Analyzing Heart of Darkness from a Feminist perspective
**This was written for a class assignment**
The first wave of the feminist movement began, according to Constance Grady of Vox, with the Seneca Falls convention in 1848. (Grady) After this first wave, which included women like Susan B. Anthony, the second wave that lasted from 1963 to the 1980s included figures like Betty Friedan and Alice Walker. Purdue Writing Lab explains that the ultimate goal of feminist criticism is to “change the world by prompting gender equality” (Purdue Writing Lab). This is done by exposing patriarchal or misogynist ideas and how they are reinforced in literature. A feminist critic might ask how relationships between men and women are represented, how women are described, and how masculinity and femininity themselves are represented. In Heart of Darkness, the central theme of colonization brings up questions on how Conrad’s description of the conquered, the “other”, parallels attitudes of the period surrounding women. This approach can be enlightening when dealing with texts that deal will gender, femininity, etc. by bringing a new understanding. However, this approach, if used exclusively, may miss other important threads of the text; this is especially true in cases where the text is light on details regarding gender or women.
Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is a novella that uses the backdrop of African colonization to explore the “darkness” of the human psyche. Written from the first-person perspective of a narrator listening in on the protagonist Marlow, the text describes the character’s transformation as a result of the journey through the continent. Conrad uses figurative language to express ideas about the feminine. Specifically, Conrad uses water and ships as metaphors for femininity, and expands on the idea to describe it as an unknown.
Conrad builds this theme of feminine as the unknown early in the excerpt. In the first paragraph the unnamed narrator describes the commonalities of seamen: “A sedentary life”, “a direct simplicity” to their “yarns” (Conrad). The most interesting part of this portion is when the narrator explains that “There is nothing mysterious to a seaman unless it be the sea itself, which is the mistress of his existence and as inscrutable as Destiny.” Describing the sea as a mistress, which can mean both a woman in power and a woman having an affair, is significant. The sea is powerful, being able to end lives or lead people to safety. In the context of the excerpt, the sea is also the other type of mistress; sailors especially at this period spent more time in the water than with their wives. With one word, Conrad expresses the era’s taboos surrounding empowered women. The narrator also calls the sea “inscrutable”, or as hard to understand, “as Destiny”. This is important, as it introduces the idea of feminine mystique to the excerpt.
Once Marlow begins his tale, the references to femininity are sparse, but significant. His description of the “Very end of the world, a sea the color of lead… a kind of ship as rigid as a concertina… nothing but Thames water to drink”, involves a juxtaposition of adjectives with feminine metaphors. Metal-colored and unhygienic water, a flimsy ship — the “very end of the world” is one where typical feminine ideals are adulterated, according to Marlow. Using water and ships as metaphors for women, those with atypical appearance, or that are unhygienic and weak (in contrast to being a strong mother figure), are unacceptable. In this portion alone, Marlow’s character expresses a desire for strict adherence to gender roles.
Once Marlow’s monologue ends, the discussion of the feminine becomes more intense. The unnamed narrator describes “In the river, small green flames, red flames, white flames, pursuing, overtaking, joining crossing each other — then separating slowly or hastily.” Beyond the repetition of water as a metaphor for women, the mention of colored flames adds specific significance. Green, red, and white — which signify fertility, seduction, and purity, respectively — are mentioned as melting and separating in complex ways. Women, like mentioned earlier as “inscrutable” and as mistresses, are multifaceted. For any man of Conrad’s era, understanding the feminine was unlikely; for a sailor, it must have been impossible. This ending portion of the excerpt expresses the feminine mystique of the era.
In this excerpt alone, much about patriarchal attitudes of the era can be assessed. The repeated description of the feminine as mysterious by way of metaphor, and the subtle call by the protagonist for gender conformity are both significant. Even in a novel where women on the surface are minor characters, reading from a feminist perspective can allow for a deeper critique of Conrad’s text.
Bibliography
Burkett, Elinor. “Women’s movement.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019, www.britannica.com/topic/womens-movement. Accessed 10 Feb. 2019.
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness and the Secret Sharer. Penguin, 2008.
Grady, Constance. “The Waves of Feminism, and Why People Keep Fighting over Them, Explained.” Vox, 20 July 2018, www.vox.com/2018/3/20/16955588/feminism-waves-explained-first-second-third-fourth. Accessed 10 Feb. 2019.
Purdue Writing Lab. “Feminist Criticism.” Purdue Writing Lab, owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/literary_theory_and_schools_of_criticism/feminist_criticism.html. Accessed 10 Feb. 2019.
Works Cited
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness and the Secret Sharer. Penguin, 2008.
Grady, Constance. “The Waves of Feminism, and Why People Keep Fighting over Them, Explained.” Vox, 20 July 2018, www.vox.com/2018/3/20/16955588/feminism-waves-explained-first-second-third-fourth. Accessed 10 Feb. 2019.
Purdue Writing Lab. “Feminist Criticism.” Purdue Writing Lab, owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/literary_theory_and_schools_of_criticism/feminist_criticism.html. Accessed 10 Feb. 2019.
