Themes and Characters

Themes

Themesareov erar
chingideasandbel i
efsthatthewr i
tersexpr
essinthei
rtextsincl
udi
ngpoet
ry,
fi
cti
on,andpl ays.HeartofDarknesshasv ari
oust hemeswhi chrunparal
lel
tooneanot her
.
JosephConr adhasusedpr ominentrecur
ringideaswr appedinambiguouslanguage.Someof
themajorthemesi nHear tofDarknesshav ebeendi scussedbel
ow.

Themesi
nHear
tofDar
kness

Theme#1

I
mper
ial
i
sm

Oneoft hemaj ort

hemesofHear tofDar knessisimperi
ali
sm.Imperialism i
sactuall
yEuropean
col
onizati
onofcountriesfrom AsianandAf r
icanconti
nentsforr
esour ces.Howev er
,itwas
hi
ddeni nthesloganofspr eadingcivi
l
izati
on.Marlowaccept st
aki
ngAf ri
can’
slandfrom the
peopleisnotright
.KurtzisinCongopr etendingtocivi
li
zethepeopleandwasengagedi nthe
i
vorytradeandi nv
olv
edi nhor r
ifi
cancientrit
ualsofsacri
fi
cinghumanst oappeasethenat i
ve
Afr
icans.Marlowdescr i
best heravagesofi mperi
ali
sm duri
nghisjourneyt otheheartofAfri
ca.

Theme#2

Whi
teMan’
sBur
den

Anotherprominentt
hemeofthenov el
isi
ronyofMar low’
sv oyageandt hepur pose.Hejourney
s
towardCongot omeetpopul
arstationmanager ,Kur
tz.ThoughKi pl
ing’
swor ds“ whiteman’s
burden”wringinhi
sear
s,heseest heopposite.Thewhiteman, incl
udingMr .Kurtz,hasbeen
engagedinkill
i
ngthenati
vestoplundertheresources.Thereareheadser ectedont hepoles
aroundthestati
onwhereMr.Kurt
zi sstayi
ng.Mar l
owbel i
evesthathisv oy
agei s“heavenl
y
mission”ofawhitemantospreadt heenli
ghtenmentofChr i
sti
anityinthedarkness.

Theme#3

LackofTr
uth

Thesuperfici
althemesofthenov elareimperi
ali
sm andcr ueltyoftheEur opeanpower s.
Howev er
,thethemeoft helackoft r
uthli
esattheheartoft het ext
.AlltheEur opeanpower s
engagedinAf r
icaareoccupy i
ngtheirl
andandpl underi
ngr esourceswhi l
epr opagatingitasa
ci
vil
izi
ngmi ssi
on.Mar l
owsay sthatseveralt
hingsareleftoutand, inhiswor ds,“awayf r
om the
tr
uthofthings.
”Thei r
onicl
anguageusedf r
om thev er
yst artoccasionall
yshowst hatMar l
ow
cannotspeakt hetr
uth.Hefinall
ytel
lsanotherli
etoavoiddi sappointi
ngKur tz’sInt
endedt hat
Kurt
zhadsai dhernamebef oredyi
ng.
Theme#4

Col
oni
zat
ion

Col onizati
onmeansest abli
shingcontr
olovertheindi
genouspeopleofacount ryorapl ace.
Thi sthemeal sorunsparall
eltodiv
erseotherthemesinHeartofDar kness.I
noneoft he
situations,Marl
ow, t
hespokesmanofConr ad,cl
earl
ystat
esthatconquestoft heeart
hmeans
“takingitawayf r
om thosewhohav eadif
ferentcomplexi
on.
”Inotherwor ds,heisi
ndicating
thatt heEuropeansthinktheyareofahigherrace.Theydest
roytheirlandbythecolonization
andev entual
l
ystealAfri
ca’sresour
ces.

Theme#5

Expl
oit
ati
on

Thei vorytr
adeist hemai nt r
adet hr
oughoutt heCongoRi v
er.Howev er,Mar l
owdoesnotcl ari
fy
oracceptt heamountofbr ut alexploi
tat i
onthathappenedi nthenameoft rade.Itisonly
ment i
onedi nobliquewor dssuchas“ thehorror”andthepost scr
iptofKur tz“Ext
er minateall
brutes,”whichpointsoutt het ruthaboutt hetradeandt hepeopleinvolved.Infact,Mar l
owi s
alsothepar tofthisexploitati
onwher elocalsaremi sl
edandmesmer i
zedbyKur tz.Theyare
alsoent i
cedtoat tackthepeopl enotst andi
ngi nl
inewiththemai nagent ,Kurtz,
includingthe
attackont hesteamercar ry i
ngMar l
ow.Theseat t
acksal socausedeat htol ocal
smor ethanthe
targets.Theexploitati
oncont i
nuedev enaf t
erKur t
z’death.

Theme#6

Raci
alDi
scr
imi
nat
ion

Thenov elHeartofDar knessshowst hatracialdiscr

iminati
oni sdominatinginAf ri
caandot her
partsoft hewor ld.Marlowal sounderstandst hat“di
fferentcomplexi
onsandf lat
tenednose”
means, Eur opeanswer eper mitt
edtot akethepossessi onoft helandfrom thatrace.Mar l
ow
toocalledt helocalssav agesincl
udingtheI ntendedofKur tz.Shetel
lshim howr aci
al
discri
mi nati
onhasl edt othewhi t
emen’ sact ionofmaki ngideasofcivil
izingthosesav ages.
Thewor dsofKi pli
ngthati ti
s“whiteman’ sbur den”echoesi ntheendwhenKur t
zdi es,
speaking
ofthehor rorthathecommi t
tedagainsttheAf r
icanpeople.
Theme#7

Al
i
enat
ionandI
sol
ati
on

Alt
houghalienationandisolati
onareof t
enunderstoodasapsy chologicalissueofani ndividual
,
thenovelHeartofDar knesshaspresentedali
enat i
onandi sol
ationofbot h; psychol
ogicalas
wellassoci
al.Mar low’sdepart
urehintstosocialal
ienat
ionandi solat
ionwhi chtri
estorobhi m
ofhishumanity.Kur t
zistheprimeex ampleofthisali
enati
oni nthathemi xesupwi ththel ocals
andtri
estobecomeoneoft hem.Hisal i
enati
oncompl eteswithhisf i
nal outburstof“horrors”
whenhecomest oknowt heresul
tsofhi sact
ions.Mar l
ow’sinit
ialBuddha- l
ikeposture,too,
confi
rmsthisalienati
onandi sol
ati
on.

Theme#8

Mor
alCor
rupt
ion

Mor alcor
rupti
onisanotherunderl
yingthemeoft henovel
,HeartofDarkness.Kur
tzgoest o
Congot ocivi
li
zethel
ocals.Howev er,
hebecomesat opagentofthecompanyi nrobbingthe
l
ocal soft
heirtr
easur
eandexpor ti
ngi vor
y.Heisengagedincorruptpract
icesofpunishi
ng
thosewhoopposehi m andbecomi ngtheirdemigod.Thesamegoesonatt heotherstat
ions
wher eMarlowseesmanysmal l
agentsengagedi nthesamepractices.

Theme#9

Vi
olence

Therearetwotypesofv iol
ence; t
hef i
rstonei
sprovokedcruel
ty.Forinstance,
Kurtzinci
testhe
nati
vestoatt
ackthest eam car r
yingMar l
ow.Thesecondoneist hev i
olenceamongt henati
ves
andtheheadsont hest i
cksar oundKur t
zhouse.HereKurt
zwhocl ai
mst ochangethesav ages
hasbecomeasav age.Heusesv iol
encetodominatethenati
vest orobandpuni shthem i
fthey
i
nterf
ereinwhit
emen’ sbusi ness.

Theme#10

HumanGr
eedandDecept
ion

Marlowsay sthathehasseen“ thedevi

lofgreed,andt hedevi
lofhotdesir
e”whi chrefer
st othe
i
voryt r
adeattheexpenseoft henati
veAfri
cans’ fr
eedom andli
fe.TheEuropeancompani es
havebeencompet i
ngagainsteachothert
oext racttr
easuresassoonaspossi ble.Using
vi
olence,theygoonkil
li
ngspr eeandmassacr i
ngt heinnocent
s.Thepiecesofev idenceoft hi
s
humangr eedanddeceptioncanbeseencl earlywhenKur tzdi
splaysheadsont hepolesar ound
hi
sst ati
on.
 Char
act
ers

Inawor koffict
ion, awr i
terusesdi f
fer
entcharact
erst oev ol
v eastoryandconv eyhisi
dea
throught hei
rper sonali
ty.Wi thoutcharacter
sandtheirdev elopment,thestorycannotprogress.
Char actersi
nHear tofDar knessarenotonl ymemor ablewi t
ht hei
rweaknessesandf oll
iesbut
alsoshowt herav agesofi mper i
ali
sm.JosephConr adhasusedi r
onytodepicttrai
tsofhis
diff
er entchar
act ers.Someoft hesigni
ficantandmemor ablecharact
er sofHeartofDarkness
hav ebeenanal yzedbel ow.

Char
act
ersi
nHear
tofDar
kness

Char
act
er#1

Mar
low

Mar lowi sthemai ncharacterofHeartofDar kness.Throughar el

ative,hej oi
nsacompanyi n
Br usselstowor ki nCongo, theheartofAfrica.Althoughhei sempl oy edasaseaf arer
,he
doesn’ tfi
ndwor kinhisfiel
dexceptt hatthecompani eshav ebeenf oundv y i
ngt oextr
act
treasuresf r
om Af r
icanhinterl
ands.Despitehi sworket hi
csandmor alvalues, Mar l
owseest he
l
ocal sbei ngexpl oi
tedandsomet imeskil
led.Mostoft henar r
ativetoldbyMar lowiswr appedin
thei r
oniccomment arywhichcl ear
swhenher eachestheendandseesKur tzdy i
ng.Het hen
comment sther ealexpl
oitsoft hewesterncompani esandnat ionsf rom theirr av
agesoft he
Af ri
cancont inenttoextraiv or
yandot hermi neralsandkill
ingst helocalsf orit.Marlowcal l
sitas
thedar knessoft heheartinsteadofthedar knessoft heAf ri
cancont i
nent.

Char
act
er#2

Kur
tz

Alt
houghKur tzisnotthecentral char
act er
,thestoryrevolv
esar oundhim.Asani nchargeofthe
mainst ati
oni ntheCongoRi ver ,
hemi xesupwi t
ht helocalt
ribesandbecomest heirl
eader,
pl
ay i
nghav ocwiththeirl
iv
est hroughritual
s.Al t
houghhegoest hereundertheguiseof
spreadi
ngci v
il
izat
ion,heisdoesi v
orytrade.Mar l
owhear sv erysur
prisi
ngfactsabouthimthat
heishal fFrenchandhal fEnglishandageni us.Mar l
owhasseenhi spaint
ingsandwrit
ings.
Howev er,theHar l
equindonotbel i
evehisroleint heslavetr
ade.Kur t
zdiesonhisboatutterhi
s
l
astwor ds“ Thehor r
or!”
Char
act
er#3

Gener
alManager

Generalmanager,t
heheadoft hecompany ’scentralstati
oninBr ussels,hastwoexcepti
onal
merit
swhi chhel
pedhimreacht hiscovetedposi t
ion.Thef ir
stistheabi li
tyt
ocauseuneasi ness
toothersduetohispowerandsecondi st heabili
tyt obearAf r
icandi seasesi
ninnerstati
ons.
Anexampl eofmediocr
it
y,themanageri sdevoidofambi ti
ons.Mar lowconcludesfrom his
conversat
ionwit
hhisunclethattheyareagai nstKur t
zandhi sinfluenceandar econspir
ingto
over
throwhim.Mar l
owconcludest hattheGener al Managerisnotonl yacowardbutalsoa
“hol
l
ow”per sonwhocannott hi
nkout si
det heboxsol utionstobr i
ngKur tz.

Char
act
er#4

TheRussi
an

TheRussianisani mpor t
antcharacteri
nthenov el
.Althoughheappearsinthesecondsection,
heprovi
desthef i
rst-
handi nfor
mationtoMar l
owaboutKur t
zandhisappearance.Lookingl
ikea
harl
equi
n,theRussianseemst obeani nnocentpersonwhobel i
evesKurtz’
sgreatnessandlikes
hi
sintel
l
igence.Hecl aimst ohavetakencareofKur t
zonmanyoccasi ons.Hisasserti
onprov es
tr
uewhenMar l
owl earnsthet r
uthaboutKurtz.

Char
act
er#5

TheBr
ickmaker

Wor ki
ngast heGeneralManager’
ssecretaryandpetagent,t
hebr i
ckmakerisapowerhungr y
butlazy.Asanambi t
iousperson,
hewant st oovert
hrowandr eplaceKur t
z.HeseesMar lowas
anotherthr
eat,whi
chi sal
i
gningwithKur t
z.Call
edasa“ papi
er-macheMephi st
opheles,
hedoes
notappearasabr i
ckmakerbutapl ott
erwhoi sobsessedwithpower .Hecall
sMar l
owand
othersas“gangofvirt
ues”inir
onicter
ms.Thebr i
ckmakerfi
rstintroducesKurtzt
oMar lowinan
i
ronicway ,
andMar l
owi si
nstantl
yawar e.

Char
act
er#6

TheChi
efAccount
ant

Thechiefaccount ant,r
eferredtoonlyastheAccountantintheearl
ypar tofthenov el,i
sav er
y
i
mportantfigure.Hepr ovidesvaluabl
einf
ormati
ont oMar lowint
heear l
ypar tofthenov el
.Not
onl
yhecapt uresMar l
ow’sat t
enti
onbutalsoreveal
sthetradesecretsandi nformationonKur t
z.
Hekeepsuphi sappear ancesdespitehi
sinvol
vementint heiv
orytradeanddeepi nsighti
ntothe
company ’
sreal businessandhi srol
easkeepingeverythi
ngin“apple-pi
eorder .
”
Char
act
er#7

Mar
low’
sAunt

Marlow’sAuntisalov i
ngpersonwhosecuresforhi
m agoodposi ti
oni ntheCompany.She
bel
ievesinthebenev ol
enceoftheEuropeanci
vil
i
zationandit
sadv ancementofcivi
li
zat
ioni
n
Afr
ican.Sheisinfl
uencedbyt heCompanyoffi
cer’
swi f
e.Marl
owi mmedi atel
ygetsagood
posit
ionafterbei
ngconsider
ed“ amany oudon’
tgetev er
yday.”Helaterreal
izest
hathi
saunti
s
averyinfl
uenti
alpersonwhent hebr
ickmakerpaysrespectst
oMar low’saunt.

Char
act
er#8

Kur
tz’
sInt
ended

Thi
sanonymouswomanr eferr
edtoas‘Kur
tzI
ntended’i
nthenovel
,appear
sinthef
inalpages
oft
henovel
.Sherepr
esentswomenwhodr eam ofbuil
dingf
antasi
es.Shet
rust
sKurtzwhich
makesupherwholel
if
e.Sheonl ywant
stoknowKur t
z’l
astwordsandMarlowli
est
oherashe
di
dn’
twanttohur
therfeel
ings.

Char
act
er#9

TheHel
msman

TheHel msmanist heper

sonwhosteerst
heboatthatcar
ri
esMar l
ow.Al t
houghheshowshis
signif
icancemerelyt
oimpactt
hepeopleonboard,
hebecomesent i
relypassi
vewhenlonel
i
ness
staresinhisf
ace.Hedemonstrat
eshisst
upi
dit
ywhent henat
ivesattacktheboat
.Herunsfor
ther i
fl
eandiski
lled.

Char
act
er#10

TheNar
rat
or

Thenar r
atorisanotherimpor t
antcharacter
.Heisananonymouscharacteranddoesnotreveal
hispersonal
ityanywhereint henovel.Hehasclearl
yst
atediti
nthebeginni
ngthatther
eisno
rel
ati
onamongchar acterswhoboar dedt heNel
li
e,i
ncl
udingMarlow.However,henarr
atest
he
stor
yofMar lowf r
om Mar low’spointofvi
ew.Itseemsthatheisaromanticper
sonandi s
i
mpr essedbyt hewayKur tzhasmadehi sname.