Under Western Eyes: Internationalism and Nationalism

In Under Western Eyes, Conrad presents an émigré revolutionary group whose transnational activities, while carried out in the name of international class solidarity, have an almost entirely national focus. The various political positions expressed in the novel are approached through the history of the First International and the Second International—and the political struggle against Tsarist oppression in Russia. In this novel, Conrad creates a dialogue between different political positions. However, he is not aiming to produce an accurate account of contemporary Russian politics. Indeed, the drive behind the novel operates on a more personal level. The views he engages with have more in common with his father’s political position and the political debates of an earlier generation. The chapter argues that, though Conrad had a cosmopolitan’s familiarity with different cultures and was used to negotiating between Polish, French and English cultures, he was becoming increasingly aware of the need to articulate his own attachment to Poland—and, for that, he needed to confront his familial ghosts and engage with the political legacy of his parents.