet
stamping, o* bodies swa.ing, o* e.es ro++ing under the droop o* heav. and
motion+ess *o+iage. 4he steamer toi+ed a+ong s+ow+. on the edge o* a b+ac-
and incomprehensib+e *renD.. 4he prehistoric man was cursing us, pra.ing to
us, we+coming us : who cou+d te++5 %e were cut o** *rom the comprehension
o* our surroundings> we g+ided past +i-e phantoms, wondering and secret+.
appa++ed, as sane men wou+d be be*ore an enthusiastic outbrea- in a
madhouse. %e cou+d not understand because we were too *ar and cou+d not
remember, because we were trave+ing in the night o* *irst ages, o* those
ages that are gone, +eaving hard+. a sign : and no memories.
4he earth seemed unearth+.. %e are accustomed to +oo- upon the shac-+ed
*orm o* a conEuered monster, but there : there .ou cou+d +oo- at a thing
monstrous and *ree. )t was unearth+. and the men wereH &o the. were not
inhuman. %e++, .ou -now that was the worst o* it : this suspicion o* their
not being inhuman. )t wou+d come s+ow+. to one. 4he. how+ed and +eaped
and spun and made horrid *aces, but what thri++ed .ou, was ;ust the thought
o* their humanit. : +i-e .ours : the thought o* .our remote -inship with
this wi+d and passionate uproar. 1g+.. 9es, it was ug+. enough, but i* .ou
were man enough .ou wou+d admit to .ourse+* that there was in .ou ;ust the
*aintest trace o* a response to the terrib+e *ran-ness o* that noise, a dim
suspicion o* there being a meaning in it which .ou : .ou so remote *rom the
night o* *irst ages : cou+d comprehend.B
@erein +ies the meaning o* Heart of Darkness and the *ascination it ho+ds
over the %estern mind: 6%hat thri++ed .ou was ;ust the thought o* their
humanit. : +i-e .oursH 1g+..8
@aving shown us 3*rica in the mass, 'onrad then Deros in, ha+* a page
+ater, on a speci*ic e=amp+e, giving us one o* his rare descriptions o* an 3*rican
who is not ;ust +imbs or ro++ing e.es:
4
63nd between whi+es ) had to +oo- a*ter the savage who was *ireman. @e
was an improved specimen> he cou+d *ire up a vertica+ boi+er. @e was there
be+ow me and, upon m. word, to +oo- at him was as edi*.ing as seeing a
dog in a parod. o* breeches and a *eather hat wa+-ing on his hind +egs. 3
*ew months o* training had done *or that rea++. *ine chap. @e sEuinted at the
steam"gauge and at the water"gauge with an evident e**ort o* intrepidit. :
and he had *i+ed his teeth too, the poor devi+, and the woo+ o* his pate
shaved into Eueer patterns, and three ornamenta+ scars on each o* his
chee-s. @e ought to have been c+apping his hands and stamping his *eet on
the ban-, instead o* which he was hard at wor-, a thra++ to strange
witchcra*t, *u++ o* improving -now+edge.8
3s ever.bod. -nows, 'onrad is a romantic on the side. @e might not
e=act+. admire savages c+apping their hands and stamping their *eet but the.
have at +east the merit o* being in their p+ace, un+i-e this dog in a parod. o*
breeches. <or 'onrad things being in their p+ace is o* the utmost importance.
6<ine *e++ows : canniba+s :in their p+ace,8 he te++s us pointed+.. 4raged.
begins when things +eave their accustomed p+ace, +i-e /urope +eaving its sa*e
strongho+d between the po+iceman and the ba-er to +i-e a peep into the heart
o* dar-ness.
2e*ore the stor. +i-es us into the 'ongo basin proper we are given this
nice +itt+e vignette as an e=amp+e o* things in their p+ace:
6&ow and then a boat *rom the shore gave one a momentar. contact with
rea+it.. )t was padd+ed b. b+ac- *e++ows. 9ou cou+d see *rom a*ar the white o*
their e.eba++s g+istening. 4he. shouted, sang> their bodies streamed with
perspiration> the. had *aces +i-e grotesEue mas-s : these chaps> but the.
had bone, musc+e, a wi+d vita+it., an intense energ. o* movement that was
as natura+ and hue as the sur* a+ong their coast. 4he. wanted no e=cuse *or
being there. 4he. were a great com*ort to +oo- at.8
4owards the end o* the stor. 'onrad +avishes a who+e page Euite
une=pected+. on an 3*rican woman who has obvious+. been some -ind o*
mistress to Mr. KurtD and now presides (i* ) ma. be permitted a +itt+e +ibert.)
+i-e a *ormidab+e m.ster. over the ine=orab+e imminence o* his departure:
6Ihe was savage and superb, wi+d"e.ed and magni*icentH Ihe stood +oo-ing
at us without a stir and +i-e the wi+derness itse+*, with an air o* brooding over
an inscrutab+e purpose.8
4his 3maDon is drawn in considerab+e detai+, a+beit o* a predictab+e nature,
*or two reasons. <irst, she is in her p+ace and so can win 'onradBs specia+ brand
5
o* approva+ and second, she *u+*i++s a structura+ reEuirement o* the stor.: a
savage counterpart to the re*ined, /uropean woman who wi++ step *orth to end
the stor.:
6Ihe came *orward a++ in b+ac- with a pa+e head, *+oating toward me in the
dus-. Ihe was in mourningH Ihe too- both m. hands in hers and
murmured, J) had heard .ou were coming.8BH Ihe had a mature capacit. *or
*ide+it., *or be+ie*, *or su**ering.B
4he di**erence in the attitude o* the nove+ist to these two women is
conve.ed in too man. direct and subt+e wa.s to need e+aboration. 2ut perhaps
the most signi*icant di**erence is the one imp+ied in the authorBs bestowa+ o*
human e=pression to the one and the withho+ding o* it *rom the other. )t is
c+ear+. not part o* 'onradBs purpose to con*er +anguage on the 6rudimentar.
sou+s8 o* 3*rica. )n p+ace o* speech the. made 6a vio+ent babb+e o* uncouth
sounds.8 4he. 6e=changed short grunting phrases8 even among themse+ves.
2ut most o* the time the. were too bus. with their *renD.. 4here are two
occasions in the boo-, however, when 'onrad departs somewhat *rom his
practice and con*ers speech, even /ng+ish speech, on the savages. 4he *irst
occurs when canniba+ism gets the better o* them:
66'atch Jim,8 he snapped with a b+oodshot widening o* his e.es and a *+ash o*
sharp teeth : 6catch Jim. Five Jim to us.8 64o .ou, eh58 ) as-ed> 6what wou+d
.ou do with them5 6/at JimK8 he said curt+.H8
4he other occasion was the *amous announcement: 6Mistah KurtD : he
dead.8
3t *irst sight these instances might be mista-en *or une=pected acts o*
generosit. *rom 'onrad. )n rea+it. the. constitute some o* his best assau+ts. )n
the case o* the canniba+s the incomprehensib+e grunts that had thus *ar served
them *or speech sudden+. proved inadeEuate *or 'onradBs purpose o* +etting
the /uropean g+impse the unspea-ab+e craving in their hearts. %eighing the
necessit. *or consistenc. in the portra.a+ o* the dumb brutes against the
sensationa+ advantages o* securing their conviction b. c+ear, unambiguous
evidence issuing out o* their own mouth 'onrad chose the +atter. 3s *or the
announcement o* Mr. KurtDBs death b. the 6inso+ent b+ac- head in the doorwa.8
what better or more appropriate *inis cou+d be written to the horror stor. o*
6
that wa.ward chi+d o* civi+iDation who wi++*u++. had given his sou+ to the powers
o* dar-ness and 6ta-en a high seat amongst the devi+s o* the +and8 than the
proc+amation o* his ph.sica+ death b. the *orces he had ;oined5
)t might be contended, o* course, that the attitude to the 3*rican in Heart
of Darkness is not 'onradBs but that o* his *ictiona+ narrator, Mar+ow, and that
*ar *rom endorsing it 'onrad might indeed be ho+ding it up to iron. and
criticism. 'ertain+. 'onrad appears to go to considerab+e pains to set up +a.ers
o* insu+ation between himse+* and the mora+ universe o* his histor.. @e has, *or
e=amp+e, a narrator behind a narrator. 4he primar. narrator is Mar+ow but his
account is given to us through the *i+ter o* a second, shadow. person. 2ut i*
'onradBs intention is to draw a cordon sanitaire between himse+* and the mora+
and ps.cho+ogica+ ma+aise o* his narrator his care seems to me tota++. wasted
because he neg+ects to hint however subt+. or tentative+. at an a+ternative
*rame o* re*erence b. which we ma. ;udge the actions and opinions o* his
characters. )t wou+d not have been be.ond 'onradBs power to ma-e that
provision i* he had thought it necessar.. Mar+ow seems to me to en;o. 'onradBs
comp+ete con*idence : a *ee+ing rein*orced b. the c+ose simi+arities between
their two careers.
Mar+ow comes through to us not on+. as a witness o* truth, but one
ho+ding those advanced and humane views appropriate to the /ng+ish +ibera+
tradition which reEuired a++ /ng+ishmen o* decenc. to be deep+. shoc-ed b.
atrocities in 2u+garia or the 'ongo o* King $eopo+d o* the 2e+gians or wherever.
4hus Mar+ow is ab+e to toss out such b+eeding"heart sentiments as these:
64he. were d.ing s+ow+. : it was ver. c+ear. 4he. were not enemies, the.
were not crimina+s, the. were nothing earth+. now, nothing but b+ac-
shadows o* disease and starvation +.ing con*used+. in the greenish g+oom.
2rought *rom a++ the recesses o* the coast in a++ the +ega+it. o* time
contracts, +ost in uncongenia+ surroundings, *ed on un*ami+iar *ood, the.
sic-ened, became ine**icient, and were then a++owed to craw+ awa. and rest.8
4he -ind o* +ibera+ism espoused here b. Mar+owG'onrad touched a++ the
best minds o* the age in /ng+and, /urope and 3merica. )t too- di**erent *orms
in the minds o* di**erent peop+e but a+most a+wa.s managed to sidestep the
u+timate Euestion o* eEua+it. between white peop+e and b+ac- peop+e. 4hat
e=traordinar. missionar., 3+bert IchweitDer, who sacri*iced bri++iant careers in
7
music and theo+og. in /urope *or a +i*e o* service to 3*ricans in much the same
area as 'onrad writes about, epitomiDes the ambiva+ence. )n a comment which
has o*ten been Euoted IchweitDer sa.s: 64he 3*rican is indeed m. brother but
m. ;unior brother.8 3nd so he proceeded to bui+d a hospita+ appropriate to the
needs o* ;unior brothers with standards o* h.giene reminiscent o* medica+
practice in the da.s be*ore the germ theor. o* disease came into being.
&atura++. he became a sensation in /urope and 3merica. ?i+grims *+oc-ed, and )
be+ieve sti++ *+oc- even a*ter he has passed on, to witness the prodigious
mirac+e in $amberene, on the edge o* the primeva+ *orest.
'onradBs +ibera+ism wou+d not ta-e him Euite as *ar as IchweitDerBs,
though. @e wou+d not use the word brother however Eua+i*ied> the *arthest he
wou+d go was -inship. %hen Mar+owBs 3*rican he+msman *a++s down with a
spear in his heart he gives his white master one *ina+ disEuieting +oo-.
63nd the intimate pro*undit. o* that +oo- he gave me when he received his
hurt remains to this da. in m. memor. : +i-e a c+aim o* distant -inship
a**irmed in a supreme moment.8
)t is important to note that 'onrad, care*u+ as ever with his words, is
concerned not so much about distant -inship as about someone +a.ing a c+aim
on it. 4he b+ac- man +a.s a c+aim on the white man which is we++"nigh
into+erab+e. )t is the +a.ing o* this c+aim which *rightens and at the same time
*ascinates 'onrad, 6H the thought o* their humanit. : +i-e .oursH 1g+..8
4he point o* m. observations shou+d be Euite c+ear b. now, name+. that
Coseph 'onrad was a thoroughgoing racist. 4hat this simp+e truth is g+ossed
over in criticisms o* his wor- is due to the *act that white racism against 3*rica
is such a norma+ wa. o* thin-ing that its mani*estations go comp+ete+.
unremar-ed. Itudents o* Heart of Darkness wi++ o*ten te++ .ou that 'onrad is
concerned not so much with 3*rica as with the deterioration o* one /uropean
mind caused b. so+itude and sic-ness. 4he. wi++ point out to .ou that 'onrad
is, i* an.thing, +ess charitab+e to the /uropeans in the stor. than he is to the
natives, that the point o* the stor. is to ridicu+e /uropeBs civi+iDing mission in
3*rica. 3 'onrad student in*ormed me in Icot+and that 3*rica is mere+. a
setting *or the disintegration o* the mind o* Mr. KurtD.
8
%hich is part+. the point. 3*rica as setting and bac-drop which e+iminates
the 3*rican as human *actor. 3*rica as a metaph.sica+ batt+e*ie+d devoid o* a++
recogniDab+e humanit., into which the wandering /uropean enters at his peri+.
'an nobod. see the preposterous and perverse arrogance in thus reducing
3*rica to the ro+e o* props *or the brea-"up o* one pett. /uropean mind5 2ut
that is not even the point. 4he rea+ Euestion is the dehumaniDation o* 3*rica
and 3*ricans which this age"+ong attitude has *ostered and continues to *oster
in the wor+d. 3nd the Euestion is whether a nove+ which ce+ebrates this
dehumaniDation, which depersona+iDes a portion o* the human race, can be
ca++ed a great wor- o* art. M. answer is: &o, it cannot. ) do not doubt 'onradBs
great ta+ents. /ven Heart of Darkness has its memorab+. good passages and
moments:
64he reaches opened be*ore us and c+osed behind, as i* the *orest had
stepped +eisure+. across ti+e water to bar the wa. *or our return.8
)ts e=p+oration o* the minds o* the /uropean characters is o*ten
penetrating and *u++ o* insight. 2ut a++ that has been more than *u++. discussed
in the +ast *i*t. .ears. @is obvious racism has, however, not been addressed.
3nd it is high time it wasK
'onrad was born in 18!7, the ver. .ear in which the *irst 3ng+ican
missionaries were arriving among m. own peop+e in &igeria. )t was certain+.
not his *au+t that he +ived his +i*e at a time when the reputation o* the b+ac-
man was at a particu+ar+. +ow +eve+. 2ut even a*ter due a++owances have been
made *or a++ the in*+uences o* contemporar. pre;udice on his sensibi+it. there
remains sti++ in 'onradBs attitude a residue o* antipath. to b+ac- peop+e which
his pecu+iar ps.cho+og. a+one can e=p+ain. @is own account o* his *irst
encounter with a b+ac- man is ver. revea+ing:
63 certain enormous buc- nigger encountered in @aiti *i=ed m. conception o*
b+ind, *urious, unreasoning rage, as mani*ested in the human anima+ to the
end o* m. da.s. 7* the nigger ) used to dream *or .ears a*terwards.8
'ertain+. 'onrad had a prob+em with niggers. @is inordinate +ove o* that
word itse+* shou+d be o* interest to ps.choana+.sts. Iometimes his *i=ation on
b+ac-ness is eEua++. interesting as when he gives us this brie* description:
9
63 b+ac- *igure stood up, strode on +ong b+ac- +egs, waving +ong b+ac-
armsH8
as though we might e=pect a b+ac- *igure striding a+ong on b+ac- +egs to wave
white armsK 2ut so unre+enting is 'onradBs obsession. 3s a matter o* interest
'onrad gives us in A Personal Record what amounts to a companion piece to
the buc- nigger o* @aiti. 3t the age o* si=teen 'onrad encountered his *irst
/ng+ishman in /urope. @e ca++s him 6m. un*orgettab+e /ng+ishman8 and
describes him in the *o++owing manner:
6(his) ca+ves e=posed to the pub+ic gaDeH daDD+ed the beho+der b. the
sp+endor o* their marb+e"+i-e condition and their rich tone o* .oung ivor.H
4he +ight o* a head+ong, e=a+ted satis*action with the wor+d o* menH
i++umined his *aceH and triumphant e.es. )n passing he cast a g+ance o*
-ind+. curiosit. and a *riend+. g+eam o* big, sound, shin. teethH his white
ca+ves twin-+ed sturdi+..8
)rrationa+ +ove and irrationa+ hate ;ost+ing together in the heart o* that
ta+ented, tormented man. 2ut whereas irrationa+ +ove ma. at worst engender
*oo+ish acts o* indiscretion, irrationa+ hate can endanger the +i*e o* the
communit.. &atura++. 'onrad is a dream *or ps.choana+.tic critics. ?erhaps the
most detai+ed stud. o* him in this direction is b. 2ernard '. Me.er, M.0. )n his
+ength. boo- 0r. Me.er *o++ows ever. conceivab+e +ead (and sometimes
inconceivab+e ones) to e=p+ain 'onrad. 3s an e=amp+e he gives us +ong
disEuisitions on the signi*icance o* hair and hair"cutting in 'onrad. 3nd .et not
even one word is spared *or his attitude to b+ac- peop+e. &ot even the
discussion o* 'onradBs anti"Iemitism was enough to spar- o** in 0r. Me.erBs
mind those other dar- and e=p+osive thoughts. %hich on+. +eads one to
surmise that %estern ps.choana+.sts must regard the -ind o* racism disp+a.ed
b. 'onrad abso+ute+. norma+ despite the pro*ound+. important wor- done b.
<rantD <anon in the ps.chiatric hospita+s o* <rench 3+geria.
%hatever 'onradBs prob+ems were, .ou might sa. he is now sa*e+. dead.
Auite true. 1n*ortunate+. his heart o* dar-ness p+agues us sti++. %hich is wh.
an o**ensive and dep+orab+e boo- can be described b. a serious scho+ar as
6among the ha+* doDen greatest short nove+s in the /ng+ish +anguage.8 3nd wh.
10
it is toda. the most common+. prescribed nove+ in twentieth"centur. +iterature
courses in /ng+ish 0epartments o* 3merican universities.
4here are two probab+e grounds on which what ) have aid so *ar ma. be
contested. 4he *irst is that it is no concern o* *iction to p+ease peop+e about
whom it is written. ) wi++ go a+ong with that. 2ut ) am not ta+-ing about
p+easing peop+e. ) am ta+-ing about a boo- which parades in the most vu+gar
*ashion pre;udices and insu+ts *rom which a section o* man-ind has su**ered
unto+d agonies and atrocities in the past and continues to do so in man. wa.s
and man. p+aces toda.. ) am ta+-ing about a stor. in which the ver. humanit.
o* b+ac- peop+e is ca++ed in Euestion.
Iecond+., ) ma. be cha++enged on the grounds o* actua+it.. 'onrad, a*ter
a++, did sai+ down the 'ongo in 189L when m. own *ather was sti++ a babe in
arms. @ow cou+d ) stand up more than *i*t. .ears a*ter his death and purport
to contradict him5 M. answer is that as a sensib+e man ) wi++ not accept ;ust
an. trave+erBs ta+es so+e+. on the grounds that ) have not made the ;ourne.
m.se+*. ) wi++ not trust the evidence even o** manBs ver. e.es when ) suspect
them to be as ;aundiced as 'onradBs. 3nd we a+so happen to -now that 'onrad
was, in the words o* his biographer, 2ernard '. Me.er, 6notorious+. inaccurate
in the rendering o* his own histor..8
2ut more important b. *ar is the abundant testimon. about 'onradBs
savages which we cou+d gather i* we were so inc+ined *rom other sources and
which might +ead us to thin- that these peop+e must have had other
occupations besides merging into the evi+ *orest or materia+iDing out o* it
simp+. to p+ague Mar+ow and his dispirited band. <or as it happened, soon a*ter
'onrad had written his boo- an event o* *ar greater conseEuence was ta-ing
p+ace in the art wor+d o* /urope. 4his is how <ran- %i++ett, a 2ritish art
historian, describes it:
6Faugin had gone to 4ahiti, the most e=travagant individua+ act o* turning to
a non"/uropean cu+ture in the decades immediate+. be*ore and a*ter 19LL,
when /uropean artists were avid *or new artistic e=periences, but it was on+.
about 19L,"! that 3*rican art began to ma-e its distinctive impact. 7ne
piece is sti++ identi*iab+e> it is a mas- that had been given to Maurice
M+aminc- in 19L!. @e records that 0erain was Jspeech+essB and JstunnedB
when he saw it, bought it *rom M+aminc- and in turn showed it to ?icasso
and Matisse, who were a+so great+. a**ected b. it. 3mbroise Mo++ard then
11
borrowed it and had it cast in bronDeH 4he revo+ution o* twentieth centur.
art was under wa.K8
4he mas- in Euestion was made b. other savages +iving ;ust north o*
'onradBs River 'ongo. 4he. have a name too: the <ang peop+e, and are
without a doubt among the wor+dBs greatest masters o* the scu+ptured *orm.
4he event <ran- %i++ett is re*erring to mar-s the beginning o* cubism and the
in*usion o* new +i*e into /uropean art, which had run comp+ete+. out o*
strength.
4he point o* a++ this is to suggest that 'onradBs picture o* the peop+e o* the
'ongo seems gross+. inadeEuate even at the height o* their sub;ection to the
ravages o* King $eopo+dBs internationa+ 3ssociation *or the 'ivi+iDation o*
'entra+ 3*rica.
4rave+ers with c+osed minds can te++ us +itt+e e=cept about themse+ves. 2ut
even those not b+in-ered, +i-e 'onrad with =enophobia, can be astonishing
b+ind. $et me digress a +itt+e here. 7ne o* the greatest and most intrepid
trave+ers o* a++ time, Marco ?o+o, ;ourne.ed to the <ar /ast *rom the
Mediterranean in the thirteenth centur. and spent twent. .ears in the court o*
Kub+ai Khan in 'hina. 7n his return to Menice he set down in his boo- entit+ed
0escription o* the %or+d his impressions o* the peop+es and p+aces and customs
he had seen. 2ut there were at +east two e=traordinar. omissions in his
account. @e said nothing about the art o* printing, un-nown as .et in /urope
but in *u++ *+ower in 'hina. @e either did not notice it at a++ or i* he did, *ai+ed to
see what use /urope cou+d possib+. have *or it. %hatever the reason, /urope
had to wait another hundred .ears *or Futenberg. 2ut even more spectacu+ar
was Marco ?o+oBs omission o* an. re*erence to the Freat %a++ o* 'hina near+.
,,LLL mi+es +ong and a+read. more than 1,LLL .ears o+d at the time o* his
visit. 3gain, he ma. not have seen it> but the Freat %a++ o* 'hina is the on+.
structure bui+t b. man which is visib+e *rom the moonK )ndeed trave+ers can be
b+ind.
3s ) said ear+ier 'onrad did not originate the image o* 3*rica which we *ind
in his boo-. )t was and is the dominant image o* 3*rica in the %estern
imagination and 'onrad mere+. brought the pecu+iar gi*ts o* his own mind to
bear on it. <or reasons which can certain+. use c+ose ps.cho+ogica+ inEuir. the
12
%est seems to su**er deep an=ieties about the precariousness o* its civi+iDation
and to have a need *or constant reassurance b. comparison with 3*rica. )*
/urope, advancing in civi+iDation, cou+d cast a bac-ward g+ance periodica++. at
3*rica trapped in primordia+ barbarit. it cou+d sa. with *aith and *ee+ing: 4here
go ) but *or the grace o* Fod. 3*rica is to /urope as the picture is to 0orian
Fra. : a carrier onto whom the master un+oads his ph.sica+ and mora+
de*ormities so that he ma. go *orward, erect and immacu+ate. 'onseEuent+.
3*rica is something to be avoided ;ust as the picture has to be hidden awa. to
sa*eguard the manBs ;eopardous integrit.. Keep awa. *rom 3*rica, or e+seK Mr.
KurtD o* Heart of Darkness shou+d have heeded that warning and the prow+ing
horror in his heart wou+d have -ept its p+ace, chained to its +air. 2ut he *oo+ish+.
e=posed himse+* to the wi+d irresistib+e a++ure o* the ;ung+e and +oK the dar-ness
*ound him out.
)n m. origina+ conception o* this essa. ) had thought to conc+ude it nice+.
on an appropriate+. positive note in which ) wou+d suggest *rom m. privi+eged
position in 3*rican and %estern cu+tures some advantages the %est might
derive *rom 3*rica once it rid its mind o* o+d pre;udices and began to +oo- at
3*rica not through a haDe o* distortions and cheap m.sti*ications but Euite
simp+. as a continent o* peop+e : not ange+s, but not rudimentar. sou+s either
: ;ust peop+e, o*ten high+. gi*ted peop+e and o*ten stri-ing+. success*u+ in their
enterprise with +i*e and societ.. 2ut as ) thought more about the stereot.pe
image, about its grip and pervasiveness, about the wi++*u+ tenacit. with which
the %est ho+ds it to its heart> when ) thought o* the %estBs te+evision and
cinema and newspapers, about boo-s read in its schoo+s and out o* schoo+, o*
churches preaching to empt. pews about the need to send he+p to the heathen
in 3*rica, ) rea+iDed that no eas. optimism was possib+e. 3nd there was, in an.
case, something tota++. wrong in o**ering bribes to the %est in return *or its
good opinion o* 3*rica. 1+timate+. the abandonment o* unwho+esome thoughts
must be its own and on+. reward. 3+though ) have used the word wi++*u+ a *ew
times here to characteriDe the %estBs view o* 3*rica, it ma. we++ be that what is
happening at this stage is more a-in to re*+e= action than ca+cu+ated ma+ice.
%hich does not ma-e the situation more but +ess hope*u+.
13
4he 'hristian Icience Monitor, a paper more en+ightened than most, once
carried an interesting artic+e written b. its /ducation /ditor on the serious
ps.cho+ogica+ and +earning prob+ems *aced b. +itt+e chi+dren who spea- one
+anguage at home and then go to schoo+ where something e+se is spo-en. )t
was a wide"ranging artic+e ta-ing in Ipanish"spea-ing chi+dren in 3merica, the
chi+dren o* migrant )ta+ian wor-ers in Ferman., the Euadri+ingua+ phenomenon
in Ma+a.sia, and so on. 3nd a++ this whi+e the artic+e spea-s uneEuivoca++. about
+anguage. 2ut then out o* the b+ue s-. comes this:
6)n $ondon there is an enormous immigration o* chi+dren who spea- )ndian
or &igerian dia+ects, or some other native +anguage.8
) be+ieve that the introduction o* dia+ects which is technica++. erroneous in
the conte=t is a+most a re*+e= action caused b. an instinctive desire o* the
writer to downgrade the discussion to the +eve+ o* 3*rica and )ndia. 3nd this is
Euite comparab+e to 'onradBs withho+ding o* +anguage *rom his rudimentar.
sou+s. $anguage is too grand *or these chaps> +etBs give them dia+ectsK
)n a++ this business a +ot o* vio+ence is inevitab+. done not on+. to the
image o* despised peop+es but even to words, the ver. too+s o* possib+e
redress. $oo- at the phrase native +anguage in the Icience Monitor e=cerpt.
Iure+. the on+. native +anguage possib+e in $ondon is 'oc-ne. /ng+ish. 2ut our
writer means something e+se : something appropriate to the sounds )ndians
and 3*ricans ma-eK
3+though the wor- o* redressing which needs to be done ma. appear too
daunting, ) be+ieve it is not one da. too soon to begin. 'onrad saw and
condemned the evi+ o* imperia+ e=p+oitation but was strange+. unaware o* the
racism on which it sharpened its iron tooth. 2ut the victims o* racist s+ander
who *or centuries have had to +ive with the inhumanit. it ma-es them heir to
have a+wa.s -nown better than an. casua+ visitor even when he comes +oaded
with the gi*ts o* a 'onrad.
14