Emotional Reactions, the Idea, and a Lie: ‘Heart of Darkness’

This chapter on ‘Heart of Darkness’ (1899) builds on the last chapter but shifts its attention from the stress of emotion to the subtlety of emotion. The chapter begins by tracing how Marlow responds to the emotional tenor circulating around him and assesses the ethical significance of the emotional reactions that he witnesses in the trading stations and on the river in the context of his work ethic. This assessment results in his approbation of the emotional expressions of the indigenous people and his disapprobation of the emotional propensities of the Europeans. The textual-based analysis of Marlow’s attitude towards indigenous people demonstrates that Chinua Achebe’s accusation of Conrad’s insensitivity to black people is unsupported by the text. It then examines Marlow’s imaginative insight into Kurtz’s complex emotionality and intellect. The chapter concludes with a discussion on Marlow’s capacity to respond compassionately to the emotions expressed by Kurtz’s Intended.