Carl Gustav Jung Archetypes and Joseph Conrad's

"Heart of Darkness"

Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961)

Joseph Conrad
I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and

presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also

declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and

referenced all material and results that are not original to this work.

Name:Mohammad Rubayed Alam

Manarat International University,

Dhaka ,Bangladesh, ID: 1410ENM20038

Signature:
 Acknowledgement

Doing a Masters dissertation has been a great experience for me since it often made me feel quite at a

loss. I therefore begin by thanking Allah (swt) for giving me the patience and strength to work on this

project. I would also like to thank my parents without whose love and support I would not have been

what I am today.

This dissertation would not have been possible without the guidance of my supervisor Najmul Hasan

Shiblu, whose teaching of the modern novel implanted in me the love for modern literature and
inspired me to decide the topic of my dissertation. I therefore express my heartiest gratitude to him for

his valuable comments and effort in the completion of this paper.

I am especially grateful to Md Ihsanul Haque Milon , and Nazneen Sultana,Farjana Khanom Shimu

for their helpful suggestions at different stages in the preparation of this paper. I would also like to

thank all my friends who have provided me with their help whenever I needed.

Mohammad Rubayed Alam

August 2015

INTRODUCTION

1. ARCHETYPAL CRITICISM AND LITERARY THEORY

1.1 Carl Gustav Jung: Archetypes

1.1.1 The origin of Archetypes

1.1.2.1 Major Tenets

1.1.2.2 Archetypes and Literature

1.2 Carl Gustav Jung: psychological approach to art

1.2.1 Analytical psychology and literature

1.2.2 Psychological theory and Individuation

1.2.2.1 Archetype of the Shadow

1.2.2.2 Archetype of the Anima

1.1.2.3 Archetype of the Self

1.2.2.4 Archetype of the Hero’s journey

1.3.1 Archetypal patterns in tragic poetry

1.3.2 Reasonable recourse to poetry

1.4 Mircea Eliade: paradigmatic repetition of divine work

1.4.1 Manifestations of the sacred

 1.4.2 Homogeneity of space

2. ARCHETYPAL PARADIGM IN JOSEPH CONRAD’S HEART OF DARKNESS

2.1. The archetypal scheme of the Hero’s journey

2.1.1 The jungle as the parallel of the unconscious

2.1.3 The Self as reflected in the character of the Russian

2.1.4 The dual image of the Anima

2.2 Character analysis on the basis of Jungian theory

2.1 Kurtz the shadow

2.1.1 Marlow the defiant anti-hero

2.3 JOSEPH CONRAD’S “HEARTH OF DARKNESS” A METAPHOR OF JUNGIAN PSYCHOLOGY

2.4 Mythopoetic projections of the woman’s image

2.4.1 The figure of the aunt as the representation of the Mother-goddess

2.4.2 The Wilderness viewed as the embodiment of the archetypal Temptress

2.5. The revelation of sacred in the novella

2.5.1 The paradigmatic conquest of the jungle: the profane element

2.5.2 The religious nature of the native people

CONCLUSIONS

REFERENCES

INTERNET REFERENCES
 INTRODUCTION

“Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darkness of other people”

Art by its very nature

is not science, and science by its very nature is not art; both
these spheres of the mind have something in reserve that is
peculiar to them...

Carl Gustav Jung

Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) suggested that art cannot be approached by mere scientific methods. Some
space should be left for interpretation and speculation. This MA thesis approaches its object exactly in such a
way.

The object of investigation in the paper entitled Carl Gustav Jung Archetypes in Joseph Conrad's
"Heart of Darkness" is the novella written by Polish-born British novelist Joseph Conrad (1857-1924). He is
regarded as one of the greatest novelists in the English language and recognized as master prose stylist. He is a
pioneer of modernist literature who influenced such writers as Ernest Hemingway, D. H. Lawrence and F. Scott
Fitzgerald amongst many. T. S. Eliot wrote a poem The Hollow Men (1925) with the epigraph "Mr. Kurtz — he
dead", the words pronounced by the black man of the manager of the central station when Mr. Kurtz died. The
title also has an allusion to Mr. Kurtz who was "hollow at the core" (Conrad 1986, 186). Conrad's experience in
the French and British Merchant Navy has contributed greatly to his works in reflecting the aspects of a
worldwide empire while also plumbing the depths of the human soul. The representatives of different critical
schools made a number of attempts at unlocking the mystery of Mr. Kurtz, who is one of the centre characters
of the novella. However, some of them went to extreme, e.g. as it is in the case of post-colonial criticism that
accused the writer of racism: literary critic Chinua Achebe1 states that Conrad's story "better than any other
work I know displays that Western desire and need [to] set Africa up as a foil in Europe" (Achebe).' Serpil
Oppermann representing the feminist critical school accuses Conrad of his anti-feminine writing claiming that
here if "the attention is directed to language, and to the ways in which meaning is produced, a decidedly male
realm is encountered" (Oppermann)2 In her article Heart of Darkness: White Lies, Karin Hannson claims that
the novella "offers a description of a clash between European and non-European cultures" (Hannson)3
1 Chinua Achebe An Image of Africa (1900). This paper was given as a Chancellor's Lecture at the University of
Massachusetts. Amherst, February 18, 1975 in http://www.idst.vt.edu/modernworld/d/Achebe.html.
2 Serpil Oppermann Feminist Literary Criticism: Expanding the Canon as Regards the Novel in

http://members.tripod.comk-warlight/OPPERMANNIUmlittop.
3Karin Hanson Heart of Darkness: White Lies in

http://www.bthse/fouiforslcinfotsf/a11/87e4e3b4a2b21c06c12568a3002ca9aetSfile/Research%20Reptt%204-93 pdf

-The author of the paper found Colleen Burke's essay Joseph Conrad's "Ilean of Darkness": A Metaphor of
Jungian Psychology' most relevant among other critical approaches to Conrad's novella. The scholar analyzes
the parallel between literary journey of Marlow and real Carl Jung's journey to Africa comparing their
experiences and casts some light on the Jungian archetypes of Anima, Shadow and reveals the concept of
Individuation developed in Heal of Darkness Burke suggests that "Conrad's novella has become seen as a
literary metaphor of the psychological concepts of Carl Jung" (Burke). She recognizes the character of Mr. Kurtz
as a symbol of the collective unconscious and maintains that "Kurtz is not only the personal Shadow of
Marlow, but the collective Shadow of all of Europe and of European imperialism" (Burke).

In the given thesis, the emphasis will be put on the archetypal pattern of the Shadow in Kurtz relation to
Marlow as the hero. Her other insights regarding the process of Individuation and the encounter with the
Anima will be included, too. The motif of the unconscious viewed in terms of Africa will also be developed.
According to Burke, "Africa has become a topology of the mind - its location, its shape, its cultures, its textures,
its rhythms, its foliage, its hues, its wildness - all calling forth something lost in the psychology of the white
Europeans" (Burke). The the paper will focus on the analysis of the text within the frame of the archetypal
criticism initiated by Jung.
The objective of the paper is to reveal the archetypal shapes in Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness. To achieve
it the following tasks must be completed:

- To reveal the overall idea of Archetypes

- to reveal the impact of Jung's works on literary criticism;

- to define the concept of the archetypal shapes;

- to discover the archetypal paradigm in Heart of Darkness;

- to analyze their originality and role in the novella.

- to reveal the similarities and dissimilarities of archetypes expressed in the text ;

The topic is relevant to the contemporary studies of literature since the paper approaches the novella from the
perspective of the complex archetypal literary criticism. The analysis of Conrad's work is carried out by
employing the critical instruments offered by Carl Gustav Jung, Maud Bodkin's mythopoetic approach to
literature and the mythical schemes worked out by Mircea Eliade. The author of the paper will apply Jung's
article On the Relation of Analytical Psychology to Art (1922) and the work Man and His Symbols (1964) where
his archetypal theory is discussed being of special consideration.

4Colleen Burke Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness: A Metaphor of Jungian Psychology in http://www.stjohns-
chs.orgrenglishigothic/works/burke.html

In addition, Jung's ideas will be supplied with Joseph Campbell's insights, namely his theory of monomyth and
the archetypal pattern of the cultural Hero's journey proposed in his study The Hero with a Thousand Faces
(1949). The author will also employ Maud Bodkin's scholarly attempts described in her Archetypal Patterns in
Poetry (1948). Mircea Eliade's work The Sacred and the Profane (1957) will greatly contribute to the analysis of
the archetypal patterns, too.

The paper will discuss the archetypes of the Self, the Shadow and the Anima. They
will be considered in the analysis of the Individuation revealed in Heart of Darkness. Jungian Individuation will
also be compared to Joseph Campbell's concept of the Hero's Journey during which the Hero achieves his self-
realization. Furthermore, the conscious and the unconscious worlds will be presented within Eliade's terms of
the sacred and the profane. The conscious will be viewed as the profane mode of being, whereas the sacred
mode of being will stand for the unconscious. The paper will also include Maud Bodkin's mythopoetic
approach to Jungian archetypal theory. The scholar suggests analyzing a mythological frame found in a piece of
literature by recognizing the archetypal images and themes in it. The author of the thesis will distinguish the
archetypal image of the Mother-goddess and the archetype of the Temptress as revealed in Heart of Darkness.
The images will also be analyzed in relation to Homer's Iliad and ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh.
 The paper consists of an introduction, two main chapters, each subdivided into
three subchapters, conclusions, a summary in Lithuanian, a list of references and a list of internet sources.

Chapter One is entitled Archetypal Criticism in Literary Theory and is subdivided into three subchapters. It
describes the archetypal literary criticism in general and reveals the individual approach towards archetypes
extended by Maud Bodkin, Carl Jung and Mircea Eliade. The chapter encompasses the following subchapters:
Carl Jung: psychological approach to art; Maud Bodkin: mythopetics in literature; and Mircea Eliade:
paradigmatic repetition of divine work. The first subchapter deals with the definition history and encompasses
area of archetypes and and chapter two deals with the approach of analytical psychology to literary work as
proposed by Carl Jung. It also deals with the scholar's theory of Individuation which encompasses the
archetypes of the Shadow, the Self and the Anima as well as the archetypal pattern of the Hero's journey. The
second subchapter describes Maud Bodkin's mythopoetic view of the archetypal criticism. The scholar's
insights in the field of archetypal patterns are discussed and the meaning of literary works in conveying them is
revealed. The third subchapter distinguishes two modes of being in the world in the terms of Mircea Eliade. It
also depicts archetypal patterns by mum me paradigmatic work of gods is imitated.

Chapter Two is entitled Archetypal Patterns in Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" and
is subdivided into the following subchapters: the archetypal scheme of the Hero's journey; Mythopoetic
projections of the woman's image; The revelation of sacred in the novella. In the first subchapter the
archetypal journey of the Hero is paralleled to the journey of the novella's protagonist. It identifies the
characters of the story as the archetypes of the Shadow, the Self and the Anima and described how they
operate. The second subchapter follows the mythical frame and distinguishes three patterns of the archetypal
woman in Heart of Darkness. In the third subchapter the sacred and the profane modes of being are
recognized in the native people of Africa and the white colonizers respectively. In addition, the archetypal
pattern of the paradigmatic conquest of the land is revealed.

Archetype

As used in literature, an archetype is a recurrent, universal pattern that evokes a deep, emotional
response in virtually all readers as it strikes a chord in their unconscious memory. Archetypal
critics look for such patterns in literature, relying on archeology, anthropology, psychology,
history, and religion to identify and explain the total human experience.

Archetypes can be:

symbols
images
characters
plot structures

They are revealed in:

myths
religions and
folklore dreams and
fantasies literature,
drama, film
The term and idea come primarily from Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, who also studied myth and
religion. According to Jung, all humans share what he called a “collective unconscious.” This
“unconscious” is a collection of memories and images comprising a racial past of pre-human
experiences, the memories from which have been erased. Archetypal images, then, stimulate or
trigger these memories in all of us; that is why they are so powerful and universal.

Extended definition: Archetypes (a.k.a. dominants, primordial images, mythological images)—

structural components of the collective unconscious. Also a universal thought form (idea) that
contains a large element of emotion. Origin: a permanent deposit in the mind of an experience that
has been constantly repeated for many generations. Archetypes interpenetrate and interfuse with
one another. They are experienced via myths, dreams, visions, rituals, neurotic and psychotic
symptoms, and works of art (which contain a great deal of archetypal material). There are
presumed to be numerous archetypes in the collective unconscious. Some of the ones that have
been identified: birth, rebirth, death, power, magic, unity, the hero, the child, God, the demon, the
old wise man, the earth mother, and the animal.

Major Tenets

Archetypal criticism is concerned with the way cycles and reiterating patterns of tradition,
culture, inborn images, and beliefs affect literary works. It operates with the idea that certain
symbols represent the same ideas no matter the time or place. Authors focus on symbols to
utilize in literary works in order to strike readers’ unconscious. Such symbols recur often enough
in literature to be recognizable as an element of one’s literary experience as a
whole. It also deals with symbolism of nature and the cosmos. There is universality in
literature, anthropology, psychology.

In Jungian psychology, an inherited pattern of thought or symbolic imagery derived from the past collective
experience and present in the individual unconscious. According to the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, a
universal pattern of thought, present in an individual's unconscious, inherited from the past collective
experience of humanity.

In the psychology of Carl Jung, an archetype is an inherited pattern of thought derived from the past
experience of the whole race and present in our unconscious minds––Cinderella might be an archetype for
girls in our culture; the boogey man is another. This noun is from Latin archetypum, from Greek
archetypon, from archetypos "of the first mold," from archein "to begin" plus typos"type."

Jung also described archetypes as imprints of momentous or frequently recurring situations in the lengthy
human past.[33]
A complete list of archetypes cannot be made, nor can differences between archetypes be absolutely
delineated.[34] In spite of this difficulty Jungian analyst June Singer suggests a partial list of well-studied
archetypes, listed in pairs of opposites:[35]

Ego Shadow

Great Mother Terrible Mother

Old Wise Man Trickster

Anima Animus

Meaning Absurdity

Centrality Diffusion

Order Chaos

Opposition Conjunction
Time Eternity

Sacred Profane

Light Darkness

Transformation Fixity

Jung made reference to contents of this category of the unconscious psyche as being similar to Levy-Bruhl's
use of collective representations or "représentations collectives," Mythological
"motifs," Hubert and Mauss's "categories of the imagination," and Adolf Bastian's "primordial thoughts." He
also called archetypes "dominants" because of their profound influence on mental life.

The Origins of Archetypes

The word ‘archetype’ comes from the Greek ‘arkhetypos’ which means ‘first imprint’. The philosopher Plato
first brought forth the idea of archetypes in his ‘Theory of Forms’. This theory functioned to bring light to
the question of the material (object, changeable) world and the transcendent (form, unchanging). For
example an apple (object) may be described as round, red and firm (forms) and it is these forms that
describe the material object. The forms transcend the object and remain constant in and of themselves,
while the object is changeable.

Swiss Psychiatrist Carl Jung pioneered the use of archetypes to illuminate personality early in the 20th
century. He suggested the existence of universal content-less forms that channel experiences and emotions,
resulting in recognizable and typical patterns of behavior with certain probable outcomes.

The collective unconscious, Jung believed, was where these archetypes exist. He suggested that these
models are innate, universal and hereditary. Archetypes are unlearned and function to organize how we
experience certain things.
"All the most powerful ideas in history go back to archetypes," Jung explained in his bookThe Structure of
the Psyche. "This is particularly true of religious ideas, but the central concepts of science, philosophy, and
ethics are no exception to this rule. In their present form they are variants of archetypal ideas created by
consciously applying and adapting these ideas to reality. For it is the function of consciousness, not only to
recognize and assimilate the external world through the gateway of the senses, but to translate into visible
reality the world within us."
Jung identified four major archetypes, but also believed that there was no limit to the number that may
exist.
The Self
The self is an archetype that represents the unification of the unconsciousness and consciousness of an
individual. The creation of the self occurs through a process known as individuation, in which the various
aspects of personality are integrated. Jung often represented the self as a circle, square, or mandala
The Shadow
The shadow is an archetype that consists of the sex and life instincts. The shadow exists as part of the
unconscious mind and is composed of repressed ideas, weaknesses, desires, instincts, and shortcomings.
This archetype is often described as the darker side of the psyche, representing wildness, chaos, and the
unknown. These latent dispositions are present in all of us, Jung believed, although people sometimes deny
this element of their own psyche and instead project it onto others.

Jung suggested that the shadow can appear in dreams or visions and may take a variety of forms. It might
appear as a snake, a monster, a demon, a dragon, or some other dark, wild, or exotic figure.

The Anima or Animus

The anima is a feminine image in the male psyche and the animus is a male image in the female psyche. The
anima/animus represents the "true self" rather than the image we present to others and serves as the
primary source of communication with the collective unconscious.
The combination of the anima and animus is known as the syzygy, or the divine couple. The syzygy
represents completion, unification and wholeness.

The Persona
The persona is how we present ourselves to the world. The word "persona" is derived from a Latin word
that literally means "mask." It is not a literal mask, however. The persona represents all of the different
social masks that we wear among different groups and situations. It acts to shield the ego from negative
images. According to Jung, the persona may appear in dreams and take a number of different forms.
Heroic Archetypes:
1. Hero as warrior (Odysseus): A near god-like hero faces physical challenges and external enemies
2. Hero as lover (Prince Charming): A pure love motivate hero to complete his quest
3. Hero as Scapegoat (Jesus): Hero suffers for the sake of others
4. Transcendent Hero: The hero of tragedy whose fatal flaw brings about his downfall, but not
without achieving some kind of transforming realization or wisdom (Greek and Shakespearean
tragedies—Oedipus, Hamlet, Macbeth, etc.)
5. Romantic/Gothic Hero: Hero/lover with a decidedly dark side (Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre)
6. Proto-Feminist Hero: Female heroes (The Awakening by Kate Chopin)
7. Apocalyptic Hero: Hero who faces the possible destruction of society
8. Anti-Hero: A non-hero, given the vocation of failure, frequently humorous (Homer Simpson)
9. Defiant Anti-hero: Opposer of society’s definition of heroism/goodness. (Heart of Darkness)
10. Unbalanced Hero: The Protagonist who has (or must pretend to have) mental or emotional
deficiencies (Hamlet, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)
11. The Other—the Denied Hero: The protagonist whose status or essential otherness makes heroism
possible (Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan)
12. The Superheroic: Exaggerates the normal proportions of humanity; frequently has divine or
supernatural origins. In some sense, the superhero is one apart, someone who does not quite
belong, but who is nonetheless needed by society. (Mythological heroes, Superman)

Types of Archetypal Journeys

1. The quest for identity
2. The epic journey to find the promised land/to found the good city
3. The quest for vengeance
4. The warrior’s journey to save his people
5. The search for love (to rescue the princess/damsel in distress)
6. The journey in search of knowledge
7. The tragic quest: penance or self-denial
8. The fool’s errand
9. The quest to rid the land of danger
10. The grail quest (the quest for human perfection)
Stages of a Hero’s Journey

Stage 1: Departure: The hero is called to adventure, although he is reluctant to accept.

Stage 2: Initiation: The hero crosses a threshold into a new, more dangerous world, gaining a more
mature perspective.
Stage 3: The Road of Trials: The hero is given supernatural aid, endures tests of strength,
resourcefulness, and endurance.
Stage 4: The Innermost Cave: The hero descends into the innermost cave, an underworld, or some other
place of great trial. Sometimes this place can be within the hero’s own mind. Because of this
trial, the hero is reborn in some way—physically, emotionally, or spiritually. Through this
experience, the hero changes internally.
Stage 5: Return and Reintegration with Society: The hero uses his new wisdom to restore fertility and
order to the land

Characteristics of the Hero’s Journey

 The hero is naïve and inexperienced
 The hero meets monsters or monstrous men
 The hero has a strange, wise being as a mentor
 The hero years for the beautiful lady who is sometimes his guide or inspiration
 The hero must go on a journey, learn a lesson, change in some way, and return home
 The hero often crosses a body of water or travels on a bridge.
 The hero is born and raised in a rural setting away from cities
 The origin of the hero is mysterious or the hero losses his/her parents at a young age, being raised by
animals or a wise guardian
 The hero returns to the land of his/her birth in disguise or as an unknown
 The hero is special, one of a kind. He/she might represent a whole nation or culture
 The hero struggles for something valuable and important
 The hero has help from divine or supernatural forces
 The hero has a guide or guides
 The hero goes through a rite of passage or initiation, an event that marks a change from an immature to
a more mature understanding of the world
 The hero undergoes some type of ritual or ceremony after his/her initiation
 The hero has a loyal band of companions
 The hero makes a stirring speech to his/her companions
 The hero engages in tests or contests of strength (physical and/or mental) and shows pride in his/her
excellence
 The hero suffers an unhealable wound, sometimes an emotional or spiritual wound from which the
hero never completely recovers.
 Situational Archetypes

Archetype Description Example

What the Hero must accomplish in order to bring fertility
back to the wasteland, usually a search for some talisman,
The Quest
which will restore peace, order, and normalcy to a troubled
land.
The nearly superhuman feat(s) the Hero must perform in
The Task order to accomplish his quest.

The journey sends the Hero in search of some truth that

The Journey will help save his kingdom.

The adolescent comes into his maturity with new

The Initiation awareness and problems.

The actual ceremonies the Initiate experiences that will

The Ritual mark his rite of passage into another state. A clear sign of
the character's role in his society
The descent from a higher to a lower state of being usually
The Fall as a punishment for transgression. It also involves the loss
of innocence.
The most common of all situational archetypes, this motif
grows out of a parallel between the cycle of nature and the
Death and Rebirth cycle of life. Thus morning and springtime represent birth,
youth, or rebirth, while evening and winter suggest old age
or death.
Obviously, a battle between two primal forces. Mankind
Battle between Good
shows eternal optimism in the continual portrayal of good
and Evil
triumphing over evil despite great odds.
Either a physical or psychological wound that cannot be
The Unhealable Wound fully healed. The wound symbolizes a loss of innocence.
 Character Archetypes

Archetype Description Example

The Hero is a protagonist whose life is a series of well-

marked adventures. The circumstances of his birth are
unusual, and he is raised by a guardian. He will have to
leave his kingdom, only to return to it upon reaching
The Hero
manhood. Characterized by courage, strength, and
honor, the hero will endure hardship, even risk his life
for the good of all. Leaves the familiar to enter an
unfamiliar and challenging world.
The Hero returns to his home and heritage where he is
Young Man from the
a stranger who can see new problems and new
Provinces
solutions
The Initiates are young heroes or heroines who must go
The Initiates through some training and ceremony before
undertaking their quest.
The Mentor is an older, wiser teacher to the initiates.
He often serves as a father or mother figure. He gives
Mentor
the hero gifts (weapons, food, magic, information),
serves as a role model or as hero’s conscience.
Mentor - Pupil In this relationship, the Mentor teaches the Hero/pupil
Relationship the necessary skills for surviving the quest.
The Threshold Tests the hero’s courage and worthiness to begin the
Guardian journey
In this relationship, the tension is built due to
Father - Son Conflict separation from childhood or some other source when
the two meet as men.
Hunting Group of These are loyal companions willing to face hardship
Companions and ordeal in order to stay together.
The Retainer's duty is to reflect the nobility and power
Loyal Retainers
of the hero.
An animal companion showing that nature is on the
Friendly Beast
side of the hero
A worthy opponent with whom the hero must struggle
in a fight to the end. Must be destroyed or neutralized.
The Shadow
Psychologically can represent the darker side of the
hero’s own psyche.
This character is evil incarnate.
The Devil Figure

The Evil Figure with A devil figure with the potential to be good. This
Ultimately Good Heart person is usually saved by the love of the hero.
 A monster usually summoned from the deepest, darkest
The Creature of part of the human psyche to threaten the lives of the
Nightmare hero/heroine. Often it is a perversion or desecration of
the human body.
An animal, or more usually a human, whose death in a
public ceremony expiates some taint or sin of a
The Scapegoat
community. They are often more powerful in death
than in life.
A character banished from a social group for some real
The Outcast or imagined crime against his fellow man, usually
destined to wander form place to place.
A woman who is a source of inspiration to the hero,
The Platonic Ideal who has an intellectual rather than physical attraction
to her
A vulnerable woman who needs to be rescued by the
Damsel in Distress hero. She is often used as a trap to ensnare the
unsuspecting hero.
Symbolic of fruition, abundance, and fertility, this
character traditionally offers spiritual and emotional
The Earth Mother nourishment to those with whom she comes in contact.
Often depicted in earth colors, has large breasts and
hips symbolic of her childbearing capacities.
Characterized by sensuous beauty, this woman is one to
The Temptress or Black whom the protagonist is physically attracted and who
Goddess ultimately brings about his downfall. May appear as a
witch or vampire
Good, beautiful maiden, usually blond, may make an
White Goddess ideal marriage partner; often has religious or
intellectual overtones.
A woman married to a man she sees as dull or distant
The Unfaithful Wife
and is attracted to more virile or interesting men.
Two characters engaged in a love affair fated to end
Star-Crossed Lovers tragically for one or both due to the disapproval of
society, friends, family, or some tragic situation.
 Symbolic Archetypes

Archetype Description Example

Light usually suggests hope, renewal, or intellectual
Light vs. Darkness illumination; darkness implies the unknown, ignorance, or
despair.
Some characters exhibit wisdom and understanding of
Innate Wisdom vs. situations instinctively as opposed to those supposedly in
Educated Stupidity charge. Loyal retainers often exhibit this wisdom as they
accompany the hero on the journey.
Spiritual beings intervene on the side of the hero or
Supernatural
sometimes against him.
Intervention

Fire represents knowledge, light, life, and rebirth, while

Fire and Ice ice, like the desert, represents ignorance, darkness,
sterility, and death.
Nature vs. Mechanistic
Nature is good while technology is evil.
World
Gateway to a new world which the hero must enter to
The Threshold change and grow

A place of death or metaphorically an encounter with the

The Underworld dark side of the self. Entering an underworld is a form of
facing a fear of death.
Places of safety contrast sharply against a dangerous
Haven vs. Wilderness wilderness. Heroes are often sheltered for a time to regain
health and resources
Because Water is necessary to life and growth, it
commonly appears as a birth symbol, as baptism
Water vs. Desert
symbolizes a spiritual birth. Rain, rivers, oceans, etc. also
function the same way. The Desert suggests the opposite.
Man has traditionally associated parts of the universe not
accessible to him with the dwelling places of the
Heaven vs. Hell primordial forces that govern his world. The skies and
mountaintops house his gods, the bowels of the earth
contain diabolic forces.
A place or time of decision when a realization is made and
change or penance results
The Crossroads

A puzzling dilemma or great uncertainty, search for the

The Maze dangerous monster inside of oneself, or a journey into the
heart of darkness
A strong place of safety which holds treasure or princess,
The Castle
may be enchanted or bewitched
 A strong place of evil, represents the isolation of self
The Tower

The weapon the hero needs in order to complete his quest.

The Magic Weapon

Symbolizes the destructive power of nature or fate.

The Whirlpool

Symbolizes uncertainty.
Fog

Red: blood, sacrifice, passion, disorder

Green: growth, hope, fertility
Blue: highly positive, security, tranquility, spiritual purity
Black: darkness, chaos, mystery, the unknown, death,
Colors
wisdom, evil, melancholy
White: light, purity, innocence, timelessness (negatives:
death, horror, supernatural)
Yellow: enlightenment, wisdom
3—light, spiritual awareness, unity (holy trinity), male
principle
4—associated with the circle, life cycle, four seasons,
Numbers female principle, earth, nature, elements
7—the most potent of all symbolic numbers signifying the
union of three and four, the completion of a cycle, perfect
order, perfect number, religious symbol
Other Archetypes
Jung suggested that the number of existing archetypes is not static or fixed. Instead, many different archetypes may overlap or
combine at any given time. The following are just a few of the various archetypes that Jung described:

 The father: Authority figure; stern; powerful.

 The mother: Nurturing; comforting.
 The child: Longing for innocence; rebirth; salvation.
 The wise old man: Guidance; knowledge; wisdom.
 The hero: Champion; defender; rescuer.
 The maiden: Innocence; desire; purity.

1. ARCHETYPAL CRITICISM AND LITERARY THEORY

Michael Delahoyde notes that archetypal literary criticism is a type of critical theory which states that a
meaning of a text is determined by cultural and psychological myths whereas the form and function of a
text are formed by archetypes (Michael Delahoyde, Introduction to Literature)5. Archetypes are defined
as primordial images recognized by all cultures. A critic interprets a text by focusing on myths and
archetypes in the narrative as well as symbols, images, and character types which recur in a literary
work. Not until 1934 when Maud Bodkin (1875-1967) published Archetypal Patterns in Poetry it had
become a form of literary criticism. However, it originates from the other two academic disciplines,
namely anthropology and psychoanalysis. The latter even became the sub-branch of literary theory.

Archetypal criticism first of all originates from anthropological discipline and

only after thirty years its psychoanalytic origins are traced. The first significant work dealing with cultural
mythologies was The Golden Bough (1890-1915), written by the Scottish anthropologist Sir James
George Frazer (1854-1941). Frazer was a member of a group of comparative anthropologists who
worked extensively on the topic of cultural mythologies. The Golden Bough was widely accepted as the
influential text on myth that initiated a number of studies mythological studies. Eventually, the influence
of Frazer's work carried over into literary studies.

In The Golden Bough Frazer identifies rituals and mythological beliefs

common both to primitive and modern religions. lie claims that one may find the death-rebirth myth
which is re-enacted in terms of growing seasons and vegetation in almost all cultural mythologies. The
death and rebirth of the god of vegetation, final harvest and spring respectively, are symbolized in
vegetation myths.

On the contrary to Frazer, Carl Gustav Jung (1875 —1961) as a psychoanalyst deals with
mythology and archetypes in immaterial terms whereas Frazer's work is material in its focus (From
Wikipedia). Jung's work considers myths and archetypes in relation to the unconscious which is an
inaccessible part of the human mind. As Jung sees it, myths make the world of the archetypes as they
represent the deepest recess of the human psyche.

In Jungian psychoanalysis there is a distinction between the personal and

collective unconscious, and only the latter is particularly relevant to archetypal criticism. The scholar
defines the collective unconscious as a number of inherited thoughts, feelings, instincts, and memories
that exist in the unconsciousness of all humanity.

Jung states that an archetype effects one in a way that creates visualizations of it, namely,
the archetypal images and ideas. This is due to the fact that they exist in an inaccessible part of the
mind. Jung coined the term primordial images to refer to the images which represent archetypes.
Primordial images have been originated at the beginning of humanity and have been part of man's
collective unconscious ever since. Hence, the function of the primordial images is to enable one to
experience universal archetypes.

Frazer and Jung see the same death-rebirth myth completely differently. Frazer finds it
as being representation of the growing periods and agriculture whereas from the Jungian perspective
analysis the death-rebirth archetype symbolically expresses a process taking place not in the external
world but deep in the human mind, during which the Ego'6 returns to the unconscious — a kind of a
temporary death of the Ego — and emanates or is newly reborn from the unconscious.

5Michael Delahoyde Introduction to Literature in http://www.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/archetypal.crit.html

 It should be stressed that a significant share of writings in archetypal literary criticism has resulted
from Jung's theory of the collective unconscious. For Jung, a literary text is the body in which primordial
images are represented by the writer. The archetypal literary criticism emerged in 1930's and reached
its height only after a decade. Another branch of archetypal literary criticism following Jungian criticism
developed in 1950's due to the work of Canadian literary critic Northrop Frye (1912 — 1991). The
scholar has written the essay "The Archetypes of Literature" (1951) which is a precursor to his major
work Anatomy of Criticism (1959) where he deals with the analysis of archetypes. His work contributed
to New Criticism' in a way that it became the major mode of analyzing literary texts, before it was
replaced by structuralism, post-structuralism and semiotics.

Frye's work differs from both anthropological and psychoanalytical

approaches offered by Frazer and Jung. Contrary to Frazer, he treats the death-rebirth myth as not
ritualistic because it is unintentional and must be done. Unintentional means that it is not initiated by
men and depends on natural processes. Considering Jung, Frye finds the collective unconscious not
interesting assuming it to be unnecessary because it cannot be studied due to its unknowable nature.
Moreover, he is not interested in the origins of archetypes and rather focuses on their function in the
literary work and their effect. In Frye's opinion, literary archetypes enable the reader to adapt to a
verbal universe which is comprehensible and conditioned to human needs and concerns. (From
Wikipedia).

However, there is no doubt that Frye was inspired by Jung as he uses the concept of
`archetype'. Yet his approach also differs from the Jungian one in that Frye insists on objectivity and is
oriented towards the text itself whereas Jung as a psychoanalyst is largely author-oriented. Actually, he
claims that the goal of literary criticism is to identify the archetype (or 'archetypal form') which is
reproduced in an individual work. For him, the archetypal form of a certain work is identified inductively.
Hence, he suggests starting with the complex verbal and imagery patterns that are found in the text and
then proceed to the analysis of the network of psychological relationships between the characters and
the plot. Frye makes use of an Aristotelian approach to analyzing the plot-structure: the critic has to
identify the genre of the work by analyzing emotions stirred in the reader (sadness and joy stand for
tragedy and comedy whereas in tragicomedy the mixture of the two is possible, too) and goes in
reversed direction
6 The Ego (term defined by Sigmund Freud and developed by Carl Jung) comprises that organized part of the personality
structure which includes defensive, perceptual, intellectual-cognitive, and executive functions. Conscious awareness resides in
the Ego, although not all of the operations of the Ego are conscious. The Ego separates what is real. It helps us to organize our
thoughts and make sense of them and the world around us.

7Encyclopedia Britannica defines it as the school of Anglo-American literary critical theory that insisted on the intrinsic value of
a work of art and focused attention on the individual work alone as an independent unit of meaning. It was opposed to the
critical practice of bringing historical or biographical data to bear on the interpretation of a work.
 to understand how the events of a plot are ordered. Frye states that in order to understand what the
writer means the reader should identify the writer's pattern or structure which is inherent in the
sequence of events.

According to him, the narrative and imagery patterns of literary works which are thus analyzed
should be related first to myths and only then to human rituals belonging to the world from time
immemorial. Clarke notes that these rituals originated as "responses to or efforts to render intelligible
natural cycles such as the solar cycle of the day, the seasonal cycle of the year and the organic cycle of
human life" (Richard Clarke)8. That is, by the help of such rituals men try to make the events or
phenomena of physical world understandable. Rituals represent human attempts to harmonize human
and natural energies. The rituals themselves at some point formalised into 'myths' which are,
consequently, essentially narratives constructed around a central human protagonist the pattern of
whose actions reflect or correspond to the natural cycles. (ibid).

Thus, Frye presented the relationship between natural cycles, rituals, myth, and literary
genres in the following way:

Table: The relationship between natural cycles, rituals. myths and literary genres.

daily / seasonal/human cycle myth (based upon an archetypal literary genre

dawn / spring /birth
zenith / summer/ marriage or
triumph
sunset / autumn /impending
death
night / winter / dissolution
Source: Frye presented by Clarke.
pattern of human experience)
the birth revival, resurrection of romance
the hero
the triumph,marriage or comedy; pastoral; idyll
apotheosis of the hero
the fall, sacrifice, isolation or tragedy; elegy
death of the hero
The unheroic nature of the hero satire

Frye states that all literary genres are the variations of the `questmyth' as they have
all derived from it. Therefore, all myths include some kind of quest to achieve some sort of goal. The
quest differs accordingly to the genre since each genre involves a protagonist in a specific pattern of
actions. To be more precise, in the comedy, the hero triumphs whereas in the tragedy he fails or is
killed. The hero is reborn and is criticized in romance and satire respectively. Each pattern of actions and
hence each genre is traceable in a particular cycle, especially that of season, which they correspond to.

Although there are many scholars of archetypal literature each with his/her
individual approach this paper will rely only on those who directly apply Jungian criticism. Thus, the
central figure is Carl Jung whose thoughts will be reinforced by the approaches of the scholar and
literary critic Maud Bodkin and the philosopher and historian of religion Mircea Eliade.

`Dr. Richard Clarke NORTHROP FRYE "THE ARCHETYPES OF LITERATURE" (1951) in

http://wwwilwelarke.net/Courses/LITS2307/2004-2005/04BFryeArchetypesofLiterature.pdf
1.1 Carl Gustav Jung: psychological approach to art.

In his article On the Relation of Analytical Psychology to Poetry Jung expressed his views "on the
much debated question of relations between psychology and art in general" (Jung).9 Here he claims
that there is a close connection between art and psychology since "the practice of art is a
psychological activity, and, as such, can be approached from a psychological angle" (ibid). However,
psychology approaches art as the process of creation leaving the question of how art operates to
the field of aesthetics. The scholar states that the psychologist can analyze only the process of
artistic creation and he has no relation to the essence of art.
1.1.1 Analytical psychology and literature.

Although Jung was influenced by Freud, he nevertheless contradicts his teacher by

claiming that a work of cannot be explained "in the same way as a neurosis" and asserts that "it
would never occur to an intelligent layman to mistake a pathological phenomenon for art, in spite of
the undeniable fact that a work of art arises from much the same psychological conditions as
neurosis" (ibid). He further explains that a psychoanalyst is apt to view the work of art as an
expression of neurosis due to his professional bias. Freudian school interprets a work of art in the
perspective of the intimate life of the author. However, Jung claims that due to such an approach
"the poet becomes a clinical case and, very likely, yet another addition to the curiosa of
psychopathia sexualis"'° (ibid). Jung suggests analyzing a work of art by itself since every man (and
the poet is unavoidably a man) has certain human problems. Consider:

One poet may be influenced more by his relation to his father, another by the tie to his mother, while the third
shows unmistakable traces of sexual repression in his poetry. Since all this can be said equally well not only of
every neurotic but of every normal human being, nothing specific is gained for the judgment of a work of art. At
most our knowledge of its psychological antecedents will have been broadened and deepened. (ibid) .

Jung,C.G.Onthe Relation of Analytical Psychology to Poetry in http://www.studiocleo.com/librarie jung/essaymain.html 11

The scholar claims that if a work of art is analyzed by the reductive method offered by Freud", the
analysis is not concerned with the work of art itself, it rather "strives like a mole to bury itself in the dirt
as speedily as possible, it always ends up in the common earth that unites all mankind" (ibid.). It should
also be noted that Jung and Freud had different understandings of symbols. The former identified them
as "an intuitive idea that cannot yet be formulated in any other or better way", and the latter thought
them to exhibit "merely the role of signs or symptoms of the subliminal processes" (ibid.). Jung claims
that the symbols may be manifest themselves not only in dreams. He maintains that thoughts, feelings,
actions and situations may be symbolic as well. For Jung the true work of art is "beyond the personal
concerns of its creator" (ibid.). Thus, it has overcome the limitations of the personal. The scholar
illustrates this by the example of a plant. Consider:
 The plant is not a mere product of the soil; it is a living, self-contained process which in essence has nothing
to do with the character of the soil. In the same way, meaning and individual quality of a work of art inhere
with it and not in its extrinsic determinants. One might almost describe it as a living being that uses man
only as a nutrient medium, employing his capacities according to its own laws and shaping itself to the
fulfillment of its own creative purpose. (ibid)

However, it should be mentioned that there are two ways of how a work of art is created. The first one
stands as the opposite of the example given by Jung. Some literary works are created intentionally by
the author who "submits his material to a definite treatment with a definite aim in view; he adds to it
and subtracts from it; emphasizing one effect, toning down another, laying a touch

of colour here, another there, all the time carefully considering the over-all result and paying strict
attention to the laws of form and style" (ibid). In this case, the author identifies himself with the creative
process either by being its spearhead or turning into its instrument.

In the other case, the works "positively force themselves upon the author; his
hand is seized, his pen writes things that his mind contemplates with amazement" (ibid). Here the poet
is identified with the process of creation since by himself he would never consciously create and employ
thoughts and images imposed by the process. Therefore, it may be assumed that the conscious mind of
the artist is influenced by the unconscious, and Jung maintains that not only the conscious mind may be
influenced by the unconscious in various ways but it may be guided by the latter.

The work of art reveals the difference in its origin itself. On the one hand, it is an
intentional product of the poet on the other hand, it originated from the unconscious and defies human
consciousness as "insisting on its own form and effect" (ibid). There is something "suprapersonal" in the
latter case, something "that transcends our understanding to the same degree that the author's
consciousness was in abeyance' during the process of creation" (ibid). Jung suggests that such works
contain strange forms and thoughts which may only be understood intuitively. They also employ the
language full of images and symbols which express something unknown. He defines the symbol as "the
intimation of a meaning beyond the level of our present powers of comprehension" (ibid).

However, the scholar raises the question whether a work of art has a meaning at all and states
that it has not, since "meaning has nothing to do with art" (ibid). But he also explains that the meaning
must be found in order to think about things and points out that it may be achieved through detaching
oneself from the creative process and assuming the work of art as the image "that expresses what we
are bound to call "meaning" (ibid). The work of art should be recognized as a finished picture in order it
might be analyzed.
10Curiosa is most commonly used for books or other writings dealing with unusual, especially pornographic and erotic
topics. It is derived from the word 'curious'. Thus, the whole term stands for a curious instance in the psychology of
sexuality. "

11Jung explains that "it is essentially a medical technique for investigating morbid psychic phenomena, and it is solely a
concerned with the ways and means of getting round or peering through the foreground of consciousness in order to reach
the psychic background, or the unconscious". (Jung 1977, On the Relation of Psychology to An)
 The symbols employed by the poet are rooted in the "sphere of unconscious
mythology whose primordial images are the common heritage of mankind" (ibid). Jung terms this sphere
the "collective unconscious" to distinguish it from the "personal unconscious'"3. He attributes the latter
to art, too, but its tributaries do not form a work of art into a symbol whereas the collective unconscious
is essential in forming a symbolic meaning. The scholar defines it as "a potentiality handed down to us
from the primordial times in the specific form of mnemonic images or inherited in the anatomical
structure of the brain" 4. (ibid) He suggests that inborn ideas do not exist, but there are inborn
possibilities for ideas. These ideas belonging to the category of a priori ideas appear in the work of art as
"regulative principles that shape it; that is to say, only by inferences drawn from the finished work can
we reconstruct the age-old original of the primordial image" (ibid). According to Jung, the primordial
image, or archetype, is a mythological figure which may be represented by daemons, human beings or
even a process which recurs in the history of humanity and is expressed by the process of free creative
fantasy. If these images were examined more closely, it would be apparent that they are "psychic
residua of innumerable experiences of the same type" (ibid). Jung states that the peculiar emotional
intensity fills the moment when mythological situation occurs. Consider:

It is as though chords in us were struck which had never resounded before,

or as though forces whose existence we never suspected were unloosed. What makes the struggle for
adaptation so laborious is the fact that we have constantly to be dealing with individual and atypical
situations. So it is not surprising that when an archetypal situation occurs we suddenly feel an
extraordinary sense of release, as though transported, or caught up by an overwhelming power. At such
moments we are no longer individual, but the race; the voice of all mankind resounds in us. (ibid.)
overwhelming power. At such moments we are no longer individual, but the race; the voice of all mankind
resounds in us. (ibid.)

The archetype, whether in a form of immediate experience or the spoken word, stirs the
human mind because "it summons up a voice that is stronger than our own" (ibid). In the power of the
archetype lies the secret of the great art and its impact upon people. The creative process unconsciously
activates an archetypal image and shapes it into a finished work. Therefore, the role of the artist is to
translate it into the present language by giving it shape and to help the reader to find his/her way "to
the deepest springs of life" (ibid). The poet raises the image from the unconscious and provides it in
relation with conscious values so that it could be comprehended by his contemporaries.

12Jung suggests that the reader should reach the same transcendence while reading as the
had reached when he was writing and the work of his conscious mind was suspended. "
13Personalunconscious is "the sum total of all those psychic processes and contents which
are capable of becoming Conscious and often do, but are then suppressed because of their
incompatibility and kept subliminal". (Jung 1977, On the Relation of Psychology to Art)
1.1.2 Psychological theory and Individuation.

The thoughts expressed in Jung's article On the Relation of

Psychology to Poen); form the basic knowledge of how the work of art is perceived by
encompassing archetypal images the work of art stirs the readers' mind as the archetypes are
common to all people. Jung concentrates on the creative process initiated by the unconscious
thereby claiming that only in a work of art the primordial images are shaped. According to Jung,
the collective unconscious is expressed in art, literature and myth. Therefore, the focus of the
Jungian literary criticism is specifically on the analysis of the archetypes

found in literature and written myths. The author of this paper has chosen to analyze Joseph Conrad's novella Ikon
of Darkness by employing the instrumentarium based on Joseph Campbell's provided mythical journey in
accordance with archetypes distinguished by Jung. The paper will concentrate on the archetypes of the Shadow,
Anima, and the Self which are essential in describing the process of the hero's individuation paralleled to his
Journey.

1.1.2.1 Archetype of the Shadow.

In Man and His Symbols (1961), Jung and his colleague’s describe the discussed Journey theory in the language
accessible to ordinary people. Jung views the goal of all human beings to reach individuation, i.e. the state in which
the unconscious becomes known and is integrated into the conscious mind. Hence, any type of the hero presented
in fiction may be analyzed from the perspective of Jungian criticism, as the hero's movement directs him toward
individuation. Individuation is also defined as an "imperceptible process of psychic growth". (Franz 1977, 161)
During this process the archetypes of the "Shadow", "Anima" and "Animus" become known and integrated into the
hero's consciousness. Franz maintains that for Jung, the Shadow "represents unknown or little-known attributes
and qualities of the Ego-aspects that mostly belong to the personal sphere and that could just as well be
conscious" (Franz 1977, 171). This part of human psyche usually opposes the person's moral and religious beliefs.
Jung called this part of the unconscious the Shadow because it usually appears as a dark figure of the same sex in
one's dreams.

When one attempts to see one's Shadow, he/she starts noticing in other people the qualities and
impulses that were denied in himself/herself. They encompass "egotism, mental laziness, and sloppiness; unreal
fantasies, schemes, and plots; carelessness and cowardice; inordinate love of money and possessions". (Franz
1977, 171) The Shadow is a hidden and repressed vile part of man's personality. It is laden with guilt and rooted in
the world of Animals and ancestors. Jung states that one may help a person to deal with his/her Shadow only by
pointing to it so that an inner conflict would arise. However, if the strife is not inward, one directs it outwards. The
only way to cease the outward battle is to become a winner in the inner one. There are two ways to solve the
problem if a person does not feel comfortable in his/her inner world. The first one is through suffering and inner
strife, while the second way is to project, to transfer one's conflict on the other person. If man
14" Here Jung defines the collective unconscious in much the same way as a year earlier (Psychological Types, pars. 624, 727) he defined the
archetype. Still earlier, in 1919, when using the term "archetype" for the first time, he stated: "The instincts and the archetypes together
form the 'collective unconscious' ("Instinct and the Unconscious," 270). This is in better agreement with his later formulations. The subject of
the above sentence should therefore be understood as the archetype. (From
http://www.studiocleo.com/librarie/jung/essaymain.html#Top)

15Man and His Symbols is divided into five chapters: I. Approaching the Unconscious, by Carl G. Jung; 2. Ancient Myths and Modem Man, by
Joseph L Henderson; 3. The Process of Individuation, by M.-L. von Franz; 4. Symbolism in the Visual Arts, by Aniela Jaffe; 5. Symbolism in an
Individual Analysis, by Jolande Jacobi.
experiences an inner tension, he can fight without any serious reason, because the reason does not
matter. The person may attack a spouse, a child, an inferior or an Animal with no serious reason.
Although, such attacks diminish the tension, their cause is not eliminated and the person is inclined to
repeat the attacks.

Such a cycle of attacks may be interrupted by acknowledging one's Shadow. However, the
realization of one's Shadow is a complicated and painful process. Jung claims that an encounter with
oneself is one of the most unpleasant experiences. Usually, all the negative aspects are attributed to
others and if a person manages to see his/her Shadow and accept it, it will greatly contribute to his/her
solution. However, it is problematic one to accept one's Shadow, and a person is apt to constantly
project his/her features on others. In this way, the image of the 'enemy' might be created, and racial,
national, or political bias for people who are different is formed. Nevertheless, according to Franz, Jung
assumed that it is essential for one's physical and mental health to accept and integrate the Shadow into
personal psyche since the Shadow "usually contains values that are needed by consciousness, but that
exist in a form that makes it difficult to integrate them into one's life" (Franz 1977, 178). The awareness
and realization, of the Shadow are considered weaknesses whereas its integration and conscious
acceptance in one's personal psyche becomes one's strength. Franz refers to Jung's perspective that a
person's relation to his/her Shadow depends largely upon the personal choice. He suggests treating it
"exactly like any human being with whom one has to get along, sometimes by giving in, sometimes by
resisting, sometimes by giving love — whatever the situation requires" (Franz 1977, 182). The Shadow
becomes hostile only when it is ignored or misunderstood.

1.1.2.2 Archetype of the Anima.

The other significant archetypes in Jungian criticism are those of Anima and Animus. Franz claims that
the Anima is "a personification of all feminine psychological tendencies in a man's psyche, such as vague
feelings and moods, prophetic hunches, receptiveness to the irrational, capacity for personal love,
feeling for nature, and last but not least-his relation to the unconscious" (Franz 1977, 186). According to
Jung, Anima may be both positive and negative. The negative Anima shows itself as a treacherous witch,
a bad fairy, temptress and bad goddess in myths and dreams. While in real life, the Anima is represented
by demonic women (or the so called femme fatale). A man who has relationship with such a woman is
usually doomed. When the negative Anima is projected outwardly, men encounter women resembling
literature characters like Karmen or Lady Macbeth. The Anima is outwardly projected by the men who
tend to repress their femininity. For this reason, the Anima thrusts in by influencing the conscious self if
a man has repressed his femininity and assumes that women are inferior.

The Anima has also its positive aspects. According to Franz, in its positive role, it appears
"as a mediator between the Ego and the Self' (Franz 1977, 195). One should bear in mind that first of all
the Anima is soul. As such its archetype represents the idea of beauty and spirituality. For Jung, Anima is
incarnated spirituality. Hence, it is usually represented as a goddess, a fairy, a butterfly or a bird. In the
life of a man, the Anima also manifests itself as a creative activity, mood thrusts, intuition, etc.
 Franz maintains that Jung distinguished the following stages of the Anima:

The first stage is best symbolized by the figure of Eve, which represents purely
instinctual and biological relations. The second can be seen in Faust's Helen: she personifies a
romantic and aesthetic level that is, however, still characterized by sexual elements. The third is
represented, for instance, by the Virgin Mary — a figure who raises love (eros) to the heights of
spiritual devotion. The fourth type is symbolized by Sapientia, wisdom transcending even the
most holy and the most pure. Of this another symbol is the Shulamite in the 'Song of Solomon'.
(Franz 1977, 195)

While the Anima is a feminine part of the man's psyche, the Animus is "the male personification of the
unconscious in woman" (ibid, 198). The Animus just like the Anima has the negative and positive
aspects. But the Animus usually represents itself in "the form of a hidden "sacred" conviction" (ibid,
198). There are four stages of the Animus as well, which correspond to those of the Anima. The author
of this paper will not consider this archetype in more detail as it is irrelevant in the analysis of Conrad's
novella.

1.1.2.3 Archetype of the Self.

Another important archetype is the Self which according to Franz is defined by Jung in a popular way as
"an inner guiding factor that is different from the conscious personality C...> and brings about a constant
extension and maturing of the personality" (Franz 1977, 163). He suggests that it is an inborn possibility
which develops in relation to "whether or not the Ego is willing to listen to the messages of the Self'
(Franz 1977, 163). The Self guides the Ego by giving it hints and impulses. Jung considers that the Ego's
function is to help to fulfill the totality or wholeness of human psyche. The task of the Ego is to notice
the possibility for totality and help to achieve the wholeness.

The Self appears when the unconscious changes its dominant character a person has
been dealing seriously and long enough with the Anima (or Animus for women) and he/she does not
partially identify with it (cf. Franz, 207). According to Franz, in women's dreams, it may be represented
as a superior female figure, e.g. a priestess, earth mother, whereas for men, it may appear as a
masculine initiator and guardian, old wise man, etc. However, the scholar claims that the Self does not
necessarily take these forms and that "these paradoxical personifications are attempts to express
something that is not entirely contained in time — something simultaneously young and old" (ibid, 209).

Franz reminds Jung's statement that in some cultures, the Self is presented as the
figure of the Cosmic Man or Great Man for Naskapi Indians. The Self is generally assumed as something
helpful and positive. It may even be viewed "as the basic principle of the world" (ibid, 211) and
described as the basic principle of the whole world.

It should be stressed that the symbolic structures lying in number four which
seem to refer to a person's individuation a particular attention. There are four functions of
consciousness'' and four stages of Anima and Animus. This is due to the fact that the Cosmic Man may
be pictured as a gigantic figure which embraces the entire universe, e.g. P'an Ku". Other combinations of
numbers appear in man's psyche only under specific circumstances (cf. Franz, 214).

However, the Cosmic Man is rather an internally oriented image. According to Franz, in
Hindu tradition, "he is something that lives within the individual human being and is the only part that is
immortal" (ibid, 215). In this perspective, the Self guides a person from the sufferings in the world of
creatures into the original eternal sphere. However, this cannot be done if a person does not recognize
the Cosmic Man. In Hindu myths, this figure is presented as Punisha who dwells in the heart of every
individual and fills the entire cosmos at the same time. A number of myths suggest that the whole of
creation originated from the Cosmic Man and the goal of the creatures is to return into him. As Franz
maintains, "the whole inner psychic reality of each individual is ultimately oriented toward this
archetypal symbol of the Self' (ibid, 215).

While the Self is the archetype of wholeness, its opposite is the archetype of the persona.
Jacobi states that for Jung the persona "is a symbol of the protective cover or mask that an individual
presents to the world" (Jacobi, 350). There two functions of the persona, namely to impress people in a
certain purposeful way and to hide one's inner self from the others. It is also claimed that the optimal
number of masks is two, one for official situations, e.g. work, and the other for casual ones.
Considering the fact that this archetype will not be employed in the analysis of Conrad's story, a wider
discussion of it will not be given here.

Although the archetypes of the Shadow, Anima/Animus and the Self are most significant in
Jungian criticism, it also focuses on other archetypal aspects. Literary critics may simply check how
Effective a particular archetype in a novel is. The archetypes may act in the following way: the
antagonist of a novel is assumed as the Shadow of the hero, whereas a woman usually symbolizes his
Anima. The hero, who is assumed as the only real agent in a story, tries to achieve individuation, or in
other words, to reach the wholeness and become the Self, archetypally the Ego is integrated into the
Self.

1.1.2.4 Archetype of the Hero's journey.

The process of individuation in a literary work is represented by the archetypal pattern of the Hero's
Journey. In his The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949) Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) defines the Hero's
Journey as a sequence of events presented in a story or myth that is common to all mythical structures.
Campbell was an American mythologist, writer and lecturer, best known for his work in comparative
mythology and comparative religion. Campbell was influenced by Jung's studies of human psychology.
He considered myth in close relation to the Jungian method of dream interpretation, which relies on
symbolic interpretation.

16The functions of the consciousness are: I. Simplification and selection of information; 2. Guiding and
overseeing actions; 3. Setting priorities for action; 4. Detecting and resolving discrepancies.

17 P’an Ku was a colossal divine man for the ancient Chinese. He created heaven and earth.
The scholar introduces the term monomyth to describe the pattern observed in all heroic mythology.
Every story representing the Hero's Journey shows him struggling for psychological wholeness or, in
Jung's terms, individuation (Campbell's). The Hero's Journey is initiated by two main factors, namely an
inner drive to go on a quest, or an external call of those who seek the aid of the hero. The hero may
respond to the call immediately, or refuse it at first as there is usually some resistance to the call. He
feels resistant because a journey means leaving a comfortable state to face an unknown physical and
psychological danger. During the first part of the journey, the hero is usually helped by some guide or
supernatural powers. Then he must cross the threshold into the unknown hostile spaces. The hero may
confront a threshold guardian whose aim is to stop him by discouraging or evoking doubt to cross the
threshold. For instance, in Greek myths, such a guardian is the three-headed dog Cerberus. Campbell
suggests that when the hero crosses the threshold, he symbolically enters his unconscious psyche.
Having reached his unconscious, the hero usually plunges into doubt and is in despair. However, this
despair does not last long, and afterwards the hero enters a "dreamlike labyrinth of tests and trials"
(ibid.). After the hero passes through all the trials he has finally to deal with his feminine side, or Anima.
Archetypally, he encounters a goddess and/or temptress, but this pattern is not common to all myths
and religions. The function of a goddess is to represent sacred marriage, i.e. the union of the masculine
and feminine sides; the temptress, in her turn, tries to lead the hero astray from his path which results
in his failure. Before the hero may return to the normal world he has to meet the figure of father which
evokes the final conflict. To solve the conflict the hero has either to kill the father or to subjugate his
power over oneself. However, it may also be assumed that the "decisive ordeal of the quest is when the
hero confronts death" (ibid.). When the hero completes all the tasks, he is either deified or has a time of
rest and relaxation before his return as an individuated self. The return may be either filled with
difficulties or absolutely uneventful. If the hero achieves true individuation, he becomes transcendental
as the Buddha or Christ, or lives with wisdom throughout his life.

It should be noted that the stages of the Hero's journey do not always appear in the same
order and sometimes some stage is missing. Moreover, he story may be developed only on one stage,
still bearing the same symbolic meaning.

Although the archetypal pattern of the Hero's journey is the most common to literary works,
in Heart of Darkness other archetypal patterns are also recognized. Maud Bodkin suggests that the
archetypal patterns may be assumed as the mythological frame which recurs in the form of a theme or a
certain image.

1.2 Maud Bodkin: mythopetics in literature.

Maud Bodkin is a famous scholar in the archetypal criticism. Bodkin is known for her work Archetypal
Patterns in Poetry (1934) which is a major work in applying the theories of Carl Jung to literature.

18 Movie "Joseph Campbell: The Hero's Journey" produced by William Free in

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm? fuseaction—vicLs.individual&VideoID-34884723
In the book she analyses how the archetypes function in literature and how they affect the reader.

The scholar states that when one aims at studying the deeper processes involved in response
to poetry it occurs that extensive methods of research must be replaced by the intensive work in the
experience of individuals "since only by continued direction of attention can one hope to become aware

of those more obscure responses that underlie reactions easily recognized" (Bodkin 1978, iii).

The impact of Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung issuing in the study known as "Depth
Psychology" has "penetrated educated thought — notably literary criticism" (Bodkin 1978, vi). A modern
writer who deals with the theme of archetypal patterns in poetry may pursue as Bodkin puts it:

"the question concerning a kind of truth that cannot be expressed in verifiable factual
terms but is sustained and communicated through our heritage of poetry — such poetry —
whether in verse or prose form — as the Greek tragedies and the Myths of Plato, the poetry of
Shakespeare, Shelley, Dante or the author of the Fourth Gospel" (Bodkin 1978, vi).

Although "Depth Psychology" was developed by both Freud and Jung, only the latter is relevant to this
MA thesis.

1.2.1 Archetypal patterns in tragic poetry.

Bodkin sets herself a task to test the hypothesis of Jung proposed in his article On the Relation of
Analytical Psychology to Poetic An published in The Spirit in Man, An and Literature (1941). Jung claimed
that certain poems possess special emotional significance which goes beyond any definite meaning
revealed. Bodkin notes that Jung

attributes to the stirring in the reader's mind, within or beneath his conscious response, of
unconscious forces which he terms as 'primordial images', or archetypes. These archetypes he
describes as 'psychic residua of numberless experiences of the same type', experiences which
have happened not to the individual but to his ancestors and of which the results are inherited
in the structure of brain, a priori determinants of individual experience (Bodkin 1978, 1).

The critic also hopes to approach the matter from different standpoints bringing together the recorded
experience and reflection of minds and to enrich the developed theory of the systematic psychologist
through the insight of more intuitive thinkers whereas the results of the intuitive thinkers may be
defined more exactly.

Bodkin relies on Professor Murray's comparison of the tragedies of Hamlet and of Orestes as
an illustration. Murray points out the curious similarities between the two. He also suggests that the
theme that underlies them seems to possess a nearly eternal durability. Murray maintains that when
such themes as in Hamlet and Orestes which stirred the concern of a primitive man are still capable to
move contemporary people that they do so in particularly profound and poetical ways. Bodkin quotes
Murray by claiming that:

in plays like Hamlet or the Agamemnon or Electra we have certainly fine and
flexible character-study, a varied and well-wrought story, a full command of all the technical
instruments of the poet and the dramatist; but we have also, I suspect, a strange, unanalyzed
vibration below the surface, an under-current of desires and fears and passions, long slumbering
yet eternally familiar, which have for thousands of years lain near the root of most intimate
emotions and been wrought into the fabric of our most magical dreams (Bodkin 1978, 2).

Bodkin suggests studying the themes that show continuity within the life of a community or a
race and to compare their different forms of assumption. She also suggests studying analytically the
inner experiences of different individuals responding to such themes. As there is little possibility for
experiment the recorded experiences of those who have profound experience of poetry must be
employed. She notes that "profound response to great poetic themes can be secured only by living with
such themes, dwelling and brooding upon them, choosing those moments when the mind seems
spontaneously open itself to their influence." (Bodkin 1978, 3)

Bodkin states that studies of the imaginative response of contemporary minds to the
great themes of poetry may benefit from the works of the anthropologists who have tried to study
scientifically the reactions of more primitive minds. Anthropologists have studied the reception of new
cultural elements by a people and they have used the term 'cultural patterns' to characterize the pre-
existing 'configuration' of tendencies which govern the way in which members of the group respond to
the new element. Bodkin leans upon thoughts of Goldenweiser and Bernard expressed in The Social
Sciences and their Interrelations (1928) dealing with the 'culture pattern concept'. The former noted
that it is related to the concept of form and system in the arts and cultural disciplines. Whereas the later
has "undertaken a classification of different kinds of environment, distinguishing the psycho-social
environment which includes such systems of symbols as are preserved in books and in which he says
`psychic process reach the highest type of their objectified development" (Bodkin 1978, 4).

The symbolic content of this type can activate the corresponding patterns in the minds
of members of the group "whose collective product and possession the symbols are" (Bodkin 1978, 4).

The scholar chooses to use the term 'archetypal pattern' to define what is within human
psyche. Although, both Jung and Murray assert that these patterns imprinted in one's physical organism
are inherited in the structure of the brain, Bodkin notes that no evidence of this statement can be
considered. On the other hand, the spontaneous production of the ancient patterns in the dreams and
fantasies of individuals serve Jung as evidence.

The general argument that 'predisposing factors', a term used by Bodkin, must be present
in mind and brain where forms are assimilated from the environment after a short time of contact only
has more force in the present state of human knowledge. The assimilation of an idea is not secured by
mere contact with an idea's expression since some inner factor must co-operate.
 The scholar finds that there are certain patterns familiar to certain communities or races
that stir human mind and have continuity in the community or race. She notes that the patterns evoke
memories of distant experiences of the ancestors in human psyche and termed them as 'archetypal
patterns'.

1.2.2 Reasonable recourse to poetry.

In the subchapter titled "Why have recourse to poetry?" Bodkin asks "what is the distinctive advantage
of having recourse to poetry for the study of these patterns" (Bodkin 1978, 5)? She claims that the
themes of Hamlet and Orestes existed as a traditional story before Shakespeare and before Aeschylus.
Bodkin makes use of A.C. Bradley's term 'inchoate poem' for traditional themes and explains that it is a
subject which exists in common imagination and has some aesthetic value before it is touched by a poet.
Traditional themes are already, to some extent, organized and formed. When touched by a poet a
traditional story lives on in the reader's imagination and creates a memory with an aesthetic value
which, however, fades into formlessness. What once was a vivid poetic experience becomes a faint
recollection. But for closer examination the actual poetic experience must be recovered as "it is in the
imaginative experience actually communicated by great poetry that we shall find our fullest opportunity
of studying the patterns that we seek — and this from the very nature of poetic experience." (Bodkin
1978, 5)

Bodkin argues Spearman's thoughts in The Nature of Intelligence and the Principles of
Cognition (1927), Spearman referred to in Bodkin states that imagination is as intellectual as any other
logical process in which new content may be generated. However, she notes that it is hard to accept
that "its intellectual aspect can be separated from its emotional nature and covered by any such logical
formula as Spearman proposes" (Bodkin 1978, 6).

Spearman formulates the three laws of cognition, and the first one is nearly concerned with
the poetic imagination. This law states that all lived experiences evoke immediately a knowing of the
character and imagination of that experience. Here the word 'immediately' means that any mediating
process is absent. In Bodkin's opinion, "it is perhaps within this mediating process, denied by Spearman,
that we may find a distinctive place for imagination as exercised in poetry" (Bodkin 1978, 7).

The scholar states that the psychologists tend to assert that lived experience comes to
awareness through introspection. However, the medical psychologists contradict the academic
psychologists claiming that they have discovered a realm of lived experience, of conative19 character,
which introspection can not explain.

Bodkin refers to conclusion drawn by Alexander who approaches the question as a

philosopher. He distincts conative lived experience' from sensations and images which are the objects
of the mind.

19"Definition by Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary: it is an inclination (as an instinct, a drive, a wish,

or a craving) to act purposefully.
 The difference is that lived experience can only be 'enjoyed' and it cannot be
contemplated. Bodkin states that the philosopher sees introspection as 'enjoyment' lived through and
together with a whole set of elaborated speech "which causes the elements of the experience enjoyed
to stand out in "subtly dissected form" (Bodkin 1978, 7). Alexander, in his turn, views it as a small
wonder and claims that introspection should be regarded as turning one's mind into objects and see
how well the language expressing our mental state has been elaborated to achieve practical interests
and in relation with physical objects.

Considering the view of Alexander, it becomes clear that the mediating process which
enables lived experience to come to awareness is the link between such experience and actions and
objects and the words that recall these objects which affect the senses and can be contemplated. While
fantasizing the contemplated features of things are broken from their historical setting and they become
available to manifest the needs and impulses of the experiencing mind. The study of dreams which was
carried out at the time when the Bodkin's book was being written showed that perplexing chain of the
images thrown up by the sleeping mind "is due to processes of interaction between emotional
dispositions lacking the customary control." (Bodkin 1978, 8) The chains of images in dreams and in
waking fantasy as well as myth and legend differ from each other leading one to contrast these
"incompatible renderings of experience." (Bodkin 1978, 8)

A great poet does not objectify his own sensibility when he uses the story which has
taken shape in the fantasy of the community. The poet arranges the words which already manifest the
emotional experience of the community so that their evocative power would be fully used. In this way
he gains himself vision and possession of the experience originated between his own soul and the life
around him. A poet communicates the experience both individual and collective to others so that they
could understand the words and images he uses.

Bodkin concludes that one's emotional patterns hidden in the individual life may be studied
as a reflection of his/her spontaneous actions, dreams and waking fantasies; whereas if one
contemplates archetypal patterns common to men of past generations, he/she has to study them in the
experience revealed by the great poetry which is able to stir emotional response in all ages.

Bodkin focuses on archetypal patterns which are preserved in poetry and communicated so
that every mind would be stirred to response to them. However, the modem man has alienated himself
from the symbols and does not recognize them due to his rational worldview. This alienation is
portrayed by Mircea Eliade who describes the sacred and the profane modes of being in the world. The
profane man is the one who does not live in the world of symbols in this way ignoring his unconscious
mind while the sacred man still recognizes the symbolic reality.

1.3 Mircea Eliade: paradigmatic repetition of divine work.

Harry Oldmeadow in his article C.G. Jung & Mircea Eliade: 'Priests without Surplices'? Reflections on the
Place of Myth, Religion and Science in Their Work" states that Jung's works on archaic mythologies and
cosmologies also influenced a great Romanian scholar Mircea Eliade. Oldmeadow claims that he was
interested in Jung's insights on the universal parallelism of symbols and motifs found in mythologies
from all over the world. However, the scholar goes beyond the attempt to bring archaic cosmology back
to one's psyche. This becomes evident from the sense in which both Jung and Eliade use the term
archetype. The former defines it as structures of the collective unconscious whereas the latter speaks of
exemplary and `transhistorical patterns. In The Myth of Eternal Return (1954) he claims that a historical
event cannot withstand the powers of "mythization" and enters the minds of people as a myth. This is
due to the fact that folk memory does not memorize "individual" events or persons. It employs different
structures where events are substituted with categories and historical personalities are replaced by
archetypes. A historical personality is identified with its mythological model, e.g. a hero, and an event is
identified as paradigmatic, e.g. conquest of the land. Another important aspect for him is sacred time. It
is the category which cannot be reduced or subdivided and which is essential for archaic and
mythological understanding. Eliade also shows great interest in sacred space which is one of the
categories in his works. He notes that there is a great gap between the archaic and modern man. Archaic
man assumes the world symbolically and reactualizes his mythology through rituals.

1.3.1 Manifestations of the sacred.

In his study The Sacred & the Profane (1957) the scholar sets himself a task to present the phenomenon
of the sacred "in all its complexity, and not only so far as it is irrational" but to reveal the "sacred in its
entirety" (Eliade 1996, 10). The first definition of the sacred proposed by Eliade is that it is "the opposite
of the profane" (ibid.) He claims that the sacred comes to one's awareness when it manifests itsel as
something completely different from the profane. The scholar uses the term `hierophany' to define the
"act of manifestation of the sacred" (Eliade 1996, 11). hierophany implies that the sacred object shows
itself to man. There are different kinds of hierophanies ranging from the most elementary, when the
sacred shows itself in some ordinary object such as stone or tree, to the supreme hierophany, e.g. God's
incarnation in a human being reflected in Jesus Christ. However, in each case, one is presented with the
manifestation of something representing totally different order when objects of the natural 'profane'
world manifest a reality.

However, a man of Western civilization finds it difficult to accept manifestations

of the sacred in stones or trees. It must be noted that these manifestations do not involve worship of
the stone or tree in itself. They are worshipped because they are hierophanies, because "they show
something that is no longer stone or tree but the sacred, the ganz andere22" (Eliade 1996, 12).

Every hierophany represents the paradox which cannot be overemphasized. Any object
which manifests the sacred becomes 'something else' at the same time remaining 'itself as it still
participates in its surrounding cosmic environment. From the profane point of view, a 'sacred' stone
remains as all other stones but those who see it as sacred transmute its reality into a supernatural one.
20 First delivered as a talk to the Bendigo Jung Society, 1992.

21 Eliade'sThe Sacred & the Profane is influenced by Rudolf Otto (1869-1937) the author of the Golden Bough:
The Idea of the Holy (1917). Otto defines the concept of the holy as that which is numinous. He explained the
numinous as a non-rational, non-sensory experience or feeling whose primary and immediate object is outside
the self. However, Eliade attempts to explain the sacred as wholeness and not just from its irrational side
 As Eliade puts it, "for those who have a religious experience all nature is capable of revealing
itself as cosmic sacrality" (ibid.). The man of all pre-modern societies sees the 'sacred' as 'power' and
'reality' and tries to live as much as possible 'in the sacred' or close to sanctified objects. However, the
sacred, i.e. the 'real' world and the profane, i.e. the 'unreal' world stand as an opposition to each other.
A `completely' profane world, the world of completely desacralised cosmos is a new discovery in the
history of the human spirit.

Distinguishing between the 'sacred' and the 'profane' it may be stated that these two
are the "modes of being in the world" (Eliade 1996, 14). They show two existential situations that people
have taken up in the process of history. The modes show how one treats nature and the world of tools
and how one looks upon "the consecration of human life itself, the sacrality with which man's vital
functions (food, sex, work and so on) can be charged" (ibid.). Taking into consideration what food or
work has become to modern man vividly shows the difference between the modern and archaic
societies.

1.3.2 Homogeneity of space.

Having considered the "two modes of being in the world" it may now be stated that a religious man
treats space as not homogenous. On the one hand, for a religious man there is a sacred space and other
spaces which are not sacred, thus, amorphous, i.e. without structure or consistency. The formless space
surrounds the only 'real' and 'really' existing sacred space. The `nonhomogeneity' of space comes from a
primary religious experience which foregoes all reflection on the world. Eliade notes that "when the
sacred manifests itself in any hierophany, there is not only a break in the homogeneity of space; there is
also revelation of an absolute reality, opposed to the nonreality of the vast surrounding expanse" (Eliade
1996, 21).

It is impossible to establish a point of reference or 'orientation' in the

homogenous space, but hierophany discloses an absolute fixed point which is a centre. By discovering a
fixed point, i.e. the centre, the world is created. The world is created when the homogeneity is broken
creating "our world" and "their world". On the other hand, man of the profane world experiences space
as homogenous and neutral. This experience of a 'nonreligious' man is resulted by his attempt to reject
the `sacrality' of the world. hierophany of space lets one to obtain a fixed point which in its turn enables
him/her to orientate in the chaos of homogeneity. The profane experience opposes the sacred one by
maintaining the homogeneity and hence the relativity of space. Eliade states that, for a profane man,
there is no longer any world, but "only fragments of a shattered universe, an amorphous mass consisting
of an infinite number of more or less neutral place in which man moves, governed and driven by the
obligations of an existence incorporated into an industrial society" (Eliade 1996, 24).

Eliade chooses a church in a modern city to illustrate these experiences.

For a religious, man the space of the church is different from the street in which it stands. The interior

. 22 GANZ ANDERE, DAS: The "wholly other," which Georges Bataille developed into his theory of heterology. The phrase
occurs in the religious writings of Soren Kierkegaard and Karl Barth, but it is most intimately associated with the theologian
Rudolph Otto, whose The Idea of the Holy describes it is as the inexplicable otherness of God.
door of the church breaks the continuity the threshold which is an object of great importance divides
the two spaces and indicates the alienation between the two modes of being, namely the sacred and
the profane. The threshold acts as a limit or a boundary which separates and contrasts the two worlds.
However, it is a paradoxical place "where those worlds communicate, where passages from the profane
to the sacred world become possible" (Eliade 1996, 25)

Every sacred space is separated from the surrounding cosmic milieu as it

implies a hierophany, a manifestation of the sacred. The opposition of the inhabited territory and the
strange and indefinite space surrounding it is, as Eliade notes, "one of the outstanding characteristics of
traditional societies" (Eliade 1996, 29) One may assume that this split in space is resulted by the
opposition between an inhabited space which represents cosmos and the unknown space representing
chaos. According to Eliade, the consecration is "the work of the gods or is in communication with the
world of the gods" (Eliade 1996, 30). He introduces an example of the Vedic ritual of taking possession
of a territory. The possession becomes lawful when a fire altar consecrated to Agni, the god of fire, is
erected. Through the erection of the fire altar communication with the world of gods is ensured and in
this way the space becomes sacred. Another example is that of Spanish and Portuguese conquistadores
who conquered territories in the name of Jesus Christ and consecrated countries by raising the Cross.
Thus, any unknown or unoccupied (usually unoccupied by 'our people' the people of a nation or a tribe)
territory is `cosmicized' through a ritual repetition of the cosmogony. If one treats 'our world' as a
cosmos any attack from outside threatens to turn it into chaos. Since the cosmogony is repetition of a
paradigmatic work of gods, the enemies who attempt to destroy it are assimilated to the enemies of the
gods, the demons.

Eliade notes that 'our" enemies belong to the powers of chaos. Any destruction of a
city is equivalent to retrogression to chaos. Any victory over enemies reiterates the paradigmatic victory
of the gods over the dragon's (that is over, chaos)". (Eliade 1996, 48)

Repeating the acts of gods has a twofold effect: firstly, one remains within the sacred,
thus in reality, and secondly, by this repetition the world is consecrated. A religious man considers
humanity as having a `transhuman', transcendent model. lle considers himself a 'true man' only when he
imitates the gods, the culture heroes or the mythical ancestors. Eliade points out that "one becomes
truly a man only by conforming to the teaching of the myths, that is by imitating the gods". (ibid, 100) It
should be noted that imitating the gods may involve a very grave responsibility as there are certain
blood sacrifices in a primordial divine act. Eliade reminds that "in illo tempore the god had slain the
marine monster and dismembered its body in order to create the cosmos". (ibid.) This blood sacrifice is
repeated when one has to build a village or to pray for rich harvest He proposes an example from the
myths of the earliest cultivators. Consider:

man became what he is today - mortal, sexualized and condemned to work - in

consequence of a primordial murder; in ilk tempore a divine being, quite often a woman or
 maiden, sometimes a child or a man, allowed himself to be immolated in order that tubers or
fruit trees should grow from his body. (ibid, 101)

For palaeo-agricultural societies, the periodic evocation of the primordial event was essential. By the
rites they 'reactualized' the memory which played a deciding role; one must never forget what
happened 'in illo tempore'. Thus, forgetting is assumed as a true sin. The urgent need not to forget what
have happened 'in illo tempore' causes essentially metaphysical rituals of cannibalism. The nature does
not 'give' the food plant; it must be produced by a slaying because in this way it was created in the dawn
of time. Cannibalism along with headhunting and human sacrifice was justified by man to ensure the life
of plants.

The author of the paper has chosen to employ Eliade's category of sacred space and to
analyze "the two modes of being in the world" as presented in Heart of Darkness. The sacred mode of
being of the blacks who represent the world of unconscious and the profane mode of the whites who
represent the conscious world will be proved with the reference to Eliade's ideas.

2. ARCHETYPAL PATTERNS IN JOSEPH CONRAD'S HEART OF DARKNESS

The archetypal patterns are woven into Conrad's story. The novella encompasses the frames of the
ancient myths and the Hero's myth along with the archetypes which reveal the hero's inner world. On
the mythological level the paper will analyze the archetypal image of woman in accordance with
Bodkin's analysis of Homer's Iliad and the Epic of Gilgamesh. The author will reveal the mythological
pattern suggested by the scholar in Heart of Darkness. Moreover, the Hero's myth and the archetypes of
the Shadow, the Anima and the Self will be discussed in accordance with Jung's theory of individuation
and Campbell's monotnyth. Finally, Eliade's proposed two modes of the being in the world will be
applied to analyze the European and African cultures as presented in Heart of Darkness.

2.1. The archetypal scheme of the Hero's journey.

Symbolically, the Hero's journey represents the descent into the unconscious. In Heart of Darkness, the
hero is represented in Marlow and his personal unconscious is represented by the jungle, or the forest.
The forest is "traditionally dark, labyrinthine" entity (Ferber, 1999, 78). The most developed stage of
Marlow's journey is to realize his Shadow. When he reaches the jungle, he recognizes it. In the story the
Shadow character is Mr. Kurtz. The other archetypes, namely Anima and the Self, are not so well
developed. Nevertheless, their meaning is very important in understanding the story. The author of the
paper has chosen to present Marlow's journey in accordance with Campbell's pattern of Hero's journey
and Jung's psychological interpretation of the Shadow, Anima and the Self.

2.1.1 The jungle as the parallel of the unconscious.

As Campbell states, the Hero must feel that "something is missing in life" (Campbell) and it As Campbell

23The primordial dragon, the archdemon and the paradigmatic figure of everything that is amorphous,
was conquered by the gods at the beginning of time. He was slain and cut to pieces so that cosmos
could be created.
states, the Hero must feel that "something is missing in life" (Campbell) and it should evoke his desire to
leave the familiar space and enter the unknown. The familiar and the unknown spaces represent the
conscious and the unconscious respectively. For Marlow, a spur to go on a quest was his, i.e. the
mariner's, not being on a voyage for long enough and desire to visit the place he had wanted to go since
childhood. His craving to go to Congo was so strong that having failed by himself Marlow asked his
relatives to help him get appointed for a job there, though he was not "used to getting things that way"
(Conrad 1986, 139) 24. He explains that "the notion drove [him]" (ibid, 142). Marlow was eager to go to
the jungle because there was a river which "resembling an immense snake uncoiled c...> had charmed
[him]" (ibid, 139). A strong impact of the idea on Marlow's conscious reveals that it was caused by the
Self which typically creates either outward or inward necessity for changes. Being a wonderer he could
do without traveling. Moreover, the longing for voyages implies that the hero got tired of the
surroundings of the land and needed an escape to the sea or a river. However, the need for a change in
surroundings may be symbolically viewed as a need of a change in one's mind.

Marlow went to the jungle of Congo where he was skipper of a river steamboat. The mental
changes of those who go to the jungle, or archetypally, descend into the unconscious, were stressed by
the doctor whom Marlow met before he went on a trip. The doctor who used, "in the interest of
science, to measure the crania of those going out there" remarked that "the changes take place inside",
they are not observed externally, and it would be "interesting for science to watch the mental changes
on the spot" (ibid, 142). The doctor prepares Marlow for the voyage instructing him to "avoid irritation
more than exposure to the sun" (ibid, 143).

Jung's associate Franz who helped him to Jung's theory in Man and his Symbols,
states that, when a child reaches the school age and begins to develop his Ego, "the imperfections of the
world, and the evil within oneself as well as outside, become conscious problems; the child must try to
cope with urgent (but not yet understood) inner impulses as well as the demands of the outer world"
(Franz 1977, p. 168 — 169). This stage of psychic growth is fill of painful shocks and a child may feel very
different from others which causes a feeling of sadness. Some children at this age begin to "earnestly
seek for some meaning in life that could help them to deal with the chaos both within and outside
themselves" (Franz 1977, 169). It is worth noting that Marlow "was not in the least typical" (Conrad
1986, 143) Englishman and "he did not represent his class" (ibid, 136), the sailors. He was a wonderer
while other seamen "lead C...> a sedentary life" (ibid, 136). Moreover, it is said in the story that "Marlow
was not typical C...> and to him the meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel but outside,
enveloping the tale which brought it out only as a glow brings out a haze, in the likeness of one of these
misty halos that sometimes are made visible by the spectral illumination of moonshine" (ibid, 137). The
fact that for Marlow the meaning of events was outside the kernel suggests him being able to get
detached from a situation and thus better estimate how serious it was and what should be done. A
person usually suppresses the emotions and/or wishes which are incompatible with the social system

This and other quotations of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness in Cassill, R.V. (1986). The Norton
24

Anthology of Short Fiction.

he/she lives in. Thus, it may be stated that hero being not a typical person at all had faced many
difficulties throughout his life and had suppressed experiences. Marlow told that when he had been a
child he used to pick a place on a map and said that he would go there as a grown up. The jungle of
Congo was the place which he wished to visit most of all. When he was a boy, the geographical space
had not yet been explored and the region was marked as a blank space. However, at the moment when
he could go there, there was no blank space on the map any more:

It had got filled since my childhood with rivers and lakes and names. It had ceased to be a
blank space of delightful mystery - a white patch for a boy to dream gloriously over. It had
become a place of darkness. (Conrad 1986, 139)

The white colour of the region in Marlow's childhood evokes a positive connotation. It symbolizes purity,
cleanness and innocence. While the colour black is authoritative and powerful as it may evoke strong
emotions and too much of it may be overwhelming. The geographical space presented on a map
symbolically represents the hero's psyche. When he was a child and did not have as much experience as
an adult, his unconscious was a blank space to be filled in. It became a place of darkness when Marlow
was much older and had much more experience since it got filled with "rivers and lakes and names"
symbolically representing experience. Comparing to the blank space, when there were neither rivers nor
names it had become black. Hence, his unconscious got filled with suppressed emotions and hankerings,
attitudes, superstitions and prejudice. The authoritative and overwhelming power of the black also
reveals that the unconscious controls the consciousness. According to Jung, the part of the unconscious
"consists of a multitude of temporarily obscured thoughts, impressions, and images that, in spite of
being lost, continue to influence our conscious minds" and sometimes "unconscious contents of the
mind behave as if they were conscious" (Jung 1977, p. 18-19). The motif of darkness is found throughout
the story. The jungle, which symbolically represents the hero's unconscious, is described as "so dark-
green as to be almost black" (ibid, 144) with "the profound darkness of its heart" (ibid, 163). Moreover,
Marlow feels as if "transported into some lightless region of subtle horrors" (ibid, 187). When Marlow
saw Mr. Kurtz, who is the hero's archetypal Shadow, for the first time he found out the following: "never
before did this land, this river, this jungle, the very arch of this blazing sky, appear to me so hopeless and
so dark, so impenetrable to human thought, so pitiless to human weakness" (ibid, 184). The "human
thought" stands here for the conscious self which cannot enter the unconscious which manifests itself in
dreams. Marlow describes the jungle as "smiling, frowning, inviting, grand, mean, insipid, or savage and
always mute with an air of whispering, Come and find out" (ibid, 144) as if the unconscious had
suggested him to start the individuation. Hence, Marlow's unconscious which had become "a place of
darkness" gained much power over his life and influenced him to go to Congo.

According to Jung, "because them are innumerable things beyond the range of human
understanding, we constantly use symbolic terms to represent concepts that we cannot define or fully
comprehend" (Jung 1977, 4). Due to this fact all religions make a use of symbols and images. However,
the conscious employment of symbols in a language embraces only one aspect of a psychological fact.
The scholar claims that the symbols are likewise produced unconsciously and spontaneously in the form
of dreams. It is worth noting that "it was the study of dreams that first enabled psychologists to
investigate the unconscious aspect of conscious psychic events" (ibid, 5). It means that a person's
dreams may reveal the events he/she was consciously involved into.

I am speaking here of things we have consciously seen or heard, and subsequently

forgotten. But we all see, hear, smell, and taste many things without noticing them at the time,
either because our attention is deflected or because the stimulus to our senses is too slight to
leave a conscious impression. The unconscious, however, has taken note of them, and such
subliminal sense perceptions play a significant part in our everyday lives. Without our realizing it,
they influence the way in which we react to both events and people. (Jung 1977, 20)

There is a considerable number of the cases when Marlow referred to his experience
in the jungle as a dream. Although the reality of the jungle was real, the unconscious symbols found
there manifested themselves as if a dream. Thus, Marlow's experience in Congo may be paralleled to
the experience of a dream. The hero said that the beginning of his journey was "like a weary pilgrimage
amongst hints for nightmares" (Conrad 1986, 145). Furthermore, there were moments "when one's past
came back to one <...> in the shape of unrestful and noisy dream, remembered with wonder amongst
the overwhelming realities of this strange word of plants, and water, and silence" (Conrad 1986, pp.
163-164). The hero also spoke of "the choice of the nightmare" (ibid, 190) when he chose to contradict
the manager of the Central station saying that Mr. Kurtz was a remarkable man. Moreover, Marlow
stresses that he had to be loyal "to the nightmares of [his] choice" (ibid, 192). Marlow claims that while
confronting Kurtz they pronounced the words which had the "terrific suggestiveness of words heard in
dreams, of phrases spoken in nightmares" (ibid, 194). He also notes that "it seems to me I am trying to
tell you a dream — making a vain attempt, because no relation of a dream can convey the dream-
sensation, that commingling of absurdity, surprise, and bewilderment in a tremor of struggling revolt,
that notion of being captured by the incredible which is of the very essence of dreams" (ibid, 157).
Although Marlow was right by saying that it was impossible to make another person feel just like he/she
did in a dream since "we live, as we dream — alone" (ibid.), it should be noted that archetypes which
are found in dreams are common to all humanity and can be recognized by any person who has some
knowledge of psychology. The "incredible" which captures one in dreams is the unconscious which
merges with the conscious in one's dreams. As a result, a person is forced to face his inner psyche which
may be horrifying. Taking into consideration the facts that dreams represent the unconscious aspects of
events and that Marlow described his experience in the jungle as a nightmare it the hero confesses that
in his life he had seen "the devil of violence, and the devil of greed, and the devil of hot desire' (ibid,
147). Recalling Jung's statement that all the events a person has seen, heard or experienced himself
reside in the unconscious it should be noted that the "devils" Marlow mentions reside in his
unconscious. In Heart of Darkness the violence was represented when a grass shed burnt and Marlow
saw that "a nigger was being beaten near by" (ibid, 154). Marlow also tells about "the body of a middle-
aged Negro, with a bullet-hole in his forehead" (ibid, 151). The hero has also heard the story when his
predecessor "whacked the old nigger mercilessly <...> till some man <...> made a tentative jab with a
spear at the white man" (ibid, 140). The "devil of greed" may be symbolically embodied in the desire for
ivory. The hero remarked that "the word 'ivory' rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed and one
could assume that "they were praying to eat" (ibid, 153). The backward movement from the loudness of
the sound in ringing to sighing implies that the mass hankering after the ivory deeply affected an
individual. The sighing also implies passion. "The devil of desire" is related with "the devil of greed"
because to the whites "the only real feeling was a desire to get appointed to a trading-post where ivory
was to be had, so that they could earn percentages" (ibid, 155). The appointment to a trading-post
suggested easy income, meanwhile Marlow was a sailor which is a demanding profession. In the jungle
Marlow did not crave for ivory although he his relations could have made him rich. His sole interest was
Mr. Kurtz. Jung claims that "dreams compensate for the deficiencies [the] personalities" (Jung 1977, 34).
Thus, greed and desire in this case is an inner compensation of the outer reality since it may be assumed
that the hero was quite ascetic. Meanwhile, the violence in the jungle, symbolically in the unconscious,
represents the unconscious residua of the conscious events.

When Marlow described Congo he pointed out "a mighty big river, that you could see on
the map, resembling an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest curving afar
over a vast country, and its tail lost in the depths of the land" (Conrad 1986, 139). The river resembling
the snake on the map fascinated Marlow and evoked his journey to that region. However, the river also
provided him the opportunity to reach the depths of Africa, symbolically the depths of unconscious.
According to Jung, snake is "the embodiment of wisdom" (Jung 1977, 85). Thus, the hero who had
traveled along the snake-like river should have gained wisdom which is a part of individuation and an
outcome of the Hero's journey.

The scholar also states that human collective consciousness was developed "in a process
that took untold ages to reach the civilized state", however, "what we call the 'psyche' is by no means
identical with our consciousness and its contents" (Jung 1977, 6). Thus, the unconscious is as old as the
human race. When Marlow was in Congo he could feel that "the smell of primeval mud was in [his]
nostrils, the high stillness of primeval forest was before [his] eyes" (Conrad 1986, 156). He also mentions
"settlements some centuries old" (ibid, 144) and that he felt as if he and his crew "were wonderers on a
prehistoric earth that wore an aspect of an unknown planet; we could have fancied ourselves the first
men taking possession of an accursed inheritance" (ibid, 165). The "accursed inheritance" is represented
by the ivory which awakened the greed in its utmost proportions. It would also be relevant to stress that
Marlow did not think that the natives "had any clear idea of time" (ibid, 165) suggesting that there was
none. These examples provide the notion that the jungle, i.e. the unconscious was formed in the
beginning of time.

Another aspect of the unconscious found in the image of the jungle is that fleshly instincts

comet to the surface in its surroundings. Jung claimed that the human instincts arc ignored and denied
by the rational mind so they are suppressed into an unconscious part of psyche. He further explains that
the instincts are not mere biological urges. Consider:

But at the same time, they also manifest themselves in fantasies and
often reveal their presence only by symbolic images. These manifestations are what I call the
archetypes. They are without known origin; and they reproduce themselves in any time or in any
 pan of the world - even where transmission by direct descent or "cross fertilization" through
migration must be ruled out (Jung 1977, 58).

The scholar states that the consciousness of a civilized man has separated itself from the basic instincts.
However, they did not disappear and assert themselves in an indirect fashion. Jung suggests that it may
be done "by means of physical symptoms in the case of a neurosis, or by means of incidents of various
kinds, like unaccountable moods, unexpected forgetfulness, or mistakes in speech" (Jung 1977, 72).

In Heart of Darkness such instincts may be found symbolically embodied in the natives
of the jungle. Marlow described how "they howled and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces; but
what thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity — like yours — the thought of your remote
kinship with this wild and passionate uproar" (Conrad 1986, 165). The hero recognized these instincts
and admitted that there is a response to them within him. Thus, on the symbolical level, the instincts
were realized by consciousness and integrated into the conscious psyche. However, some of the
instincts may be suppressed. Here the situation with the fire of the shed should be considered. It was
said that the black who was beaten caused the fire and he was beaten for punishment which had to
prevent all transgressions. Archetypally, the fire caused by the black symbolizes an outburst of
instinctive part of one's conscious and the beating is a repression. The example of the suppressed
instincts is illustrated in the characters of cannibals who were members of Marlow's crew. Their superb
restriction reveals that they are under the strict control of the conscious self, represented by the hero.
He wonders why they did not attack and eat white people although being hungry for weeks. Marlow
points out that "no fear can stand up to hunger, no patience can wear it out, disgust simply does not
exist where hunger is; and as to superstitions and beliefs, and what you may call principles, they are less
than chaff in a breeze" (ibid, 171). The fact that they were controlled by the conscious self, symbolically
embodied in Marlow, reveals itself when they hear the howl of the natives on the bank. The chief of the
cannibals asked Marlow to catch and give those blacks to the cannibals as food. The feeding of the
cannibals symbolically represented giving freedom to the hero's instincts. Moreover, the fact they fed
on human meat suggests their instinctive nature which was improper for the civilized conscious self.
Another instance of Marlow's control over the cannibals is noticed when the hero threw out the body of
the fireman who was killed during the attack on the steamboat. The reaction of the cannibals who could
have eaten the body was "a very ominous murmur on the deck below" (ibid, 180). It should be pointed
out that the cannibals still did not though their murmur was ominous, but there is also another fact of
great importance. Marlow told that they were on the deck below implying that his position was higher
then their. Thus, the fact that the cannibals obeyed him shows that the instincts they represent are
suppressed. Recalling Jung's statement that ignored instincts assert themselves in various ways one of
which is unaccountable mood may be presented in Marlow's behaviour when he told his mechanic that
they would get rivets they had been waiting for months to fix the steamboat. The hero remarked that he
did not know they "behaved like lunatics" (ibid, 160). When the mechanic could not believe Marlow "put
the finger to the side of [his] nose and nodded mysteriously" afterwards he "tried a jig" and they
"capered on the iron deck" at night (ibid.).

Campbell claims that the hero has to cross the threshold of consciousness and adds that
the entrance is not free and is protected. The guardians "mark the point of no return" (Campbell). In
Heart of Darkness the symbolic threshold is the Continental Concern Marlow worked for. Here Marlow's
first entering the company should be considered. He entered the building of the Company through an
"immense double door ponderously ajar" (ibid, 141). The door shares its meaning with the threshold. It
is a transitional point from one place to another, from lightness to darkness and vice versa. The opened
doors imply an invitation for great discovery and investigation. What concerns Marlow's situation, he
was invited to move from the conscious to the unconscious and discover the realms of his unconscious
psyche. Nevertheless, the manner of his entrance is of great importance. The hero "slipped through one
of these cracks" (ibid.). The paradox of the "immense double door ponderously ajar" and "the crack"
suggests that the immense unconscious is entered through a narrow passage. The fact that he "slipped"
through the door implies the secrecy which creates the feeling of danger. It is noteworthy that Mircea
Eliade claims that the dangerous narrow passage "frequently occur in initiatory and funerary rituals and
mythologies" (Eliade 1996, 181). The religious approach of the scholar to initiatory passage should be
considered.

One does not become a complete man until one has passed beyond, and in some sense
abolished, "natural" humanity, for initiation is reducible to a paradoxical, supernatural
experience of death and resurrection or of second birth; initiation rites, entailing ordeals and
symbolic death and resurrection, were instituted by gods, culture heroes, or mythical ancestors.
(Eliade 1996, 187)

The initiation described by Eliade may be paralleled to the process of individuation. First of in both cases
a person becomes a "complete man" or reaches the wholeness of his psyche. Secondly, the abolition of
natural humanity may compared to the entering the unconscious. The third common aspect is the
resurrection. Eliade assumes resurrection as a transformation into someone new, e.g. from a child to an
adult. Jung offers that during individuation the Ego submerges into the unconscious, i.e. the conscious
self temporally dies, and is born again when emerges from the unconscious.

Inside the building Marlow met the two women "guarding the doors of Darkness"
(ibid, 142). Their witch-like appearance suggested that they had supernatural powers. On the symbolical
level, they represent the Fates of Greek as well as the Norns of the Norse and Parcaes of Roman myths
who were present at birth and shaped the fate of the newly-born. The women, like Campbell suggests,
mark the point of no return because which is shown Marlow's symbolical act of signing the employment
contract after having passed them.

Campbell also claims that when the hero reaches his unconscious he is overwhelmed
with doubtful thoughts and sometimes despair. It should be recalled that the Hero's journey is
paralleled with individuation. Franz, who agrees with Campbell that the process of individuation begins
with an initial shock, or call, explains that the Ego, or the hero, "feels hampered in its will or its desire
and usually projects the obstruction onto something external" (Franz 1977, 169). He notes that the
discouragement occurs due to the fact that "the initial encounter with the Self casts a dark Shadow
ahead of time, or as if the "inner friend" comes at first like a trapper to catch the helplessly struggling
Ego in his snare" (Franz 1977, 171). The reader finds Marlow doubtful, too. When he signed the
contract, he "began to feel slightly uneasy C...> and there was something ominous in the atmosphere"
(ibid, 141). Marlow tried to justify his eerie feeling and explained that in the following way:

A queer feeling came to me that I was an impostor. Odd thing that I, who used to clear out
for any part of the world at twenty-four hours' notice, with less thought that most men give to
the crossing of a street, had a moment — I won't say of hesitation, but of startled pause, before
this commonplace affair. The best way to explain it to you is by saying that, for a second or two, I
felt as though, instead of going to the center of a continent, I were about to set off for the center
of the earth (Conrad 1986, 144).

The very fact that Marlow felt as if going to the center of the earth sharpens its geographical parallel
with the human psyche. The movement in the geographical space represents the movement in the
hero's unconscious. When Marlow got closer to the jungle, he found the rivers "whose banks were
rotting into mud, whose waters, thickened into slime, contorted mangroves" (ibid, 145). Rotting mud
and slime symbolically represent the contents of the unconscious. The deeper he penetrated, the more
and darker 'mud' and 'slime' he found around.

The following stage of the Hero's journey is various tests and trials. In Heart of
Darkness, the trials are not described, they are only mentioned. Marlow notes that "the approach to this
Kurtz grubbing for ivory in the wretched bush was beset by as many dangers as though he had been an
enchanted princess sleeping in a fabulous castle" (ibid, 172). He was tested as the sailor. The hero had to
navigate the steamboat which proved to be extremely difficult. Consider:

I had to keep guessing at the channel; I had to discern, mostly by inspiration, the signs
of hidden banks; I watched for sunken stones; I was learning to clap my teeth smartly before my
heart flew out, when I shaved by a fluke some infernal sly old snag that would have ripped the
life out of the tin-pot steamboat and drowned all the pilgrims; I had to keep a lookout for the
signs of dead wood we could cut up in the night for next day's steaming. (Conrad 1986, 164)

He faced another test when he reached the islet in the middle of the river. The hero had to choose
either to the left or to the right. The islet created an archetypal situation of the crossroads, mainly
observed in fairy-tales. Marlow chose the right passage which led him through. The final test before
reaching the Inner Station was an attack of the natives. He recollected "sticks, little sticks, were flying
about — thick: they were whizzing before my nose, dropping below me, striking behind me against my
pilot-house" (ibid, 174). The sticks were the arrows of the natives, and Marlow made an assumption that
they were poisoned. Although he did not get injured, Marlow lost the helmsman and the "poleman"
(ibid, 174) who were the important members of his crew. After the death of the two, Marlow had to
steer himself and not knowing how deep the river was at that length. Nevertheless, the hero proved his
ability to cope with the difficulties and mad right decisions. The most dangerous test for Marlow was the
encounter with his Shadow figure represented by Mr. Kurtz during which the Shadow had to be
integrated.
2.1.2 Mr. Kurtz as the Shadow figure.

One of the key elements in the Hero's journey and individuation is the realization of the Shadow. Franz
states that Jung used this term to name the process during which a person gets "acquainted with
aspects of one's own personality that for various reasons one has preferred not to look at too closely"
(Franz 1977, 174). However, the Shadow may contain some positive features if a person under certain
conditions represses his positive side and lives out the negative. He also points out that "the Shadow
usually contains values that are needed by consciousness, but that exist in a form that makes it difficult
to integrate them into one's life" (ibid, 178). The Shadow embodies the qualities the person dislikes in
others and thus represents the opposite side of the Ego. The scholar maintains that in dreams and
myths the Shadow appears as a person of the same sex as the one who dreams.

In Heart of Darkness, the man of dark mystery is Mr. Kurtz. He is the Shadow figure of
the hero Marlow. The first parallel between the hero and his Shadow is that these two characters are
the only two in the story who are given names. All the other are addressed either by kinship or by their
profession and there is one case when a character representing the Self is identified by nationality as
Russian. If the Shadow is the opposite of the Ego, Kurtz and Marlow respectively, it means that they
both have the positive and negative aspects of the character. On the supposition that the hero assumes
his Shadow as a remarkable person it may be stated that the Shadow possesses some good qualities.
Thus, Mr. Kurtz as the Shadow encompasses both the negative and the positive. These aspects should
be analyzed separately.

On the one hand, Kurtz represents the lack of restraint which is shown in the story.
Both Marlow and Kurtz were thought to be capable of bringing civilization to savage country. Marlow
mentions that before he started the journey he felt "just as though [he] had got a heavenly mission to
civilize" (Conrad 1986, 138) his friends in England whom he tells the story of his journey to the jungle.
He admits that he was "hindering you fellows in your work and invading your homes" (ibid.). The verbs
hinder and invade suggest the irritating and unsound character of the way Marlow was civilizing.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kurtz was sent to the jungle as "emissary of pity, and science, and progress" (ibid, 155).
The hero learned that "most appropriately, the International Society for the Suppression of Savage
Customs had intrusted [Mr. Kurtz] with the making of a report, for its future guidance" (ibid, 179). The
main difference between them is that Marlow tried to civilize his friends on the conscious level of his
psyche, i.e. in Europe, while Mr. Kurtz represents the unconscious aspect, i.e. the jungle. Although Kurtz
managed to write the report, he failed in bringing civilization. His picture which he had painted in the
Central Station is important to be analyzed here. Consider Marlow's description:

Then I noticed a small sketch in oils, on a panel, representing a woman, draped and
blindfolded, carrying a lighted torch. The background was somber — almost black. The
movement of the woman was stately, and the effect of the torchlight on the face was sinister.
(ibid, 155)

The picture might be interpreted as an illustration of civilization bringing process. The woman might be
considered as an allegory of European civilization represented by Kurtz. He was supposed civilize the
savage natives, however, he did not in which way to achieve it. She carries a lighted torch which
symbolizes spirituality, intelligence, culture, and spirituality. If the torch is used in an inappropriate way
it symbolizes destruction. However, the woman is blindfolded; thus, she cannot see the lighted way
herself. This fact together with the dark background implies that the woman belongs to darkness and
does not understand the idea of the light of civilization and all its aspects. As a result, the woman does
not know how to move and how to find a right direction. The sinister effect of the light on her face
implies that the woman is in danger. She cannot see the light, but she becomes visible to the darkness
which devours her. Moreover, Kurtz embodies features opposite to those of the civilized man. He had
returned to primeval habits, yet deformed: between and betwixt, neither the one, nor the other. He
assumed himself superior over the natives of the jungle by claiming "that we whites, from the point of
development we have arrived at, 'must necessarily appear to them [savages] in the nature of
supernatural beings — we approach them with the might as of a deity" (ibid, 179). Kurtz is sure that "by
the simple exercise of our will we can exert a power for good practically unbounded" (ibid, 179).
Unfortunately, when Kurtz took his power over the natives, he was tempted to abuse them and did it
with the same intensity as he had planned to civilize them. Kurtz, representing the Shadow, "came <...>

with thunder and lightning" (ibid, 184) and "he had the power to charm or frighten rudimentary souls
into an aggravated witch-dance in his honor; he could also fill the small souls of the pilgrims with bitter
misgivings" (ibid, 179). It may be assumed that the personal Shadow of the hero, embodied in the
character of Mr. Kurtz, had developed after the collective instincts, represented by the natives, entered
his unconscious. Thus, the Shadow who belongs to the personal part of psyche took dominion over the
instincts which belong to the collective unconscious. He abused the natives in two ways. Firstly, he was
"getting himself adored" (ibid, 185) and secondly "he got a tribe to follow him" and "he raided the
country" (ibid, 184) for the ivory. The way he acted "only showed that Mr. Kurtz lacked restraint in the
gratification of his various lusts" and that "there was something wanting in him- (ibid, 186). With the use
of the archetype of the Shadow Conrad depicted how the unconscious showed Marlow what his
consciousness needed. Although there is almost no information about Marlow's personal life, the fact
that Kurtz had no restraint shows that Marlow was very limited in gratification of his wishes.

On the other hand, Mr. Kurtz had a "gift of noble and lofty eloquence" (ibid, 196). Marlow
was amazed by the report for the International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs.

The peroration was magnificent, though difficult to remember, you know. It gave
me the notion of an exotic Immensity ruled by an august Benevolence. It made me tingle with
enthusiasm. This was the unbounded power of eloquence — of words — of burning noble words.
There were no practical hints to interrupt the magic current of phrases. (ibid, 179)

Kurtz, archetypally the hero's Shadow, "presented himself as a voice" (ibid, 176) and
all the other characters "were so little more than voices" (ibid, 177). The fact that the characters were
no more than voices reveals their intangible nature. It may be assumed that the unconscious
communicated with the conscious self using voices and the strongest of them was the voice of the
Shadow. Kurtz' ability to talk was the main characteristics he was adored for by other people. Among all
his talents Marlow distinguishes the gift to express himself:
 The point was in his being a gifted creature, and that of all his gifts the one that
stood out preeminently, that carried with it a sense of real presence, was his ability to talk, his
words — the gift of expression, the bewildering, the illuminating, the most exalted and the most
contemptible, the pulsating stream of light, or the deceitful flow from the heart of an
impenetrable darkness. (ibid, 176)

Although, Marlow is presented as a perfect teller of stories, it may be assumed that until
he integrated his Shadow he was an introvert. Franz explains that Jung used the term for "a man who
tends to retire too much from outer world" (Franz 1977, 178). Marlow recalled that when he was going
to the jungle he felt "the idleness of a passenger, my isolation amongst all these men with whom I had
no point of contact" (ibid, 144). Due to his reserved nature, the hero's Shadow appeared as an eloquent
person implying the quality the conscious needed. Franz states that, according to Jung, it is a
complicated task to integrate one's Shadow because it is not always enough to be righteous and to use
one's insight. He warns that there is such "a passionate drive within the Shadowy part of oneself that
reason may not prevail against it" (Franz 1977, 182). The outward experience or the Self may help one to
repress the Shadow's drives and impulses. The Self can be defined "as an inner guiding factor that is
different from the conscious personality and that can be grasped only through the investigation of one's
own dreams" (ibid, 163). However, the Shadow may possesses "valuable, vital forces, they ought to be
assimilated into actual experience and not repressed" (ibid, 183). In such a case the Ego must live out
what initially seems to be dark, but truly is not. It is worth reminding that the Shadow should be treated
"exactly like any human being with whom one has to get along, sometimes by giving in, sometimes by
resisting, sometimes by giving love - whatever the situation requires" (ibid, 182). In the novella, Marlow
was helped by his Self to integrate the Shadow.

2.1.3 The Self as reflected in the character of the Russian.

In Heart of Darkness the archetype of the Self is symbolically represented by the

character of the Russian whom Marlow met at Kurtz' station:

There he was before me, in motley, as though he had absconded from a troupe of
mimes, enthusiastic, fabulous. His very existence was improbable, inexplicable, and altogether
bewildering. He was an insoluble problem. It was inconceivable how he had existed, how he has
succeeded in getting so far, how he managed to remain — why he did not instantly disappear.
<...> The glamour of youth enveloped his parti-colored rags, his destitution, his loneliness, the
essential desolation of his futile wanderings. <...> Glamour urged him on, glamour kept him
unscathed. He surely wanted nothing from wilderness but space to breathe in and to push on
through. His need was to exist, and to move onwards at the greatest possible risk, and with a
maximum of privation. (Conrad 1986, 183)

The Self is an archetype pointing to the wholeness of psyche. It is a state when an individual
does not have any secret wishes. The Russian's need to exist "with a maximum of privation" shows that
the Self is not obsessed by the wishes opposes the Shadow who greedy. The fact that the Russian was a
son of an arch-priest suggests him to be of spiritual nature. The Self urges the Ego into individuation. It
often suggests the ways how the Ego should act in order to overcome the obstacles. In the story, it was
the Russian who had helped Marlow to face Mr. Kurtz. Franz notes that "Jung has demonstrated, the
nucleus of the psyche (the Self) normally expresses itself in some kind of fourfold structure" (Franz 1977,
195). There was a symbolic number four involved in the story, too, as the Self helped Marlow four times.
The first instance of help was about fifty miles below the Inner Station. Marlow noticed a but with a
stacked woodpile which was unexpected and a piece of board with the following inscription on it:
"Wood for you. Hurry up. Approach cautiously" (ibid, 167). The wood was needed for the steamboat to
move on, and the warning meant that it was dangerous to approach Kurtz, i.e. the Shadow. Since it was
already dusk, Marlow did not continue his journey and in the morning he was attacked by the natives.
Later on Marlow was told by the Russian that "it was Kurtz who had ordered the attack to be made on
the steamer" and explained that "he thought it would scare you away — that you would give it up,
thinking him dead" (ibid, 191). This situation reveals different impacts of the Self and the Shadow upon
the Ego. The Shadow is cunning and trying to break the process of individuation, so he tries to deceive
the Ego. Had Marlow believed that Kurtz was dead and had returned, he would have failed to complete
the process of individuation. However, the Self acts in an opposite way. The pile of wood suggests the
impetus to continue and the warning reveals protectiveness since the Self is interested in that the Ego
would reach individuation. The second time was when the steamboat nearly reached the bank of Inner
Station. The Russian warned Marlow that "there's a snag lodged in there last night" (ibid, 181). In this
case the Self saved the Ego from the complex" symbolically shown by Marlow being not able to stand
the loss of the steamboat.

After all, for a seaman to scrape the bottom of the thing that's supposed to float all
`the time under his care is the unpardonable sin. No one may know of it, but you never forget the
thump - eh? A blow on the very heart. You remember it, you dream of it, you wake up at night
and think of it - years after - and go hot and cold all over. (Conrad 1986, 164)

Moreover, the Russian told Marlow that in the case of trouble with the natives "one good screech [of
the steamboat's whistle] will do more than all your rifles" (ibid, 182). Here he taught him that in the
jungle, or the unconscious, the physical force has no effect and that the problems might be solved in
other ways. The natives were not frightened by the rifles whereas they were afraid of the steamboat
which embodied a fierce river-demon. Finally, the Russian instructed Marlow how to act with Mr. Kurtz.
Symbolically, the Self guides the Ego so that the Shadow would not turn into hostile. Marlow was told
that one day Mr. Kurtz wanted to shoot the Russian for a small lot of ivory which the latter was forced to
give him. It may be assumed that the Self warns the Ego to give the Shadow whatever he wants because
"there was nothing on earth to prevent him killing whom he jolly pleased" (ibid, 185). However, it should
not be assumed literally that the Shadow must be provided with everything he is craving for. The Self
implies that the Ego should not restrict and suppress his wishes because it has a negative effect on the
unconscious mind. He also told Marlow that "you don't talk with that man — you listen to him" (ibid,
182), thus implying that the Ego should listen into the needs of the Shadow before making any

25Complexes are "repressed emotional themes than can cause constant psychological disturbances or
even, in many cases, the symptoms of a neurosis" (Jung 1977, 11).
judgments. Marlow acknowledges that he "hadn't heard any of these splendid monologues on, what
was it? on love, justice, conduct of life — or what not" (ibid, 187). The range of the topic Kurtz spoke on
suggests that the Shadow is present at every conscious event and decision. The fact that the Shadow
should be given whatever he wants and that he should be listened to implies that the Ego must learn to
listen to him in order to integrate his Shadow into the conscious psyche. The hints of the Russian,
archetypally the Self, given to Marlow, or archetypally the Ego, will prove very helpful when Marlow
confronts Mr. Kurtz. The guide gave the hero four pieces of advice and the hero gave him four things in
his turn. He supplied the Russian with tobacco, cartridges, shoes and he gave back his book which he
had lost next to the woodpile. All the four elements made the Russian "think himself excellently well
equipped for a renewed encounter with the wilderness" (ibid, 192). The departure of the Self suggests
that the Ego has gained enough knowledge and is ready to encounter the Shadow.

Marlow's encounter with Mr. Kurtz is the culminating point in the story. Marlow woke up
at night filled with the monotonous beating of the drum which had a narcotic effect upon his senses. It
should be mentioned that the doctor whom Marlow visited at the beginning warned him that "in the
tropics one must before everything keep calm" (ibid, 143). If a person is not calm, he is distracted and
cannot hear the inner voice. Marlow "confounded the beat of the drum with the beating of [his] heart,
and was pleased at its calm regularity" (ibid, 193). When the hero faces his Shadow, he realizes that he
had for his "sins, I suppose — to go through the ordeal of looking into myself' (ibid, 194). Marlow, who
had been instructed by his Self, understood that "this was clearly not a case for fisticuffs, even apart
from the very natural aversion 1 had to beat that Shadow" (ibid, 193). I-Ie tried to persuade him to come
back because he "did not want to have the throttling of him, you understand — and indeed it would
have been very little use for any practical purpose" (ibid, 194). Marlow understood that the physical
death of Kurtz would not mean his victory since the Shadow has to be integrated, thus accepted into the
conscious. The Russian has taught him that in the unconscious the symbolic things possess much greater
power than the real ones. Thus, the hero "tried to break the spell — the heavy, mute spell of the
wilderness — that seemed to draw him to its pitiless breast by awakening of forgotten and brutal
instincts, by the memory the memory of gratified and monstrous passions" (ibid, 194). Marlow thought
that he had struggled with the soul and that he had "even like niggers, to invoke him — himself— his
own exalted and incredible degradation" (ibid, 194). Marlow's words reached his Shadow as he was
"cocksure of everything that night" (ibid, 193)24 and he said the right words. The fact that the hero tried
to invoke Mr. Kurtz signifies that the Ego had made allowances. When he was told about the ceremonies
how the chiefs approached Kurtz, Marlow found that "such details would be more intolerable than
those heads drying on the stakes under Mr. Kurtz' windows" (ibid, 187). He had in mind the heads of the
natives (who were called rebels) pulled on the poles for an example to make the natives scared. Another
case when the Ego shows the compromise is found in the episode when Marlow returned home and
told lie to Kurtz' fiancée that the last words Kurtz uttered contained her name. However, before he
stressed the following: "I hate, detest, and can't bear a lie, not because I am

Franz states that "somewhere, right at the bottom of one's own being, one generally does know
26

where one should go and what one should do" (Franz 1977, 184).
straighter than the rest of us, but simply because it appalls me (ibid, 157). Franz states that according to
Jung it is necessary for "the ego to give up its pride and priggishness and to live out something that
seems to be dark, but actually may not be" (Franz 1977, 183). In Marlow's situation his invocation which
had seemed intolerable to him helped Kurtz to return to himself and the lies he told saved the world of
Mr. Kurtz' fiancée as she had believed that "his goodness shone in every act" (ibid, 204). The hero
succeeded in fighting his Shadow and managed to convince for union:

I kept my head pretty well; but when I had him at last stretched on the couch, I wiped
my forehead, while my legs shook under me as though I had carried half of ton on my back down
the hill. And yet I had only supported him, his bony arm clasped round my neck — and he was
not much heavier than a child. (Conrad 1986, 195)

The excerpt suggests that it is extremely hard to deal with the Shadow. The paradox of weight implies
that one should never depreciate the difficulty of the integration of the Shadow. Kurtz' comparison with
a child alludes to the time when the Shadow had started to develop, but his weight implies how
immense his sins were. When Marlow had integrated his Shadow, "this initiated wraith from the back of
Nowhere honored me with its amazing confidence before it vanished altogether" (ibid, 178). The
"Nowhere" is the unconscious suggesting that the Shadow came to the conscious psyche and the
integration is paralleled with vanishing.

2.1.4 The dual image of the Anima.

As Franz finds it, Jung states that "often [Anima] turns up behind the Shadow, bringing up new and
different problems" (Franz 1977, 186). In Conrad's story, the archetype of the Anima is a complex one,
since it is represented by the two distinctive women characters and is not directly connected with the
Hero, but is rather viewed in relation to the Shadow embodied in the figure of Mr. Kurtz. One is the
native woman whom Mr. Kurtz met in the jungle and another is her counterpart, his fiancée in Europe
whom Kurtz called "My Intended" (Conrad 1986, 178). Nevertheless, the two women have an indirect
impact on Marlow, since "to him the meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel but outside"
(ibid, 136). Thus, it may be assumed that, according to the archetypal pattern of the Hero's journey,
Marlow happens to recognize the possible variations of the two-fold Anima. After confronting Mr. Kurtz
in the jungle and persuading him not to join the natives in their rites, Marlow brought him on the deck
of the steamboat and saw the native woman who was Kurtz' mistress:

She walked with measured steps, draped in striped and fringed cloths, treading the earth
proudly, with a slight jingle and flash of barbarous ornaments. She carried her head high; her
hair was done in the shape of a helmet; she had brass leggings to the knee, brass wire gauntlets
to the elbow, a crimson spot on her tawny cheek, innumerable necklaces of glass beads on her
neck; bizarre things, charms, gifts of witch-men, that hung about her, glittered and trembled at
every step. She must have had the value of seven elephant tusks upon her. She was savage and
superb, wild-eyed and magnificent; there was something ominous and stately in her deliberate
progress. (ibid, 189)
The description shows the native woman as fascinating and abominable. Marlow found her "superb"
and "magnificent", self-assured by her femininity as she walked "proudly" and "with measured steps".
But at the same time she was "savage", "wild-eyed" and "ominous". She embodied the "tenebrous and
passionate soul" (ibid.) of the wilderness. Since the savage woman is related to Mr. Kurtz and represents
the wilderness where he resided it should be noted that Kurtz both desired and hated "all this and
somehow couldn't get away" (ibid, 185). Marlow described the state of Kurtz as "the fascination of
abomination — you know, imagine the growing regrets, the longing to escape, the powerless disgust,
the surrender, the hate" (ibid, 137). The black woman embodies the negative Anima, i.e. the Temptress.
The temptress kept Kurtz by her "charms", however, he strived to get back to his fiancee. The similar
love is found in Shakespeare's Sonnet 144:

Two /loves I have of comfort and despair.

Which like two spirits do suggest me stilt *
The better angel is a man right fair.
The worsen spirit a woman colour’d ill
To win me soon to hell*,my female evil
Tempteth my better angel from my side.
And would corrupt my saint to be a devil.
Wooing his purity with her foul pride!'

As Franz suggests the projections of the Anima is found in Temptress in the figure of Lorelei, a water
spirit whose singing lures men to death. The scholar refers to a Siberian tale to illustrate the seduction-
based destructive behaviour of the negative Anima. In the tale the hunter is seduced by a woman on the
other bank of the river by her beautiful songs:

Oh, come, lonely hunter in the stillness of dusk.

Come, come! 1 miss you, I miss you!
Now I will embrace you, embrace you!
Come, come! My nest is near, my nest is near.
Come, come, lonely hunter, now in the stillness of dusk. (Franz 1977, 190)
In Heart of Darkness, Kurtz was tempted by the wilderness whose embodiment the native woman is.
She "had taken him, loved him, embraced him, got into his veins, consumed his flesh, and sealed his soul
to its own by the inconceivable ceremonies of some devilish initiation" (Conrad 1986, 177)2*. The
pattern of embrace is observed in both stories. The lonely hunter may be paralleled with Mr. Kurtz who
"wandered alone far in the depths of the forest" (ibid, 184). Another similarity is that both the hunter
and Kurtz were tempted to swim across the river. In his interpretation of the tale Franz suggests that the
Anima is a symbol of illusionary love that lures the hunter away from reality. He drowns since "he ran
after a wishful fantasy that could not be fulfilled" (Franz 1977, 190). Mr. Kurtz had a fantasy, too. He
wished to civilize the savage people, however, it was unachievable and symbolically he had nearly got
drowned by taking "a high seat amongst the devils of the land" (Conrad 1986, 178). Marlow was not

27 Shakespeare, W. Sonnet 144. In http://Www.shakespeare-online.contisonneW144.hattl

lured into temptation since he recognized the danger of temptation with its devastating effects through
his contemplation on Mr. Kurtz' life. The barbarity and savageness of the woman show her inner power
which is symbolically reinforced by her helmet-shaped hairstyle, brass leggings and brass wire gauntlets
pointing to armour. Her appearance suggests an element of a female warrior ready to fight for the
possession of Mr. Kurtz. When seeing her, the Russian said that "if she had offered to come aboard I
really think I would have tried to shoot her (ibid, 189-190). Since the figure of the Russian represents the
very determination of the Self not to allow the Anima to approach the Hero suggests that the Anima, or
the savage woman, was eager to draw the Shadow, embodied in Mr. Kurtz, back to the jungle,
archetypally the unconscious. Thus, it may be assumed that the Anima tried to prevent the integration
of the Shadow, but it failed as Mr. Kurtz had stayed on the steamboat and left for Europe. Moreover, the
-bizarre things, channs, gifts of witch-men" of the native woman suggest that she might be taken for a
female shaman and thus represent the prophetic hunches which are one of the manifestations of the
Anima in man (Franz 1977, 186). Marlow had such hunches when he left for Africa he "began to feel
slightly uneasy C...> and there was something ominous in the atmosphere" (Conrad 1986, 141). This
feeling had warned him of the dangers he would encounter in the jungle.

Another representation of the Anima is embodied in the figure of Kurtz' fiancee. Marlow
describes her in the following way:

She struck me as beautiful - I mean she had a beautiful expression. C...> She seemed ready to
listen without mental reservation, without suspicion, without a thought for herself. She came forward, all
in black, with a pale head, floating towards me in the dusk. C...> I noticed she was not very young - I

mean not girlish. She had a mature capacity for fidelity, for belief, for suffering. C...> This
fair hair, this pale visage, this pure brow, seemed surrounded by an ashy halo from which the
dark eyes looked out at me. Their glance was guileless, profound, confident, and trustful. She
carried her sorrowful head as though she were proud of her sorrow. (ibid, 200; 202)

As the extract shows, for Mr. Kurtz, his fiancee represents an ideal woman since she has a highly
developed ability to listen. And the Russian remarks that "you don't talk with that man [Kurtz], you listen
to him" (ibid, 182). It should be noted, that Mr. Kurtz (or the Shadow) was totally dependent his listener.
As Franz posits, Jung thought that a man must get along with his Shadow and listen to its needs (Franz
1977, 182). Thus, it may be assumed that for a long time Marlow had no chance to hear the voice of Mr.
Kurtz directly, and hence, the needs of his Shadow. its messages were communicated to the conscious
self through the Self, embodied in the Russian, or the Anima embodied in the native woman and Mr.
Kurtz' fiancee. It may be claimed that the character and content of Kurtz' speech was provoked by his
interlocutors. When he talked to the Russian who wished to "see things, gather experience, ideas;
enlarge the mind" (Conrad 1986, 182), Kurtz spoke "on love, justice, conduct of life — or what not" (ibid,
187). The natives listened to him as to some deity and fully obeyed his orders. Moreover, they as
listeners awakened in him the sleeping powers of evil. Meanwhile, the native woman at the time when

28Italics mine. (Artharas CechanoviCius)

the Russian met her seemed not to listen to him but rather talked "like a fury" (ibid, 190). The very fact
that she was not scared by him and could even control some of his actions reinforces her image of a
commanding warrior and Temptress at the same time. Contrariwise, Kurtz' fiancee was "proud to know
[she] understood him better than anyone on earth — [Kurtz] told [her] so himself' (ibid, 203). However,
she lived in the realm of illusion which is symbolically illustrated in the picture painted by Kurtz which
represents a woman, draped and blindfolded, carrying a lighted torch. The background was somber —
almost black" (ibid, 155). The epithet blindfolded, symbolically represent; illusion since she does not see
the real world. It is also embodied in the dark background of the picture. That may be paralleled with
the atmosphere in the fiancee's house. Marlow remarks that "with every word spoken the room was
getting darker, and only her forehead, smooth and white, remained illumined by the unextinguishable
light of belief and love" (ibid, 202). The darkness for Marlow symbolizes the illusion Kurtz' fiancee lived
in. Due to her "great illusion that shone with unearthly glow in the darkness" (ibid, 203), Marlow as the
Hero did not integrate the Anima into his consciousness. Since he believed that women should live "in
the world of their own [illusion]" (ibid, 143), he did not reveal her the truth about Mr. Kurtz and lied that
his last utterance was her name which in reality was — "The Horror! The Honor!" (ibid, 204).

Kurtz' fiancé represents the capacity for personal love in man's psyche. She claimed that "it was
impossible to know him [Kurtz] and not to admire him" (ibid, 202). Moreover, when Marlow kept
hesitating to tell her the last words of Kurtz since they were very heavy ones — "The Horror! The
Honor!" — she outcried "don't you understand I loved him — I loved him — I loved him!" (ibid, 204). In
her case, the fact that she repeated it thrice suggests the spiritual nature of her love. The symbolic
meaning of number three is reinforced by the image of the "ashy halo" (ibid, 202) suggesting the halo
represented in the religious pictures of the Virgin Mary and the saints. The epithets "fair" and "pale"
symbolically suggest an implied whiteness which, in its turn, has a connotation of purity and, together
with the epithet "pure", implies her innocence. Thus, it may be suggested that Kurtz' fiancée represent;
the divine or spiritual aspect of love for another person. The "ashy halo" implies the sorrow of the fiancé
which may be paralleled with the lamentation of the Virgin Mary for Christ. The ashy colour may also be
related to Ash Wednesday which is the first day of mourning Lent.

The two women are very different and at the same both are related with Mr. Kurtz, or
the Shadow. It should be noted that as the two variations of the Anima, they appear from the
unconscious. The native woman is portrayed in the background of the jungle which is the archetypal
pattern representing the unconscious. When Marlow returned from the jungle, he went to the house of
Kurtz' fiancee and gave his letters to her as Mr. Kurtz had asked him to do. When he came in, "a high
door opened — closed" (ibid, 201), and she approached him. On the symbolical level, the door
represents a threshold. Throughout his theory Jung mentions the threshold between the conscious and
the unconscious. Thus, it may be stated that the fiancee represents an archetype of Marlow's
unconscious as well. Finally, Marlow gives the parallel between the two women. Consider "[she] put out
her arms as if after a retreating figure [she was] resembling in this gesture another one, tragic also, and
bedecked with powerless charms, stretching bare brown arms over the glitter of the infernal stream, the
stream of darkness" (Conrad, 204). It should be noted that, archetypally, this parallel may be considered
as the parallel between Eve and the Virgin Mary, represented in the savage woman and the fiancé
respectively. The native woman tempted Mr. Kurtz as Eve tempted Adam. In both cases, the temptation
resulted in the Fall which, in its turn, resulted in the torments of Hell. The fact that Kurtz experienced
inner Hell may be confirmed by his last utterance "The Horror! The Horror!" (ibid, 204). However, his
willingness to return to his fiancé may be paralleled to the reconciliation.

It is noteworthy that both women felt sorrow for the loss of Mr. Kurtz. This congruity of the
emotion in both characters embodying the Anima resembles Marlow's emotion before he had talked to
Kurtz. After the steamboat was attacked, Marlow thought that Mr. Kurtz might be dead and his "sorrow
had a startling extravagance of emotion, [he] couldn't have felt more lonely desolation somehow, had
[he] been robbed of a belief or had missed [his] destiny in life" (ibid, 176). Such outburst of emotion
Marlow told his male listeners of was accepted treated by them as absurd. To decipher it Franz insight
that Jung names vague feelings and moods as the other manifestation of the Anima in man might be
beneficial (Franz 1977, 186). It should be noted that the difference between the two women represents
the different sides of the archetypal Anima. In his study of Jung's archetypal theory, Franz claims that
Jung introduces four stages of the Anima. Thus, the figure of the savage woman points to the first stage
which encompasses "purely instinctual and biological relations" and is related to Eve (ibid, 195),
whereas Kurtz' fiancé embodies its third stage and is a personification of "love (eros) [in] the heights of
spiritual devotion" (ibid.) and is related to the motif of the Virgin Mary. It is worth remembering here
that Kurtz had his relation with the savage woman within the jungle, the archetype of the unconscious,
in which the memory of the "forgotten and brutal instincts C...> the memory of gratified and monstrous
passions" (Conrad 1986, 194) is encoded. It implies that the Shadow demonstrates the fall from spiritual
devotion to wild instinctual passion. Franz posits that "the secret aim of the unconscious, in bringing
about such an entanglement is to force a man to develop and to bring his own being to maturity by
integrating more of his unconscious personality and bringing it into his real life" (Franz 1977, 191). In the
novella, Marlow finally integrates his Shadow embodied in the figure of Mr. Kurtz who died after having
made the decision to leave the native woman and to return to his fiancé. The facts that Marlow did not
tell Kurtz' fiancée the truth thus leaving her in the world of illusion and that the native woman had been
left in the jungle suggests that they had not been integrated into the conscious self and remained in the
realm of the unconscious. However, Marlow had a chance to confront them due to their relation to Mr.
Kurtz who represents Marlow's Shadow. And having no more than "the choice of the nightmare" (ibid,
190), the Hero refused to integrate either of them. Hence, it may be assumed that the Shadow has
entered the conscious self leaving the Anima in the unconscious still to be integrated. Marlow had to
admit the existence of his unconscious femininity when he was overwhelmed by the sorrow for Mr.
Kurtz. He had also discovered how devastating the fall from the spiritual sphere to the instinctual
passion might be.

Carl Jung was a pioneer of psychoanalytic theory along with his former partner and mentor, Sigmund
Freud. Though Jung split from Freud and diverged onto his own unbeaten trail of psychoanalysis two
years before his decease, they are both highly revered for the myriad of ways in which they developed
the understanding of the mind. Parallel to this period, Joseph Conrad penned and published the novella
Heart of Darkness, which tackled much of what Jung had found about the psyche and its inner workings.
In Heart of Darkness, both Marlow and Kurtz are representations of strong reoccurring archetypes
within human myth, religion, and folklore. They work together to epitomize one of Jung’s Cores of
Personality: the Principle of Opposites. The Principle of Opposites states that both sides of opposite
pairs—good and bad, light and dark, joy and despair, et cetera—are present to complete the other. In
this way, Marlow and Kurtz are opposite replications of each other in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness; they
are doppelgängers that complete each other, as in Jungian theory.

“ Heart of Darkness” Characters analysis on the basis of Jungian theory:

Kurtz the shadow
Kurtz serves as the shadow archetypal figure. From the beginning of the story, Kurtz is a man Marlow is
not well in touch with and does not put much thought into. However, Marlow learns throughout the
story as he gets closer to Kurtz that his savage characteristics exist in all men.
“Anything approaching the change that came over his features I have never seen before, and hope
never to see again. Oh, I wasn't touched. I was fascinated. It was as though a veil had been rent. I saw
on that ivory face the expression of sombre pride, of ruthless power, of craven terror -- of an intense
and hopeless despair. Did he live his life again in every detail of desire, temptation, and surrender
during that su- preme moment of complete knowledge?”

In Jung’s opinion, one cannot truly know the Self archetype until he gets in touch with the Shadow
archetype. It seems that Marlow is fascinated with the side of man he hadn’t completely come into
contact with until now – the Shadow side.

“Kurtz discoursed. A voice! a voice! It rang deep to the very last. It survived his strength to hide in the
magnificent folds of eloquence the barren darkness of his heart. Oh, he struggled! he struggled!
The wastes of his weary brain were haunted by shadowy images now -- images of wealth and fame
revolving obse- quiously round his unextinguishable gift of noble and lofty expression. My Intended, my
station, my career, my ideas -- these were the subjects for the occasional utterances of elevated
sentiments. The shade of the original Kurtz frequented the bedside of the hollow sham, whose fate it
was to be buried presently in the mould of primeval earth. But both the diabolic love and the unearthly
hate of the mysteries it had pene- trated fought for the possession of that soul satiated with primitive
emotions, avid of lying fame, of sham distinction, of all the appearances of success and power.”

Marlow describes Kurtz using a lot of shadow imagery here, alluding to the hollow shell that has become
Kurtz. He is so savagely obsessed with his ideas and appointments that any trace of morals have faded
away. Kurtz, like all men, is “haunted by shadowy images,” that is, the traits that were once just subtle
personality traits have completely consumed his life.

“I did not want to have the throttling of him, you understand -- and indeed it would have been very little
use for any practical pur- pose. I tried to break the spell -- the heavy, mute spell of the wilderness --
that seemed to draw him to its pitiless breast by the awakening of forgotten and brutal instincts, by
the memory of gratified and mon- strous passions. This alone, I was convinced, had driven him out to
the edge of the forest, to the bush, towards the gleam of fires, the throb of drums, the drone of weird
incantations; this alone had beguiled his unlawful soul beyond the bounds of permitted aspirations.”

The idea behind the shadow archetype is that the traits found here are ones we want to forget and
abandon. Yet, these very traits are the ones Kurtz has awoken and is now embracing. Marlow sees the
savagery that exists in Kurtz and wants to put it to sleep, as if breaking a spell. He does not want to
confront the animalistic qualities because confronting them means realizing that they exist in himself as
well.

“He rose, unsteady, long, pale, indistinct, like a vapour exhaled by the earth, and swayed slightly,
misty and silent before me; while at my back the fires loomed between the trees, and the murmur of
many voices issued from the forest. I had cut him off cleverly; but when actually confronting him I
seemed to come to my senses, I saw the danger in its right proportion… This clearly was not a case for
fisticuffs, even apart from the very natural aversion I had to beat that Shadow -- this wandering and
tormented thing. 'You will be lost,' I said -- 'utterly lost.' One gets sometimes such a flash of inspiration,
you know. I did say the right thing, though indeed he could not have been more irretrievably lost than
he was at this very moment, when the foundations of our intimacy were being laid -- to endure -- to
endure -- even to the end -- even beyond.”

Kurtz has become so much of a shadow that his appearance even becomes willowy and indistinct. He’s
beginning to blend into the darkness of his surroundings. Marlow even refers to him as a Shadow in this
excerpt and describes how lost he is – so lost that there seems to be no finding any substance in him
anymore.

Marlow the defiant anti-hero

Marlow serves as the hero archetypal figure, or more specifically, the defiant hero who opposes
society’s ideas of goodness. Marlow answers the call to leave his home for his own purposes, not for the
well-being of his country. However, Marlow does return as a changed man, and what he learns from his
experiences he shares with others.

“"I got my appointment -- of course; and I got it very quick. It appears the Company had received news
that one of their captains had been killed in a scuffle with the natives. This was my chance, and it made
me the more anxious to go.”

Marlow embarks on his journey – the separation of the hero’s journey. He desires to venture away from
his home for money but also for his interest in the “snake” that he sees in Africa, which charms him.

“Going up that river was like travelling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, when vegetation
rioted on the earth and the big trees were kings. An empty stream, a great silence, an impenetrable
forest. The air was warm, thick, heavy, sluggish. There was no joy in the brilliance of sunshine. The long
stretches of the waterway ran on, deserted, into the gloom of over-shadowed distances. On silvery
sandbanks hippos and alligators sunned themselves side by side. The broadening waters flowed
through a mob of wooded islands; you lost your way on that river as you would in a desert, and butted
all day long against shoals, trying to find the channel, till you thought yourself bewitched and cut off for
ever from everything you had known once -- somewhere -- far away -- in another existence
perhaps.There were moments when one's past came back to one, as it will sometimes when you have
not a moment to spare to yourself; but it came in the shape of an unrestful and noisy
dream, remembered with wonder amongst the overwhelming realities of this strange world of plants,
and water, and silence. And this stillness of life did not in the least resemble a peace. It was the
stillness of an implacable force brooding over an inscrutable intention. It looked at you with a
vengeful aspect.”

Marlow continues on his journey facing different challenges, one of them being notably traveling down
the river itself to meet Kurtz. The environment and animals he encounters, even the very atmosphere of
the forest help lead to Marlow’s transformation. The deeper he goes into the forest, the more he
becomes aware of the darkness paralleled in man.

“He was the only man of us who still "followed the sea." The worst that could be said of him was that he
did not represent his class. He was a seaman, but he was a wanderer, too, while most seamen lead, if
one may so express it, a sedentary life. Their minds are of the stay-at-home order, and their home is
always with them -- the ship; and so is their country -- the sea. One ship is very much like another, and
the sea is always the same. In the immutability of their sur- roundings the foreign shores, the foreign
faces, the changLng immensity of life, glide past, veiled not by a sense of mystery but by a slightly
disdainful igno- rance; for 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. For the rest, after his hours of work, a casual
stroll or a casual spree on shore suffices to unfold for him the secret of a whole continent, and generally
he finds the secret not worth knowing. The yarns of seamen have a direct simplicity, the whole meaning
of which lies within the shell of a cracked nut. But Marlow was not typical (if his propensity to spin
yarns be excepted), and to him the meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel but outside,
enveloping the tale which brought it out only as a glow brings out a haze, in the likeness of one of
these misty halos that sometimes are made visible by the spectral illuminination of moonshine.”

Marlow returns and serves the role of passing on the knowledge he’s
learned from his journey. To Marlow, the journey itself and all the events that it encompasses, is where
true meaning is found. The point of the story is only part of the message, the journey accounts for
another part

The novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is basically a journey of self individuation. This novel has
revealed the theory of Carl Jung about the shadow, the anima, and the ego. Marlow and Jung is both
European. As European, Marlow is able to see himself and is more civilized than the people in Africa. But
both Marlow and Jung recognized that their travel to Africa is an opportunity to discover a lost aspect of
the self, his invisible and unconscious parts. Jung even ever stated that he unconsciously wanted to find
a part of his personality which had become invisible under the influence and the pressure of being
European. He also thinks that Europe is the mother of all demons. Both Marlow and Jung experienced
Africa as a dreamscape, from this remote continent, they can feel liberation for being happy because
they can expand their enthusiasm about primeval life, all the things that they cannot gain in Europe.

Even though Jung has experienced in real life and Marlow in Conrad’s fictional tale, they also have a
similar description of primitive wildness in the inside. Both of them must meet “the truth”, which is
meant the shadow. The darkness that always pressed by European people. But through Africans, the
shadow of themselves can be shown “outside”. When Marlow witness the people in Africa, they run
around in great state of excitement, shouting, making horrible faces, they look savage and uncontrolled.
Marlow has unconsciously seen his own reflection in the wilderness and foreshadows based on Jungian
concept of shadow, which is Kurtz. Kurtz is not only the personal shadow of Marlow but also the shadow
of all European people. In this case, every people realize that they have a bad side, which means their
darkness. The negative side of the personality is always hidden from the outside. To become conscious
the shadow has to face the ego. But Kurtz is disable to fight with his ego, that is why at the end of his
life, he dies with his darkness by the saying “The Horror! The Horror!”. Based on Jung theory to become
a complete and healthy person, he must open his unconscious mind to confront with his conscious
mind. In this story it happens to Marlow, so when he leaves Africa and backs to London, he finally
becomes a complete person.

Jung explains “the inner personality is the way one behaves in relation to one’s inner psychic process; it
is the inner attitude, the characteristic face that is turned towards the unconscious, the inner attitude,
the inward face, I called anima.” In the Heart of Darkness, the anima is found in Kurtz. The anima itself
consorts with Kurtz’s shadow. But Kurtz unable to see his anima, because he does not find his
unconscious mind. In the other side, Marlow capable to see Kurtz’s anima. Marlow can describes Kurtz’s
anima as wild, strong, dark, and primitive. She is the feminine soul of the wild, the reflection of the soul
of the wilderness, Kurtz’s savage companion. The anima here is not the confrontation with the shadow
but making the darkness conscious. Even though Kurtz is Marlow’s shadow, but “that darkness” has a
heart. This heart can be meant by Kurtz anima.
Marlow, who has a journey to Africa is changing his persona, so that he can be accepted by
people around him. Then the shadow that Marlow has is unconsciously coming up when the persona he
shaped doesn't work well. Those explanations are appropriate with Jungian theory.

As the purpose of Jung's theory, that is to integrate conscious mind and unconscious mind, in order to
create balance and unity in human's psyche ; Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" quite represents and
symbolically depicts three parts of human psyche; its ego, shadow, and anima.

Marlow's journey to Africa, as described in the article is a symbol. Symbol of a man who is doing "self
discovery" or the individuation process to make himself "whole". Africa is the symbol or the topology of
human's mind. Which is calling forth something lost in the psychology of them. As described in first page
of the article, "Africa will always be the blank unexplored continent in the shape of human heart".

In this story, Marlow meets the other 2 parts of himself: his shadow and his anima. He has to recognize
them well first and then he should unite them with his ego. Because the goal of his journey is the
"individuation".

Marlow, the main character is the symbol of "the self" or "ego". In Jungian theory, ego is the part which
has the duty to make the other parts balance. Ego is the controller of all. In this story, mostly Marlow is
the decision-maker. Because this is "his journey to individuation". Individuation is the condition where
the conscious mind and unconscious mind are integrated. And at that condition, human's psyche is
considered as "healthy" and "whole". Or he has already individuated.

The other character that is mentioned in this story is Kurtz. Kurtz is the symbol of "shadow". Shadow is
the negative side of human's psyche. And as the ego, Marlow has to integrate his ego and his shadow.
Because the process of individuation a man should not deny or repress his shadow. But he should
confess it, integrate it with the other parts of his psyche, and make them balance. Those things are
important to be done to make human's psyche united as a strong unity. A strong unity means a
complete and healthy personality.

In this novel, Kurtz is died. It means the (wild) shadow inside Marlow is destroyed. His wild shadow
destroys itself. This could be a symbol that his shadow is now merged with his ego. So, the shadow is not
"died" or disappeared. But it is a part of unity in Marlow's self. It is symbolized when Marlow goes
ashore to reclaim back Kurtz and to take him back to London. He finally realizes and confess his shadow
and unite it with himself.

In the journey to reach the health and whole personality (being individuated), a man should undergo
some obstacles in his journey, as Marlow does. And a man is succeed when he can handle them and
formed the health personality inside.

In case, Joseph Conrad creates the narrator in the story named Charlie Marlow. This article exposes a
psycho-geography of the collective unconscious. In entangling metaphoric realities of the serpentine
Chicago. Conrad's novel descends into the unknowable darkness of the heart of Africa, taking its
narrator, Charlie Marlow, on an underworld journey of individuation. Ego dissolves into soul as, in the
interior, Marlow encounters his double thing in the powerful image of ivory-obsessed Kurtz, the dark
shadow of European imperialism. Furthermore, Joseph Conrad's "The Heart of Darkness" wrote this
master work between 1898 and 1899 presents a literary metaphor of Jungian psychology.

This paper explores the dark territory of Conrad's "Heart of darkness" as metaphor for the Jungian
concepts of the personal and the collective unconscious, as a journey of individuation, a meeting with
anima, an encounter with the shadow, and a descent into the the mythic underworld. There are some
similarities in drawing the story between Marlow's journey to Africa in the novel with Jung's journey to
Africa. So there is a connection among Joseph Conrad-Charlie Marlow-Jung. Let us elaborate in this case,
actually Joseph Conrad wants to depict and portray Jung's experience through Charlie Marlow. based on
Graham Greene, " will always be the Africa in the Victorian atlas, the blank unexploded continent in the
shape of the human heart." The African's heart described by Greene "acquired a new layer of meaning
when Conrad portrayed the Congo under King Leopold as the heart of darkness, a place where
barbarism triumphs over humanity, nature over technology, biology over culture, id over super ego.
Marlow and Jung have the same image of Africa. Thus Africa has become a topology of the mind, its
location, its shape, its culture, its texture, its rhythms, its foliage, its hues, its wildness. All call forth
something lost in the psychology of the white European. It is an understanding of our destiny to explore
that symbolic lost continent within ourselves that we can begin to appreciate the prescience of Jungian
psychology in Conrad's "The heart of Darkness."

The main thing in this article is whether the narrator, Charlie Marlow pass event by event especially his
journey to Africa is the same experience as Jung's had done. Conrad in his novel actually wants to apply
Jung's theory in his literary works. Every scene in this novel shows Jung in actual life during his journey
to Africa. In this article, the writer Collen Burke show similarities are about dreams, de javu, experience
and image. Based on Jung's theory, this novel represent Marlow's shadow, persona and anima. Marlow
finds his shadow in Mr. Kurtz. The word "shadow" is used frequently throughout the novel sometimes
capitalized as the personification materializes and as the concept of the shadow is explored and
confronted when the pilgrims first carry Kurtz on a stretcher out of his cabin. Marlow describes Kurtz,
observing "this shadow looked satiated and calm. When Marlow later discovers Kurtz missing from his
steamer cabin and determines to find and CAPTURE HIM on shore, he comments ," I was anxious to
deal with this shadow by myself alone. In this case, Jung could describe the character of Kurtz. In jOseph
Conrad's "The heart of Darkness" Jung;s theory of archetypal is applied. We can see from the share
image about Africa,dreams and de javu. Jung said taht he has his de javu when he goes to Africa. In
Marlow who refers to his boatload of pilgrims as "wanderers on a prehistoric earth", on an earth that
wore the aspect of an unknown planet.About dreams, Jung recognizes this same primitive vitality of the
shadow in his analysis of his North African dreams. Jung's dreams prove a deep resonance with Kurtz
psychological disintegration into his savage shadow self. Here we can take the anima of Conrad through
Mr. Kurtz. She {refers to anima} is feminine soul of the wild, Kurtz' savage consord, a queen of the
underworld and black Madonna of the Congo. She is anima, and she is magnificent..

Jungian psychoanalysis depicted in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is mainly about the individuation
process of Charlie Marlow. His journey to Africa, the unknown “Black” Continent at that time is actually
his journey to reach individuation. Africa is the archetype of Marlow’s unconscious mind, as he has
never been there before (that Africa is unknown to him). As he is landing on the land penetrating his
unconscious mind, there he meets Kurtz, and the Black African. In getting to know Kurtz and Black
African, Marlow is actually getting to know his shadow and persona. Kurtz reflects the common
European he has a fair complexion and “civilized” manner. On the contrary, the African has very dark
complexion with painted face and “uncivilized” manner. In the process Marlow decided that Kurtz is the
“uncivilized” person and Africa is the good person. Marlow learns that shadow must be reflected onside
one’s self, just like the African. The physical appearances suggest ugliness and cruelty but their hearts
reflect beauty and friendliness. In the process of individuation, this step means to bring shadow out of
unconscious mind and put it in conscious mind. The next step is to defeat the shadow. Kurtz as Marlow’s
shadow ends up death. In his last word, he says, “The horror! The horror!” this means Kurtz with all his
dark side has been defeated.

There are many fine essays on it — essays that bring out the Jungian significance, the mythical
significance, etc .One of the most interesting essays on Heart of Darkness is an unpublished essay that I
found on the Internet; it’s a Jungian interpretation by Colleen Burke. As I read this essay, I was surprised
at how many parallels there were between Conrad’s novella and Jung’s theories, and I was also
surprised that I didn’t notice these parallels when I read the novella.
Heart of Darkness is narrated by a sea-captain, Marlow, who travels up-river into the interior of Africa,
where he meets Kurtz. Kurtz was once gifted and high-minded, but he has become savage and
tyrannical. “Marlow encounters his double,” Burke writes, “in the powerful image of ivory-obsessed
Kurtz, the dark shadow of European imperialism.”3 In imaginative literature, one personality is often
split into two characters; one character is the shadow of the other, or the “double” of the other. Kurtz is
Marlow’s shadow or double. Kurtz indulges the savage desires that civilized man represses. At the end of
the novella, however, when Kurtz is on his deathbed, he has a moment of enlightenment, or at least
reflection, and he says, “The Horror! The Horror!”

Conrad refers to Kurtz as a “shadow,” sometimes even capitalizing the S; Conrad uses the word
“shadow” just as Jung uses it. This is a striking example of two great thinkers reaching the same insight
independently. Perhaps the shadow is an archetype that both Conrad and Jung perceived. As
Schopenhauer said, truth agrees with itself and confirms itself; the agreement between Conrad and Jung
confirms their insights, and suggests that both of them perceived the truth. Burke writes thus:

When the pilgrims first carry Kurtz on a stretcher out of his cabin,
Marlow describes Kurtz, observing, “This shadow looked satiated and
calm.” When Marlow later discovers Kurtz missing from his steamer
cabin and determines to find and capture him on shore, he comments, “I
was anxious to deal with this shadow by myself alone.” Overtaking the
escaping Kurtz crawling in the bush, Marlow comments, “This clearly was
not a case for fisticuffs, even apart from the very natural aversion I had
to beat that Shadow — this wandering and tormented thing.”

Confronting one’s shadow is an important part of personal growth. Jung described the shadow as “the
negative side of the personality, the sum of all those unpleasant qualities we like to hide.”4 If one
doesn’t acknowledge one’s shadow, one projects it on the outside world; “where the shadow is not
recognized it is projected.”5 “The effect of projection,” Jung wrote, “is to isolate the subject from his
environment.... Projections change the world into the replica of one’s own unknown face.” Jung speaks
of a “feeling of sterility” that is “explained by projection as the malevolence of the environment.”6

Jung used the term “individuation” to refer to personal growth, becoming oneself, finding one’s center.
Confronting one’s shadow is part of the journey of individuation. “Heart of Darkness,” Burke writes,
“holds three journeys of individuation: those of Marlow, of Kurtz — and of Conrad himself.”7 Conrad’s
own experience on the Congo River resembles Marlow’s in many ways, and Conrad’s river journey was a
turning-point in his life; “before the Congo,” Conrad said, “I was just a mere animal.”8

Not only does Conrad use the word “shadow” in a Jungian sense, he also uses the word “soul” in a
Jungian sense. Jung uses the word “anima” to refer to a man’s female soul (just as he uses the word
“animus” to refer to a woman’s male mind). Of course, Jung was aware that “anima” is the Latin word
for soul, and that the gender of anima is feminine. While Kurtz represents the shadow, two characters
represent the anima: Kurtz’s African mistress, and his European mistress. The word “soul” is used of the
African mistress (just as the word “shadow” is used of Kurtz). Here is Conrad’s description of the African
mistress:

She was savage and superb, wild-eyed and magnificent; there was
something ominous and stately in her deliberate progress. And in the
 hush that had fallen suddenly upon the whole sorrowful land, the
immense wilderness, the colossal body of the fecund and mysterious life
seemed to look at her, pensive, as though it had been looking at the
image of its own tenebrous and passionate soul.

Again, we are amazed at how Conrad and Jung are following the same path — using the same language,
the same images — independently of each other. Kurtz’s European mistress (also known as his
Intended) uses the same gestures as his African mistress, and when Marlow meets this European
mistress, he’s struck by her resemblance to the African mistress.9 Just as meeting one’s shadow can be
considered part of the process of individuation, so too meeting one’s anima (if one is a man) can be
considered part of the process of individuation. From a Jungian perspective, it isn’t surprising that
Marlow encounters an anima figure (the African mistress) soon after he encounters a shadow figure
(Kurtz); “Often this second symbolic figure [anima/animus] turns up behind the shadow.”10

Freedom from the Law: Ethics in Heart of Darkness

On the surface, it may seem that Kurtz is “the bad guy” in Heart of Darkness. But Kurtz has redeeming
features, and he’s compared favorably to the other Europeans who work in the ivory trade. After
Marlow talks to one of these traders, he says, “It seemed to me I had never breathed an atmosphere so
vile, and I turned mentally to Kurtz for relief — positively for relief.” Marlow tells the trader, “I think Mr.
Kurtz is a remarkable man.”

Kurtz follows his nature, he acts freely and decisively. The vile traders, on the other hand, follow rules,
principles, methods, judgment; they act from their mind, not their soul. One trader says to Marlow,

“There is no disguising the fact, Mr. Kurtz has done more harm than good
to the Company. He did not see the time was not ripe for vigorous
action. Cautiously, cautiously — that’s my principle. We must be cautious
yet.... Look how precarious the position is — and why? Because the
method is unsound.” “Do you,” said I, looking at the shore, “call it
‘unsound method?’” “Without doubt,” he exclaimed hotly. “Don’t you?” .
. . “No method at all,” I murmured after a while. “Exactly,” he exulted. “I
anticipated this. Shows a complete want of judgment. It is my duty to
point it out in the proper quarter”.... It seemed to me I had never
breathed an atmosphere so vile.

Marlow has a certain respect for the natives, who represent “truth,” who have a “terrible frankness.”
This truth and frankness are a challenge to the Europeans. Conrad says, “He must at least be as much of
a man as these on the shore. He must meet that truth with his own true stuff — with his own inborn
strength. Principles won’t do.” The traders follow rules, methods, principles, but Conrad scorns
principles. Conrad respects those who follow their nature — like Kurtz and the natives.

It should be noted that Conrad isn’t alone in scorning principle. Jung, too, tried to act out of his whole
nature, out of his center, rather than following principles. His disciples could never predict how he
would respond to a situation, because he didn’t follow general principles, he followed his feelings,
intuitions, hunches. Zen, too, has no use for principles.11
Finally, anima and shadow, individuation and the journey, to the heart of the personal and collective
unconscious are thus illuminated in the dark meditation of the heart of darkness. In short, Conrad's
novel has become as a literary metaphor of the psychological concepts of Carl Jung

JOSEPH CONRAD’S “HEARTH OF DARKNESS”

A METAPHOR OF JUNGIAN PSYCHOLOGY
Heart of darkness is about a journey of individuation, either for Marlow or for Conrad. This story is
based on the journey of Conrad to the Congo: eight and a half years before writing the book, he had
gone to serve as the captain of a Congo steamer. However, upon arriving in the Congo, he found his
steamer damaged and under repair. He soon became ill and returned to Europe before ever serving as
captain. These experiences unconsciously influenced this novel. Marlow as the main character do the
journey in order to find his individuation. In the process, he meets with the anima, encounter with his
shadow that reflected on Kurtz. There is quotation that shows the Marlow’s anima that happens in the
shore “she walked with measured steps…treading the earth proudly…” we know that an anima is a male
feminist side. And do something with emotion is a kind of anima. There is also an anima that reflected
on Kurtz, he is not sure whether he has to leave the tribe or stay. Before he does the heroism in order to
save Kurtz, he heard that Kurtz has quite a reputation in many areas of expertise. He is somewhat of a
rogue ivory collector, as well as a skilled painter. But after he meet Kurtz’s right handed, he knows that
Kurtz has taken over tribes of Africans and had used them to make war on other tribes for their ivory.
According to Marlow that is bad attitude, but he denies that Kurtz is his shadow. That recognize or not
he is also has that attitude.

we conclude that Colleen Burke Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness A metaphor of Jungian Psychology is
quite right. This paper explores about the dark territory of Conrad's Heart of Darkness as a metaphor for
the jungian concepts of the personal and the collective unconscious, as a journey of individuation, a
meeting with the anima , an encounter with the shadow, and a descent into the mythic underworld.
The Heart of Darkness tells the story of a night sea journey of exploration and self discovery of its
narrator, Marlow, a European able to see himself and “civilization" more clearly against the dark
backdrop of the centre of the death.
About the dream, Marlow and Jung have the same dream of African experience, both Jung and Conrad
experienced Africa as a dreamscape, slipping from the physical to the metaphoric in a trance- like state.
Jung writes " ..I no longer knew whether I had been transported from reality from reality into dream or
from a dream to reality. Similarly Conrad's narrator Marlow expresses the dreamlike quality of his
narrative , " It seems to me I am trying to tell you a dream - making a vain attempt, because no relation
of a dream can convey the dream sensation...". And both conrad's narrator in the novella and Jung in his
actual journey observed the phenomenon of time seeming to move backward as they travel into Africa.
For the example: Jung journals, " the deeper we penetrate into the Sahara, the more time slowed down
for me, it even threatened to move backward ". While Marlow observe “Going up the river was like
traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, when vegetation rioted on the earth and the big
trees were kings".
also, talking about share feeling of de ja vu, Jung has this experience, when he arrives in Africa, he feels
that he ever knew that place. It can be seen when he writes, " I had the feeling that I had already
experienced this moment and had always known this world which was separated from me only by
distance in time...."
while Marlow said " We could have fancied ourselves the first men taking possession of an accursed
inheritance...we could not understand because we were too far and could not remember , because we
were traveling in the night of the first ages that are gone, leaving hardly a sign--and no memories..."
Both Jung and Marlow has the same thinking about entering African continent, writes Jung, The people
ran around in a great state of excitement, shouting, and gesticulating. They looked savage and rather
alarming. Similarly, Conrad, through Marlow, records, " a burst of yells, a whirl of black limbs, a mass of
hands clapping, of feet stamping, of bodies swaying, of eyes rolling..."One of the archetypes of the
collective unconscious is what Jung call with the shadow, the innate propensity for evil resident in the
depths of human nature, " the negative side of the personality ", as Jung said, " The sum of all those
unpleasant qualities we like to hide". Spivack makes the following points : the word Shadow itself is a
reflection of reality rather than substantial reality. for the example, Kurtz is not only the personal
shadow of Marlow but the collective shadow of all Europe of European imperialism, the powerful image
of ivory- obsessed.
Also, Kurtz has anima in his personality,, the feminine shadow aspect of his personality. For our hero,
Marlow, it is time to encounter the feminine shadow as well, skeletal shade of Kurtz on board streamer,
the personification of anima appears on the shore: She walked with measured step, draped in striped
and fringed clothes...Conrad and Jung have the same experience about underworld, it can be seen when
Conrad when Frederick said that Conrad's life as a descent " into his own kind of darkness "and observed
that Conrad's creative imagination carried him " down not only into memory but into the very chaos and
extravagance of the unconscious...Stalled, depressed, ill, he had touch bottom and had , in his own way,
found his subject matter". Similarly, Jung experienced his own psychological crisis " which he referred to
as his personal descent to the underworld, during which the Myths he lived by were revealed as the
basis for all his future works". So, One might conclude that Jung, Conrad, and Marlow and even Kurtz
took heroic journeys to underworld
from the explanation above, we can conclude that the theory of Jung's concept of the personal and the
collective unconscious, as a journey of individuation, a meeting with anima are implemented good
enough in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

the purpose of the article is to explores the Junginian concepts of the personal and the collective
unconscious, as a journey of individuation, a meeting with anima, an encounter with the shadow, and a
decent mythic to the underworld.

A. as a journey of individuation
Africa in the novella written by Joseph Conrad is not the real Africa. It is the symbol, Graham Greene
wrote “will always be Africa in the Victorian atlas, the blank unexplored continent in the shape of the
human heart”. Africa the Heart of Darkness, a place where barbarism triumphs over humanity, nature
over technology, biology over culture, id over super ego.

Marlow's journey to Africa became a journey of individuation because he could encounter his shadow
and meet his anima.

B. as a meeting with anima

the anima of Marlow are the African woman he they met in Africa, and also the fiancee of Kurtz. The
two anima have different character. the queen is tenebrous and passionate, while Kurtz fiancee is just
like an avatar of Peresphone

C. encounter the shadow

As Jungian said, person who doesn’t yet acquainted with his shadow he is in danger of refocusing the
world into the replica of his unknown face. It means that person should know and realize his own
shadow well to complete and make the balance of his own perfect life.

In The Heart of Darkness, there are two types of shadow. First is personal shadow. The personal shadow
of Marlow is Kurtz, Marlow’s diabolic double of the interior. And the second shadow Kurtz as the
collective shadow of all of Europe and of European imperialism. As Marlow succinctly states, “ All of
Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz”.(45)

D. a decent mythic to the underworld

Jung and Marlow has same experience of self unconsciousness as european during their journey in
Africa. the journey in Africa give a picture that everything seeming move backward. this can be assume
that all European actually has same descent mythical underworld that is when they come to Africa they
will find that in Africa it seems that they go back to the primitive one which they did not acknowledge
and try to deny it when they in Europe.

- Africa as the mythic underworld

For Jung the mythic underworld is when he finally find that archetypal will be used for all his work;
for conrad the mythic underworld is when he found the point of his novella "Heart of darkness"; For
Kurtz the mythic underworldis when he found "THeHOrror! The horror!"; For Marlow the mythic
underworld is when he realize that Kurtz is his own shadow

mam, we know that this is far away from a perfect summary, because it is not easy for us to understand
the article. we hope we can understand it better on your next lecturer.

This novel exposes the myth behind consolation whilst exploring the three levels of darkness that the
protagonist, Marlow, encounters the darkness of the Congo wilderness, the darkness of the European's
cruel treatment of the natives and the unfathomable darkness within every human being for committing
heinous acts of evil.

As Marlow finally learn about mankind we found that men in inherently evil. and his evil is only masked
by civilization. just like Carl Jung said there are three parts of self : shadow, persona, and anima. in this
case Marlow has found that a man has shadow and persona. it means that the personality of men may
change if they live far from civilization. it's because a man tend to be a person tend to be a person who
can be accepted by society (this is what Jung called Persona). in fact, a person also has Shadow, the
personal attributes and elements man tend to project it on less favour because of the societal
disapproval.

As Marlow feeling dejavu, man can't avoid unconsciousness. Jung said that the ego has collective
unconscious to which contains symbols, memory, and dreams. people often dream but mostly it has
little or no personal meaning. nevertheless, Jung observed that it often become an emotional charge he
convinced this material was a pool of experience accessible to all human which lies below the personal
unconscious. As Marlow met the Russian fool at the inner station, he said "He looked like a harlequin".
actually his commenting about harlequin is stated spontaneously when he looked his colorful patches.
marlow's memory started to wandered the same object he ever met as the Russian looks like.

From most of his works, Conrad seems raising the psychological problems of the main character. it can
be seen in the story itself which actually his own experiences in Congo. Eight and a half years before
writing his books, he had gone to serve as the captain of the Congo steamer (www.wikipedia.com). most
of his own experiences are depicted in this story. another his own novel is Lord Jim. in here, there is also
a character of Marlow but they are in the different story. Here, we can see that Conrad unconsciously
applicated his own character in Marlow's.

This story is telling about Marlow's going to Congo Africa because of his aunt willing to replace the
previous captain who died because of murder. there, he ordered to pick Kurtz, one of the best the ivory
traders the company has. it is said that Kurtz has become ill and the company doesn't want to lose him
because of his high productivity in obtaining ivory. when he went to inner station to pick Kurtz, Marlow
is frightened by the savages who attach him and his men. later on, he knew that Kurtz the one that
ordered the attack on the steamboat so that they could not take him back to England. Kurtz tried to
escape the native but Marlow cathced him and took him back to the steamboat head back to England
but while on the river Kurtz died.

The Heart of Darkness depicts Marlow's journey into the Congo to find Kurtz, leading Marlow to fight for
his survival while finding his inner self. Marlow's journey parallels the journey of the hero, as Marlow
enters the Congo as an innocent adventurer and leaves as an enlightened individual. In Heart of
Darkness, Joseph Conrad creates an allegory, an archetypal story of journeys: through hell, back in time,
and to the core of the psyche-the heart of darkness.

One aspect of Marlow's adventure includes the journey through hell. As Marlow goes to the Company's
office to negotiate for his job, he notices two "uncanny and fateful" women giving each other a "quick
glance of unconcerned wisdom," as he thought of them as guardians of "the door of Darkness, knitting
black wool as for a pall" (Conrad 47). The scene introduces Marlow's metaphorical descent into hell
because Conrad's description of the two women bear a resemblance to The Fates, the Greek goddesses
who decide the destiny of men, and the door of Darkness refers to the entrance of hell. Since the
archetypal hero must cross the threshold to continue his journey, Conrad allows readers to recognize
how Marlow's decision to venture into the Congo signifies the beginning of his trip through hell. When
Marlow arrives to the Congo, he has "stepped into the gloomy circle of some Inferno," as he recognizes
the native laborers as " nothing earthly...but black shadows of disease and starvation" (55). Conrad
creates several allusions of Dante Alighieri's Inferno within his novel to create an analogy of Marlow's
experience in the Congo, corrupted by the Company's brutal involvement, with Dante's physical journey
through hell. However, the Congo, a representation of hell, is worse since " in Dante's work, Hell is God's
creation, governed by the rational principle of contrapasso," as "the Hell created by European
imperialism [creates] death and torment... in an arbitrary, irrational fashion" (Bowers 1). After several
months, Marlow finds Kurtz's station and retrieves him, however, his expectations of Kurtz falls short, as
Marlow can only recognize a man who has "taken a high seat amongst the devils of the land," rather
than a bringer of civilization (Conrad 97). Marlow's encounter with Kurtz depicts the end of his descent
into hell, for Marlow has reached Kurtz, who represents Satan. By reaching his final destination, Marlow
comes close to accomplishing the Test, the archetypal hero's main quest in order to gain his reward.

Another journey that Marlow faces involves going back in time. Before Marlow narrates about his
experience at the Congo, he questions how the Romans must have felt to reside across a "land in
swamp...in some inland post" and encounter "that mysterious life of the wilderness that stirs...in the
hearts of wild men" (41). Marlow reminisces about the Roman conquest in England because their
expectations and reactions reflects Marlow's similar reactions when he first enters the Congo. In
addition, Marlow recognizes how the Romans and the Company workers in Africa both shared the
fascination of the abomination, the impulse Marlow attempts to resist. When Marlow and the pilgrims
set off to find Kurtz, Marlow felt that "[they] were wanderers on a prehistoric earth," as he considered
his crew "the first men taking possession of an accursed inheritance...at the cost of profound anguish
and excessive toil" (80). As he and the crew journey ahead to reach Kurtz, Marlow ironically feels as if he
is moving back in time after seeing the untamed parts of the wilderness. Without the presence of
civilization, Marlow feels the need to tame the resentful wilderness, since people perceive him as a
bringer of virtue and civilization, similar to Kurtz. After returning to civilization, Marlow heads off to
meet Kurtz's Intended, but as he approaches her doorstep, he begins to have flashbacks of Kurtz "on the
stretcher, the gloom of the forest," and "seemed to hear the whispered cry" of Kurtz's last words (130).
Although he escapes the Congo intact, the memories of the events remain perfectly intact as well, as
these vivid visions causes him to relive those moments, which continues to haunt him as a reminder of
the darkness within men. Marlow's return and inner change, also portray his syzygy, or complete
wholeness after coming to terms with The Soul, represented by the mistress, and the Shadow,
represented by Kurtz.

The last aspect of Marlow's archetypal adventure contains the journey to the core of the psyche, or the
heart of darkness. After visiting his aunt, Marlow couldn't help but "[feel]...that [he] was an imposter,"
and "instead of going to the centre of a continent," he was heading "off for the centre of the earth" (50).
Marlow felt that he does not stand for what his aunt or the Company believed in, and he doesn't know
about himself. By accepting this job, Marlow not only goes to the Congo for the desire of adventure, but
also to the journey of finding himself. During his voyage to retrieve Kurtz, Marlow notes, after looking at
the savages aboard the ship, that "the mind of man is a capable of anything because everything is in it,
all the past as well as the future" (51). Marlow's statement reflects Carl Jung's concept of the collective
unconscious, where all humans share the same unconscious mind that has passed down from
generations. However the progression of civilization covers these hidden instincts, and Marlow must
recover them in order to survive in the wilderness. When Kurtz attempts to escape into the wilderness,
returning to his ivory, Marlow does not tell anyone because he does not want to "betray Mr. Kurtz," and
he "was anxious to deal with this shadow by [himself] alone," with no desire to share this experience
with anyone else (118). Marlow knows that Kurtz "represents the emptiness of contemporary
civilization," however, he chooses to stay with his choice of nightmare as he realizes "there are no
absolute answers, only a multiplicity of interpretations" (Loe 1). In addition, Kurtz represents the
archetypal Shadow, the inner savagery within the hearts of men, and Marlow recognizes that a
confrontation with Kurtz will lead himself into his own psyche, a place where no one else can go for him.

Through the journey through hell, back in time, and to the core of the psyche, Joseph Conrad creates
the novel to represent an archetypal story. Marlow's path of the archetypal hero led him to recognize
the inner nature of men and how it has no restraints within the wilderness. The novel sets a prime
example of how people can easily change if they do not possess the inner strength to control
themselves.

Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness does not readily lend itself to archetypal criticism. Strictly speaking,
there is no hero in the story, though there clearly is a villain. Northrop Frye, one of the originators of
archetypal criticism, placed rigid specifications on his medium of criticism. Since it is an offshoot of
structuralism, it disregards cultural historical context and instead operates under the assumption that all
cultures at some point in time have shared the same archetypes. Roman, Greek, Scandinavian, and
probably even Zimbabwean mythology all follow the journey of a hero figure who encounters all the
other familiar archetypes throughout a set cycle.
Heart of Darkness does not follow a traditional mythological cycle. Neither does most postmodern
literature, which can render archetypal criticism useless. But, the closest Conrad's opus comes to
anything resembling Frye's four cycles (Comedy, Romance, Tragedy, Irony/Satire) is to Irony/Satire. Like
many of his other works, it takes a satirical stance against European imperialism. It opens with the
protagonist taking his leave from a society steeped in ignorance. From there, he finds his way to the
source of the misguided sentiments -- the Company men in Africa. Conrad is satirizing both the
Europeans who believe the Company's pretext of civilizing the heathens, and the power-hungry white
men who think they can exploit the jungle for their benefit.
Sure, the plot structure fits somewhat the criteria of archetypal criticism, but most of the characters in
the story do not. Colonel Kurtz is the only one that fits an archetype. He is the quintessential villain

Complications arise when one attempts to fit Marlow into the hero archetype. He does indeed embark
on a perilous journey into territory that has captivated him since his youth. But, he encounters no guide,
nor does he have any sort of epiphany or realization. His condescending view of the African "pilgrims"
never changes. He never quite manages to see them as fellow humans. But, his opinions on European
imperialism never change because (at least in Conrad's mind) they have been correct all along. Conrad
basically has Marlow walk among the unenlightened as an agent of supreme knowledge, however
flawed he may be.

Literature is unoriginal because of the use of the same set of archetypes in numerous literary works.
According to Thomas C. Foster, author of How to Read Literature like a Professor, archetypes are proof
that “there’s no such thing as a wholly original work of literature” (Foster 29). An archetype is a
recurrent symbol or motif in literature, art, or mythology. Archetypes are important in literature
because it gives a literary work universal acceptance. The usage of archetypes allows the reader to
identify with the characters and situation in their social and cultural contexts. Through the use of
archetypes, authors can convey a profound message that can be more easily received by the readers of
that particular work of literature. This point of recognition between what the reader is familiar with and
what is new “makes [their] experience of literature, richer, deeper, [and] more meaningful” (Foster 73).
It is easier for the reader to identify with a work of literature when they recognize different aspects of it,
otherwise it is very likely that the reader might feel alienated from the story and the author’s message,
all because they could not identify with it. By Foster’s claim, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad cannot
be an original literary work because it uses the same literary tactic that many before and after him have
been using. Two archetypes that can be easily identified in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness are the
quest archetype and the authorial violence archetype.

The quest archetype is an archetype that has been used for hundreds of years in literature. According to
Foster, the quest archetype consists of five things, (1) a quester, (2) a place to go, (3) a stated reason to
go there, (4) challenges and trials en route, and (5) a real reason to go there. Foster goes on to say that
the real reason for a quest is always self-knowledge (Foster 3).Literary critic Cedric Watts states in his
book, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness: A Critical and Contextual Discussion, that the quest is important
because it signifies a spiritual change that leaves the quester with a changed outlook on the world he or
she lives in (Watts 121). In Heart of Darkness, the quester is the protagonist Charlie Marlow, and his
intended destination is the Congo River. Marlow’s stated reason for his journey up the Congo River lies
in his curiosity in Kurtz and whether or not “this man, who had come out equipped with moral ideas of
some sort would climb up to the top” and if he did, “ how he would set about his work when he got
there” (Conrad 69). As the quester, Marlow also experience trials and challenges on his journey, none
more dangerous than the attack on his steamboat when he was about eight miles from Kurtz’s station.
“Sticks, little sticks, were flying about-thick; they were whizzing before my nose, dropping below me,
striking below my pilot-house” (Conrad 86). At this point in the story Marlow and his steamboat full of
men are being attacked by a group of African natives. While this is the most dangerous trials, it is only
one of many challenges that Marlow faces on his journey. Lastly, Marlow’s real reason for going on a
journey up the Congo River is to observe and discover the effects of British Imperialism on human
nature. On his journey up the Congo, Marlow learns more than he had ever intended to. Because of his
new knowledge, Marlow feels out of place in London. Marlow “felt so sure that they could not possible
know the things [he] knew” and that really offended him (Conrad 117). Upon his return, Marlow
describes Londoners as ignorant of the world around them and self-absorbed for not thinking beyond
their own realities. As Heart of Darkness draws to a close, Marlow struggles between his new found
knowledge and how to live with the knowledge that no one else in London could comprehend and
through this struggle, Marlow becomes more self-aware about human nature. Conrad’s use of the quest
archetype gives him the ability to convey his message about the evils of imperialism masterfully and
with great ease. While Conrad does use this literary tactic brilliantly, he is in no way the first author to
do so. Homer’s The Odysseyis another great example of literature containing the quest archetype. Just
like Marlow, the main character of The Odyssey, Odysseus, goes on a journey that leaves him
fundamentally changed. A more recent work of literature that uses the quest archetype is J.R.R.
Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Just as Odysseus and Marlow go on journeys that fundamentally change
them, so does Frodo Baggins. While the quest archetype is used differently in all three works, the
presence of this archetype proves that literature is not wholly original.

Another example of found in literature is authorial violence. Authorial violence refers to “the death and
suffering authors introduce into their work in the interest of plot advancement or thematic
development” (Foster 97). Through the use of authorial violence, authors are responsible for the
violence in a work of literature. For instance, when Marlow witnesses the suffering of the African natives
at the hand of the British, it is an example of Conrad using authorial violence to develop an important
theme. “They were dying slowly-it was very clear…they were nothing earthly now,-nothing but black
shadows of disease and starvation, lying confusedly in the greenish gloom” (Conrad 53). In this passage
Conrad creates a violent image of the native Africans to address the savagery of humans, more
specifically the British imperialists. Violence is one of the most personal and intimate acts between
human beings, and when it is used by the author of a literary work, there is always a reason. Conrad’s
use of authorial violence is meant to show how Marlow becomes less and less compassionate for the
suffering of the native African population as the novella progresses. This diminution of Marlow’s
compassion toward the suffering of others allows Conrad to develop the theme of savagery and its
effect on human nature. An earlier work that makes use of authorial violence is Charles Dickens’s The
Old Curiosity Shop. Dickens killing off his protagonist is another form of authorial violence. Nell Trent
does not die by the hand of another character, but because of a long and arduous journey. Dickens
could have kept her alive, but her death served a purpose in his plot advancement. A more recent work
that contains authorial violence as an archetype is William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. In his novel,
Golding introduces violence to the shipwrecked children as in the interest of thematic development. By
doing so Golding, much like Conrad, is able to introduce the theme of savagery and its effect on human
nature.
In closing, because of Conrad’s use of archetypes in his novella, it cannot be considered a wholly original
work, according to Thomas C. Foster. Moreover, the repetition of the same archetypes over hundreds of
years means that no work is wholly original. While the story may be original, the method literary tactic
used in the story is not.

2.2 Mythopoetic projections of the woman's image.

The archetypal pattern of the Hero's Journey reveals only one of the patterns observed in the story.
Another archetypal pattern in Heart of Darkness is that of the woman and it is presented following the
mythological frame suggested by Maud Bodkin. In the novella there are only a few women characters.
However, they are of great importance within the framework of the story and represent the archetypal
feminine aspects. Bodkin distinguishes several types of woman images. She recognizes a woman as a
mother or guardian goddess or a temptress and destroyer of man. Bodkin proposes other feminine
aspects which are irrelevant for this BA thesis. (Bodkin 1978, 158)

2.2.1 The figure of the aunt as the representation of the Mother-goddess.

The scholar suggests examining the mother-image "with its relation, in individual history, to
infantile fear and dependence, and in literary history to representations of a maternal goddess. In
Conrad's, story the reader may identify Marlow's aunt as the mother goddess who takes care of her
child" (ibid.). The character of the aunt stirs in mind the image of a mother who is "determined to make
no end of fuss" (Conrad 1986, 139) to meet the wishes of her beloved child. Marlow had a feeling that
he had to get to the jungle "by hook or by crook" (ibid.). When Marlow realized he would not get the
chance to get appointed for a job he asked his aunt for help as he knew that she had some
acquaintances in the highest layers of the company he wanted to work for. The aunt happened to know
"the wife of a very high personage in the Administration, and also a man who has lots of influence with,
etc. etc." (ibid.). Similarly, the Greek hero Achilles asked his mother Thetis, who was a goddess and had
some impact on the mythological mount of Olympus where the gods lived, to beseech for him from Zeus
vengeance upon the Achaians because Agamemnon had taken from him the daughter of Briseus, his
meed of honour. In both stories, the effort of the mother is rewarded, as she achieves what she was
promised. In the case of Conrad, Marlow got appointed as skipper on a river steamboat because "the
Company had received news that one of their captains had been killed in a scuffle with natives" (Conrad
1986, 140). The sudden death of the captain may show the supernatural powers of the mother-goddess
who put efforts to help her child. Meanwhile in Homer, Thetis wins from Zeus "the boon of ill fortune for
the Greeks in battle" (Bodkin 1978, 159).

Bodkin refers to Jane Harrison who takes the relationship between a man and a
goddess as sign of 'high companionship' (Bodkin 1978, 160), and states that later on the patriarchal
conditions changed the role of the goddess and replaced it by "a sequestered and servile domesticity"
(Bodkin 1978, 160) The archetypal image of the mother-goddess arose as the relaxation of tension
under matriarchal conditions. However, with the coming of the patriarchal system, to put it in Gilbert
Murray's wording, -women-ignoring atmosphere" arose and the image of the mother-goddess was
suppressed. Such suppression took place due to the fact that the souls of the conquerors of the foreign
lands would experience certain tension and their mind would get filled from the unconscious "by an
image that has relation as well to collective tendencies toward an older worship as to individual
tendencies toward the dependence of infancy" (Bodkin 1978, 161). Thus, it would diminish the spirit of
the conquerors since they would feel homesick. This image was suppressed so long ago that Marlow did
not recall the close relationship men had with women. He said that

it's queer how out of touch with truth women are. They live in a
world of their own, and there has never been anything like it, and never can be. it is too
beautiful altogether, and if they were to set it up it would go to pieces before the first sunset.
Some confounded fact we men have been living contentedly with ever since the day of creation
would start up and knock the whole thing over (Conrad 1986, 143).

Later on, when comparing the dark and savage world of the jungle with the peaceful world of the
continental city Marlow claimed that "they — the women I mean — are out of it — should be out of it.
We must help them, to stay in that beautiful world of their own, lest ours gets worse" (Conrad 1986,
177). Marlow's words suggest that the archetype of the mother-goddess has lost its significance in the
course of time as well as in the course of the story. Marlow's aunt who had a power to help him at the
beginning of the story had lost it at the end of it when Marlow had returned from the Jungle. She
attempted to cure him as his "temperature was seldom normal" (Conrad 1986, 199), but his "aunt's
endeavors to 'nurse up my strength' seemed altogether beside the mark (Conrad 1986, 199). Her failure
to cure him symbolically represents the loss of her dreams. Marlow's aunt wished him to bring
civilization to the jungle, but he did not go there any more. Thus, symbolically Marlow has rejected the
Influence of the mother-goddess.

2.2.2 The Wilderness viewed as the embodiment of the archetypal Temptress.

Another archetype of the woman which is distinguished in the novella is that of the temptress and
destroyer of man. This archetypal feminine aspect is presented in the mythological frame of Epic of
Gilgamesh29 the Babylonian goddess Ishtar" is "faithless to her lovers and the source of their ruin"
(Bodkin 1978, 173). The archetypal pattern of Ishtar is symbolically represented by the Jungle that
tempted Mr. Kurtz. The Jungle represents the forest which is the symbol of femininity. Moreover,
according to le Goff, the forest as well as the desert is a place of temptation and its etymology relates
the word with the concept of loneliness" (Le Goff, 2003, 88, 94). The jungle is also addressed as the
Wilderness or nature whose "own tenebrous and passionate soul" (Conrad 1986, 189) was embodied in
" In Mesopotamian mythology, Gilgamesh is credited with having been a demigod of superhuman strength who built a great city wall to
29

defend his people from external threats. "

30Ishtar is a goddess of fertility, love, war, and sex. She had many lovers whom she treated cruelly when they left for the favours heaped on
them.

The word forest originated from late Latin forestis which was used in 648 Sigebert 111 writ with the connotation of loneliness.
31
a "gorgeous apparition of a woman" (ibid, 189). She is described as "savage and superb, wild-eyed and
magnificent" (ibid, 189). Marlow understands that the Wilderness had shown devastating affection to
Mr. Kurtz. He says:

the Wilderness had patted him on the head, and, behold, it was like a ball — an ivory ball;
it had caressed him, and — lo! — he had withered; it had taken him, loved him, embraced him,
got into his veins, consumed his flesh, and sealed his soul to its own by the inconceivable
ceremonies of some devilish initiation. He was its spoiled and pampered favorite. (ibid, 177)

The words in italics reveal that the love of the Wilderness is passionate and superficial. She has
tempted him by light touches on his head which drove him mad, then it took him in to her bosom
showing affection and destroying at the same time. The goddess Ishtar was above all associated with
sexuality and her love and favour was of sexual nature, the love of the Wilderness to Mr. Kurtz
manifested itself in "the gratification of his various lusts" (Conrad 1986, 185). The ultimate desire of Mr.
Kurtz was ivory. The Wilderness fulfilled his wish and he had so much of it that one "would think here
was not a single tusk left either above or below the ground in the whole country" (Conrad 1986, 177).
Gilgamesh points to the merciless way of Ishtar treating her lovers:

You loved the supremely mighty lion,

yet you dug for him seven and again seven pits.
You loved the stallion, famed in battle,
yet you ordained for him the whip, the goad, and the lash
ordained for him to gallop for seven and seven hours,
ordained for him drinking from muddled waters,'
you ordained far his mother Silili to wail continually.
You loved the Shepherd, the Master Herder,
who continually presented you with bread baked in embers,
and who daily slaughtered for you a kid.
Yet you struck him, and turned him into a wolf,
so his own shepherds now chase him
and his own dogs snap at his shins. 33
The relationship between Mr. Kurtz and the Wilderness is archetypally represented following the same
mythological frame of the revenge of the goddess Ishtar on her lovers who were deprived of what was
best for them or turned into something terribly opposite of what they were, just like a shepherd was
turned into a wolf,. Marlow suggests that
the Wilderness had found him [Mr. Kurtz] out early, and had taken on him terrible vengeance for the
fantastic invasion. I think it had whispered to him things about himself which he did not know, things
which he had no conception till he took counsel with his great solitude — and the whisper had proved
irresistibly fascinating. It echoed loudly within him because he was hollow at the core (Conrad 1986, 186).
32". Italics mine (Arturas Cechanovicius).
33"The quotation is from The Epic of Gilgamesh Tablet VI translated by Maureen Gallery Kovacs in
http://www.ishtartemple.org/epic.htm
It may be stated that Mr. Kurtz was not turned into something opposite but he was rather turned inside
out. The whisper implies the temptation which was hard to resist since Kurtz was morally vain. The
whisper of the jungle had an immense effect on him revealed by the loud echoing. The hissing sound o
the whisper implies the temptation of the serpent in Christian tradition. The Wilderness just like the
mythical Ishtar turned Mr. Kurtz into his opposite. He was supposed to bring civilization for the savages
and believed that "each station should be like a beacon on the road towards better things, a center for
trade, of course, but also for humanizing, improving, instructing" (Conrad 1986, 162). Mr. Kurtz had
ideas and "immense plans" (ibid, 194) which he did not manage to implement since "the appetite for
more ivory had got the better of the — what shall I say? — less material aspirations" (ibid, 185).
Eventually, Mr. Kurtz had taken "a high seat amongst the devils of the land — I mean literally" (ibid, 178)
and the worst punishment for him was that he "hated all this and somehow he couldn't get away" (ibid,
185). It may be assumed that with every fulfilled wish Kurtz craved for more and his away" (ibid, 185). It
may be assumed that with every fulfilled wish Kurtz craved for more and his wishes got more intolerable
until he had everything his "mad soul" (ibid, 194) hankered.
It must be noted that as their relation and revenge both the goddess Ishtar and
the Wilderness have chosen Animals or persons with outstanding qualities. Ishtar loved "the supremely
mighty lion, [...] the stallion, famed in battle, [...] the Shepherd, the Master Herder" and the Wilderness
preferred Mr. Kurtz to the many white people because he was "a universal genius" (Conrad 1986, 200).
As it becomes clear from the story, Mr. Kurtz "had been essentially a great musician" (ibid.), and Marlow
took him for "a painter who wrote for papers, or else a journalist who could paint" (ibid.). It is worth to
remember the words of the journalist, who came to talk to Marlow about the last minutes of Mr. Kurtz'
life: "[his] proper sphere ought to have been politics 'on the popular side' (ibid.). Moreover, in Marlow's
opinion only an intelligent and gifted person could experience such a relationship as Mr. Kurtz had with
the savage jungle. Consider:
you may be too much of a fool to go wrong — too dull even to know you are being
assaulted by the powers of the darkness. I take it, no fool ever made a bargain for his soul with the devil:
the fool is too much of a fool, or the devil too much of a devil — I don't know which" (Conrad 1986, 178).
The archetype of the woman as a temptress and destroyer expresses the "fatality of
woman in her hold upon the passion of man" (Bodkin 1978, 173). The nature knew what was Mr. Kurtz
passion and its knowledge destroyed him. Kurtz had "no restraint" (Conrad 1986, 185) and he could not
withstand the opportunity to get what he wished. His lack of restraint may be opposed to the restraint
of the cannibals who were hungry and did not eat Marlow and his crew although "no fear can stand up
to hunger, no patience can wear it out, disgust simply does not exist where hunger is; and as to
superstitions and beliefs, and what you may call principles, they are less than chaff in a breeze" (ibid,
171). The Wilderness gave him enough to "forget himself' (ibid.). He had been worshiped by the natives
and had forgotten his goal to civilize them. However, Kurtz managed to overcome the attractive powers
of the jungle and agreed to go back to Europe. Although the nature took his body as he had died on the
way and was buried in the muddy hole his soul has escaped its charms.
2.2.3 The Company women as the symbolic projections of the mythical Fates.
 Besides the two analyzed aspects of the image of the woman the third one may be presented in
the story. The woman is also seen as the arbiter of destiny. In Greek mythology, it is represented by
Fates whose equivalent in Norse mythology is Norris and Roman Parcaes. However, as the Greek
mythology developed it was believed that there were one or two and only seldom three Fates. They are
the deities who decide on human fate (Tokarev 1994, 290). Hesiot portrayed the Fates as three old
women and called them Keres, which means "those who cut off," or the Moirai, "those who allot"?'
Hesiod called the latter Clotho ("the spinner"), Lachesis ("the allotter"), and Atropos ("the
unavoidable").
In the course of time, the image of the Fates as controlling the thread of each person's life
developed from the name Clotho with its reference to spinning thread. Clotho spun the thread and sang
of the past, Lachesis measured it out and sang of the present, and Atropos when singing of the future
cut it with a pair of shears to end the life span. The three are often portrayed as and old and ugly and
Atropos is the eldest of the three and smallest in stature. In Norse mythology, the Fates were called the
Norns and were seen as numerous female beings who rule the fates of various races. The three principle
Norns were named Urth (the past), Verthandi (the present) and Skuld (the future).
In his interpretation of Voluspa' Snorri Sturluson's states that the three Norns come out from a hall
standing at the Well of Ur& (well of fate) and they draw water from the well and take sand that lies
around it, which they pour the ash over the tree of the world Yggdrasill so that its roots will not rot.
Beside the three main norns, there were many other norns who were present at the birth
of the people and determined the person's future. In Norse mythology, the two types of noms are
distinguished, namely, the malevolent and benevolent ones. The former were responsible for all the
tragic events in the world, while the latter were kind and protective deities.
In Heart of Darkness the woman as the arbiter of destiny is represented by the two
women Marlow met at the reception to the Company. The women "one fat and the other slim, sat on
straw-bottomed chairs, knitting black wool" (Conrad 1986, 141). The black wool is an equivalent of the
thread the Fates in Greek mythology where spinning and is a symbol of a person's fate. In the novella,
the black colour implies that the fate of those who come to the Company is ominous. It is proved further
on in the story because in Congo many people died of fever, and even Marlow himself had "wrestled
with death" (ibid, 198). Mr. Kurtz' disease and death should be taken into consideration as well.
Another resemblance between the women and the Fates is their appearance. Marlow
mentions that one of the women is young and the other is old. The old one sat on her chair with cloth
slippers
Propped up on a footwarmer, and a cat reposed on her lap. She wore starched white
affair on her head, had a wart on one cheek, and silver-rimmed spectacles hung on the tip of her nose.
34 Hesiod (Greek: HaloSoc Hesiodos) was a Greek oral poet whose writings serve as a major source
on Greek mythology, farming techniques, archaic Greek astronomy and ancient time-keeping. 35
35Encyclopedia of Myths. In http://www.mythencydopedia.com/Dr-Fiates.html
She glanced at me above the glasses. The swift and indifferent placidity of that look troubled me. Two
youths with foolish and cheery countenances were being piloted over, and she threw at them the same
quick glance of unconcerned wisdom. She seemed to know all about them and about me, too. (Conrad
1986, 141-142)
As in Greek mythology, the elder woman had an ugly appearance suggested by wart on
her cheek. Her supernatural powers are implied by the image of the cat on her lap which is a common
companion of the witches. The glance with which she looks at Marlow and the two young men implies
that her knowledge embraces all the past and all the future and that she knows the fate of every person.
Considering the fact that Marlow met these women at the Company where he got
appointed to be the captain of a steamboat and received the mission to bring Mr. Kurtz back it must be
said that such was his destiny. Marlow mentions it himself when after the attack of the natives a few
miles to Kurtz' station he falsely assumed that Mr. Kurtz was dead. The hero said he felt he had been
"robbed of a belief or had missed my destiny in life" (Conrad 1986, 176). And again, when Mr. Kurtz has
really passed away Marlow says: I remained to dream the nightmare out to the end, and to show my
loyalty to Kurtz once more. Destiny. My Destiny!" (ibid, 198).
The fateful role of the woman is also implied in the culminating point of the story where
Marlow encountered Kurtz at night and tried to talk him out of going to the forest where the rites in
Kurtz name were performed. While Marlow was pursuing Mr. Kurtz, he remembered the episode when
"the knitting old woman with the cat obtruded herself upon [his] memory as a most improper person to
be sitting at the other end of such an affair" (ibid, 193). He suggests that the affair with Mr. Kurtz was
very dangerous but the woman was sitting safely in the city. Moreover, the old woman represents the
archetypal pattern of the goddess Atropos of Greek mythology who cuts off the man's thread to end the
life span. The picture of the woman Marlow met comes to his mind as he was close to death. When the
hero recalled the episode he realized how everything was arranged and understands the fateful role of
that woman.
The women characters of the story represent a different aspect of the archetype of the
woman. Symbolically, the woman is seen as a mother-goddess, a temptress and destroyer of a man and
as the arbiter of destiny. The archetype of the mother-goddess proved itself to be suppressed in the
mind of a modern man, and the archetypes of a temptress and the arbiter of destiny are still active in
human consciousness. Considering the archetypal mythological frame the paradigmatic conquest of
Africa by the whites and their profane mode of being opposed to the sacred of the native people should
be considered.
2.3. The revelation of sacred in the novella.
In Conrad's story, the difference between the two modes of being, namely the sacred and the profane is
very well revealed. The white men represent the profane mode of being in the world whereas the
36Voluspa is the first and best known poem of the Poetic Edda. It tells the story of the creation of the world and
its coming end related by a volva who was a priestess in Norse paganism addressing Odin, the chief god in Norse
paganism.
inhabitants of the jungle represent the sacred mode. These two modes may be portrayed by the analysis
of the archetype of the conquest as well as the sacred and the profane approach towards "the world of
tools" (Eliade 1996, 14).
2.3.1 The paradigmatic conquest of the jungle: the profane element.
The conquest of the land is archetypal as it recurs from the very beginnings of time. In the
novella, before telling his story Marlow "was thinking of the very old times, when the Romans first came
here, nineteen hundred years ago — the other day" (Conrad 1986, 137). The fact that Marlow parallels
nineteen hundred years and the other day proves that the conquest of the land is archetypal as it is
universal and eternally familiar. According to Eliade, the conquest of the foreign land which represents
the chaos is a paradigmatic repetition of the work of gods who created the cosmos. The conquered land
has to be consecrated to become cosmos or 'our land'. However, the nonreligious man who does
assume the world as homogeneous does not consecrate the conquered land. Therefore the cosmos is
not created and the chaos remains which suggests that the land remains alien and hostile. (Eliade 1996,
p. 32-36)
In Conrad's story, both the Romans in England and the Europeans in the jungle are
portrayed as men belonging to the profane world. Marlow's story about the Romans reveals his own
story in the jungle. He tells about a Roman commander at "the very end of the world, a sea the color o
lead, a sky the color of smoke, a kind of ship about as rigid as a concertina — and going up this river with
stores, or orders, or what you like" (Conrad 1986, 137). He adds that "perhaps he was cheered by
keeping his eye on a chance of promotion to the fleet at Ravenna by and by, if he had good friend in
Rome and survived the awful climate (ibid.). The hero continues to tell about a descent young man who
might have come "to mend his fortunes", and could not leave due to "the fascination of abomination —
you know, imagine the growing regrets, he longing to escape, the powerless disgust, the surrender, the
hate" (ibid). The same situation was in the jungle of Congo where the whites who had some relations in
the Administration of the Company were waiting for the promotion. However, to be more exact it
should be noted that both of the Romans share some similarities with Mr. Kurtz. The latter had many
relations in the Administration and the chief accountant said that "he will be a somebody in the
Administration before long. They, above — the Council in Europe C...> mean him to be" (ibid, 150). The
manager of the Central Station who wanted to take Kurtz position was frightened by "the influence that
man must have" (ibid, 161). The Russian told the hero that although sometimes Kurtz could not stand
the region "he hated sometimes the idea of being taken away — and then again" (ibid, 191). Marlow
says that that "they were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force — nothing to boast of,
when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others" (ibid, 138).
The hero notes that "the conquest of the earth C...> means taking it away from those who have a
different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves" (Conrad 1986, 138) which is relevant for
the Europeans who conquered the jungle. Neither the Romans nor the Europeans managed to
consecrate the foreign land. Eliade mentions some ways of the consecration such as erection of an altar
or raising of the Cross. Although it may be assumed that bringing of civilization or establishing the
facilities of the civilized world such as a railway is a way to "consecrate" the unknown land, both the
Romans in England and the Europeans in the jungle conquered lands for the sake of profit.
Marlow viewed the Romans as conquerors of England who "grabbed what they could
for the sake of what was to be got" (Conrad 1986, 138). They were violent robbers, and Marlow thought
that the conquest might be redeemed by an idea only. The idea Marlow had in mind was not "a
sentimental pretense but an idea; and an unselfish belief in the idea — something you can set up, and
bow down before, and offer a sacrifice to" (ibid.). The idea Marlow spoke of was the idea of
colonization'. It was believed that a colonist was "something like an emissary of light, something like a
lower sort of apostle" (ibid, 143) and that his mission was to wean "those ignorant millions of their
horrid ways" (ibid, 143). However, in Conrad's story, the only person "equipped with moral ideas of
some sort" (ibid, 161) was Mr. Kurtz who did not manage to implement them and on the contrary he
"raided the country" (ibid, 184). Marlow also tells about the "Eldorado Exploring Expedition" (ibid, 160)
which was lead by the uncle of the manager of the central station where Marlow stayed and where from
he headed towards the station of Mr. Kurtz. Eldorado was a legendary land in the northern Andes of
South America. It symbolizes a rich abounding land (Becker, 66). Edgar Allan Poe in his poem Eldorado
implies that one may gain spiritual wealth from the quest of the Eldorado land. In the poem the pilgrim
Shadow tells the knight where to find the Eldorado.
"Over the mountains
Of the Moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,"
The shade replied –
"If you seek for Eldorado!"
The "Valley of the Shadow" may be paralleled to the jungle where the darkness
prevails. Thus, it may be suggested that in the jungle one may acquire spiritual growth. However, in the
situation with "Eldorado Exploring Expedition", Conrad ironically calls them pilgrims whose mission was:
"to tear treasure out of the bowels of the land was their desire, with no more moral purpose at the back
of it that there is in burglars breaking into a safe" (Conrad 1986, 160). Therefore, the land remained
complete chaos and was hostile for the conquerors as if "Nature herself had tried to ward off intruders"
(ibid, 145).
The parallel of the environment viewed by the Romans in England and the Europeans in the jungle of
Congo may be drawn. For the Romans the land of Great Britain was no more than
sand-banks, marshes, forests, savages, - precious little to eat fit for a civilized man,
nothing but Thames water to drink. No Falemian wine here, no going ashore. Here and there a
military camp lost in a wilderness, like a needle in a bundle of hay — cold, fog, tempests, disease,
exile, and death, — death skulking in the air, in the water, in the bush. They must have been
dying like flies here. (ibid, 137)
37"Colonization occurs whenever any one or more species populate an area. The term is derived from the Latin `colere', "to
inhabit, cultivate, frequent, practice, tend, guard, respect". Colonization refers to the establishment of settler colonies,
trading posts, and plantations, colonialism deals with this and the ruling of the inhabitants of new territories
 The Europeans in the jungle experienced the same hostile atmosphere. Marlow said that he and his
crew "fed out of tins, with an occasional old he-goat thrown in (ibid, 170), the people died so quick that
there was no time to send them back to Europe. He described going up the river like
traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, when the vegetation rioted
on the earth and the big trees were kings. An empty stream, a great silence, an impenetrable
forest. The air was wann, thick, heavy, sluggish. There was no joy in the brilliance of the
sunshine. The long stretches of the waterway ran on, deserted, into the gloom of overShadowed
distances. On silvery sandbanks hippos and alligators sunned themselves side by side. The
broadening waters flowed through a mob of wooded islands; you lost your way on that river as
you would in a desert, and butted all day long against shoals, trying to find the channel, till you
thought yourself bewitched and cut off forever from everything you had known once –
somewhere-far away-in another existence perhaps(ibid,163)
The chaos was manifested in the deplorable states of the stations of the Europeans as
well. Marlow called the first station he had reached an "inhabited devastation" (ibid, 146). The whites
were supposed to cultivate the region, in other words, to `cosmicize' it, but "the objectless blasting was
all the work going on" (ibid, 146). There were houses "amongst the waste of excavations" (ibid.), and
such waste as "a boiler wallowing in the grass, C...> an undersized railway-truck lying there on its back
with its wheels in the air" (ibid, 146), etc. Another example of the chaotic and purposeless work of the
white invaders was
a vast artificial hole somebody has been digging on the slope, the purpose of
which I found it impossible to divine. It wasn't a quarry or a sandpit, anyhow. It was just
a hole. It might have been connected with the philanthropic desire of giving the criminals
something to do. I don't know. Then nearly I fell into a narrow ravine, almost no more
than a scar on the hillside. I discovered that a lot of imported drainage-pipes for the
settlement had been tumbled in there. There wasn't one that was not broken. It was a
wanton smashup. (ibid, 147
The chaos is felt even more obviously in the Central station which
was on a backwater surrounded by scrub and forest, with a pretty border of smelly
mud on one side, and on the three others enclosed by a crazy fence of rushes. A neglected gap
was all the gate ithad, and the first glance at the place was enough to let you see a flabby devil
was running this show". (ibid, 151).
The chaotic state of the station was the result of the objectless activity of the white invaders.
No work was done at all at the Central station, and people "beguiled the time by backbiting and
intriguing against each other in a foolish kind of way" (ibid, 155). They all desired "to get appointed to a
trading-post where ivory was to be had, so that they could earn percentages" (ibid.). Marlow's remark
reveals that the purpose of the whites' coming to the jungle was to "make no end of coin by trade" (ibid,
140). Thus, until they got appointed these men
 were strolling aimlessly about in the sunshine of the yard. C...> They wandered here
and there with their absurd long staves in their hands, like a lot of faithless pilgrims bewitched
inside a rotten fence" (ibid, 153).
The epithet "faithless" suggests that the world for pilgrims has lost its `sacrality', thus they
represent the profane world. Eliade states that for the man of the profane mode of being in the world
the function of the habitation is "to allow men to work and rest in order that they may work" (Eliade
1996, 50). The `desacralization' of the habitation is due to the process of transformation "made possible
by the desacralization of the cosmos accomplished by scientific thought and above all by the sensational
discoveries of physics and chemistry's" (Eliade 1996, 51).
2.3.2 The religious nature of the native people.
Contrary to the profane mode demonstrated by the colonizers, the sacred mode of being of the native
people may be proved. Eliade proposes that a religious man charges nature and the world of objects
with `sacrality'. Marlow described the fireman who fired up the boiler on the steamboat. The latter was
instructed that if "the water in that transparent thing disappear, the evil spirit inside the boiler would
get angry through the greatness of his thirst, and take a terrible vengeance" (Conrad 1986, 166).
Therefore, he not only believed in the spirit within the boiler, but "sweated and fired up and watched
the glass fearfully" (ibid.). Another example is also related to the steamboat. When attacked by the
natives, the "pilgrims" were "squirting lead into the bush" (ibid, 174), but it had no effect except that the
smoke covered the river, and Marlow could not see "the ripple or the snag either" (ibid.) which was on
his way. It was not until Marlow felt the "line of steam-whistle, and jerked out screech after screech
hurriedly" (ibid, 175). When the attack has ceased and there was silence again. Later on it was
confirmed by the Russian who suggested the same strategy: "one good screech would do more for you
than all your rifles" (ibid, 182). The natives worshiped and feared the objects of technical progress that
they did not know and had no idea about them. They imputed supernatural powers to strange things. As
Marlow understood the steamboat was considered as the "splashing, thumping, fierce river-demon
beating the water with its terrible tail and breathing black smoke into the air" (ibid, 195).
The only white person who had overcome the chaos of the jungle was the chief
accountant whose "appearance was certainly that of a hairdresser's dummy; but in the great
demoralization of the land he kept up his appearance" (ibid, 148-149). Although he managed to teach a
native woman to take cam of his linen, he claimed it was "extremely difficult to guard against clerical
errors in this climate" (ibid, 149). It should be stated that his work and appearance were the only things
that helped him to maintain in the jungle. Marlow told that while staying at the first station he "lived in
a but in the yard, but out be out of chaos I would sometimes get into the accountant's office" (ibid.).
When a caravan came to the station the accountant remarked that if "one has got to make correct
entries, one comes to hate those savages — hate them to death" (ibid, 150). His work was his way to
consecrate the land and create his cosmos and the errors endangered it to retrogress into chaos.
However, his consecration was completely of the profane nature, thus, his cosmos stretched as far as his
office.
38Eliademay have suggested such discoveries which explain the phenomena of lightning, solar eclipse,
the cycle of night and day and the seasons, etc.
 The following examples of the rites show the natives representing `homoreligiosus'. Marlow told that
Mr. Kurtz presided at "certain midnight dances ending with unspeakable rites, which — as far as I
reluctantly gathered from what I heard at various times — were offered up to him — do you
understand? — to Mr. Kurtz himself" (ibid, 179). When Marlow woke up at the station of Mr. Kurtz,
the monotonous beating of a drum filled the air with muffled shocks and a lingering
vibration. A steady droning sound of many men chanting each to himself some weird incantation
came out from the black, flat wall of the wood [...] and had a strange narcotic effect upon my
half-awake senses (Conrad 1986, 192).
Throughout the story Marlow mentions "the tremor of far-off drums, sinking, swelling, a tremor vast,
faint; a sound weird appealing, suggestive, and wild, — and perhaps with as profound a meaning as the
sound of bells in Christian country" (ibid, 150). The repeated encounter with the sound of drums
suggests that the rites were performed regularly and had a great meaning to the native people.
Whereas the parallel between the drums and the bells implies that they had a religious aspect in
themselves. The fact that Marlow found the meaning of the drums to be similar as that of the bells,
suggests that he is capable to accept the cosmos of the natives. It should be also noted that he does
represent neither the profane nor the sacred mode of being. His aim is not to conquer or civilize the
land, thus he accepts it as the temporal environment.
When facing Kurtz at night only thirty yards from the nearest fire Marlow noticed how "a
black figure stood up, strode on long black legs, waving long black arms, across the glow. It had horns —
antelope horns, I think — on its head (ibid, 193)".39
The repetition of the epithet "black" implies that the meaning of the rite was
impenetrable for the outsiders. Although Marlow was not a typical representative of an industrial
society, still he could not understand its meaning. Another example of the rite in Conrad's story is
described when Marlow was leaving the station with Kurtz on board. Taking the steamboat for a river-
demon, the natives performed a rite to stop it because they did not want Mr. Kurtz to leave. They knew
that could not destroy it with their weapons. Marlow saw a mob of people in front of whom
three men, plastered with bright red earth from head to foot, strutted to and fro restlessly.
When we came abreast again, they faced the river, stamped their feet, nodded their horned
heads, swayed their scarlet bodies; they shook towards the fierce river-demon a bunch of black
feathers, a mangy skin with a pendent tail — something that looked like dried gourd; they
shouted periodically together strings of amazing words that resembled no sounds of human
language; and the deep murmurs of the crowd, interrupted suddenly, were like the responses of
some satanic litany (Conrad 1986, 195).
The "satanic litany" suggests that they worshiped the dark powers of the land which may be
embodied in Mr. Kurtz who used to "preside at certain midnight dances ending with unspeakable rites,
which C...> were offered up to him" (ibid, 179).These quotations reveal that the natives demonstrate the
sacred mode of being. Thus, according to Eliade, they must have assumed the world as not
homogeneous (Eliade 1996, 20). He claims that for a religious man there is cosmos, or 'our world' and
chaos, or 'their world'. The suggests that if 'our world' is created by the repetition of the paradigmatic
work of gods, the cosmogony, then the enemies who attack 'our world' are assimilated to the enemies
of gods and seen as demons. The demons attempt to annihilate the cosmos and establish or re-establish
the chaos. The concept of 'our world' may embrace the whole country, city or village. Any destruction is
assimilated to a decline and thus to chaos. In The Myth of Eternal Return Eliade mentions the myth of
ancient Hebrew where it is stated that a temporal victory of demons is possible. In Conrad's story, from
the perspective of the natives the whites are equivalent to demons as they attack the world of the
natives taken by them as sacred. After such attacks the villages of the blacks got deserted and looked
chaotic. Marlow was told about the Danish captain who "whacked the old nigger mercilessly" (Conrad
1986, 140) and was killed in defense by his son. When Marlow went to take care of the remains of the
captain, he found the bones in high grass and an empty village:
the supernatural being had not been touched after he fell. And the village was deserted, the
huts gaped black, rotting, all askew within the fallen enclosures. A calamity had come to it, sure
enough. The people had vanished. Mad terror had scattered them, men, women, and children,
through the bush, and they had never returned (ibid.).
Marlow also mentions the solitude felt in the jungle because "the population had cleared
out long time ago, <...> the dwellings were gone, too" (ibid, 150). Moreover, he passed through "several
abandoned villages" (ibid.). The very fact that the villages were abandoned or vanished shows that the
cosmos of the natives was turned into the chaos. As Eliadc maintains, "human beings cannot live in
chaos" (Eliade 1996, 34). Although the white people represent the profane mode of being, the images of
chaos and cosmos are familiar to their mind. Marlow notes that "if a lot of mysterious niggers armed
with all kinds of fearful weapons suddenly took to traveling on the road between Deal and Gravesend'',40
catching the yokels right and left to carry heavy loads for them, I fancy every farm and cottage
thereabouts would get empty very soon" (Conrad 1986, 150). Consider Eliade:
It is worth observing that the same images are still used in our own day to
formulate the dangers that threaten a certain type of civilization; we speak of the chaos,
disorder, the darkness that will overwhelm "our world". All these terms express the abolition of
an order, a cosmos, an organic structure, and reimmersion in the fluidity, of formelessness — in
short, of chaos (Eliade 1996, 49).
It should be stated that the sacred mode of being of the natives is revealed in the restraint of
the cannibals whom Marlow had on his ship. The cannibals who had been hungry for months did not
attack Marlow or other people on board. Marlow believed that it was due to restraint, but he also
believed that restraint cannot deal with "gnawing devils of hunger" (Conrad 1986, 171) and that "no fear
can stand up to hunger, no patience can wear it out, disgust simply does not exist where hunger is; and
as to superstitions and beliefs, and what you may call principles, they are less than chaff in a breeze"
(ibid.). However, as Eliade maintains for the religious man, the sacred also manifests itself in food. The
cannibals did not attack the whites since they represented the demonic powers of chaos which enslaved
the cannibals to serve them. The dependency of the cannibals upon the whites is implied by the fact
that their headman asked Marlow to catch other blacks who were on the bank of the river and give to
39 Italics mine(Arturas Cechanovicius) 40 Coastal cities in England.
them to be eaten. They also showed their loyalty and obedience when Marlow had thrown the corpse of
the helmsman, who was killed during the attack on the steamboat, over the board instead of giving him
to the cannibals. He heard "a very ominous murmur on the deck below" (ibid, 180), but they still did not
attack. It may also be assumed that the cannibals ate only those who were killed in a battle which
suggests their ritualistic eating. There were tribes who believed that eating your enemy's body would
give you his strength. On the board of the steamboat they ate the rotten meat of the hippopotamus
which was thrown over the board by the white people because it had a terrible smell and thus they
remained with "only thing to eat — though it didn't look eatable at all — I saw in their possession was a
few lumps of some stuff like half-cooked dough, of a dirty lavender color, they kept wrapped in leaves,
and now and then swallowed a piece of, but so small that it seemed done more for the looks of the
thing than for any serious purpose of sustenance" (ibid, 170).
In Heart of Darkness, the conquest of the Congo region is archetypal or paradigmatic as
it imitates the attack of the demons of the land of gods in order to destroy the cosmos and establish the
chaos. The contention between the powers of chaos and the inhabitants of cosmos who imitate the
work of gods began in the beginning of time, ab origine, is present till today. However, the people
representing the profane mode of being in the world do not recognize the archetype consciously
although they use the same images as the people who belong to the sacred mode of being. The sacred
manifests itself in objects and everyday activity, such as eating. However, these manifestations are true
only for archaic societies who have preserved the sacred mode of being in the world.
Conclusion
The analysis of the archetypal patterns in Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness has provided the
following conclusions.
Carl Gustav Jung's theory of Individuation involving the major archetypes of the Shadow,
the Anima/Animus and the Self made a great impact on literary theory and criticism and literary work.
The process of Individuation is archetypally recognized as the Hero's journey, the term proposed by
Joseph Campbell. It frames the story in the following way: the Hero is urged to leave his familiar space,
or the realm of the conscious, and enter an unknown and dangerous space, or the unconscious, where
he faces various tests and trials. Then he encounters this Shadow figure, a psychological projection of
himself, that he has to integrate. Afterwards, the Hero faces his Anima which he has to integrate, as
well. The Self comes into focus, too, since it assists the Hero in dealing with all the difficulties providing
him with useful hints and necessary knowledge. The last ordeal the Hero faces is the threat of death.
After having coped with all the ordeals tests and integrated the Shadow and the Anima, he reaches
Individuation and acquires the wholeness of his psyche. In Campbell's terms, the Hero's journey may
end in the transcendental way of life like in the case of the Buddha or simply gain the knowledge of
himself and the world. The pattern of the Hero's journey has been observed in Conrad's novella, too.
 The protagonist and the teller of the story represents the Hero. According to the discussed
scheme he leaves the familiar space of Europe and enters the unknown and hostile space of the Congo
jungle and the river where he undergoes his testing. His mission is symbolical. He has to solve the
mystery of Mr. Kurtz, another central character of the novella. Mr. Kurtz is a symbolically psychological
representation of the Hero's Shadow, and his determination to come back to Europe symbolizes the
Hero's integration of the Shadow from the realm of his unconscious to his conscious psyche.
As Jung proposes, the Self assists the Hero in overcoming the obstacles and integrating the
Shadow. In the novella, the Self is represented by the character of the Russian. The Russian, like the
Jungian Self, prepares Marlow to face Mr. Kurtz, or his own Shadow. The scholar also notes that the Self
operates within the frame of fourfold structure: the Russian gives Marlow two pieces of advice and
warns him twice; hence he helps him four times. Marlow, or the Hero, gives him four objects in return.
The pattern of the Individuation has also been observed in Heart of Darkness: here
Marlow confronts his Anima, or the feminine soul. However, the encounter with the Anima is not
traditionally rendered and has a deviation from the Jungian pattern. Firstly, the Anima is represented by
two women and both of them are closer related to Mr. Kurtz, or the Shadow, than to Marlow. The first
woman is met by him in the jungle and she is Mr. Kurtz' local mistress Meanwhile the second woman is
Kurtz' fiancée, and Marlow meets her in Europe. The main decline from the archetypal pattern is found
in Marlow's meeting the second figure representing the Anima after he has experienced the encounter
with death which, according to Campbell, should have been his last ordeal. Moreover, since Marlow
does not have a direct contact with the native woman, who has tried to prevent the Hero form the
integration of the Shadow, but comes to know the essence of the character through contemplating on
Kurtz and when meeting the latter's fiancée he tells a lie to her and leaves her in the illusionary world
the hero has chosen not to integrate his Anima thus leaving her in the real of the unconscious. The
partial integration of the archetypes results in Marlow's incomplete individuation. In the novella it is
symbolically represented by the image of the Buddha without the lotus flower.
Conrad's Heart of Darkness has also been analyzed within the mythopoetic frame proposed
by Maud Bodkin in her Archetypal Pattern in Poetty. The scholar suggests that there are certain
archetypal patterns which may be found throughout the literary history. They include the archetypal
themes and images which evoke an emotional response in the reader's mind enabling him/her to
recognize the encoded pattern. In the novella, the reader may recognize three archetypal patterns of
the woman. The first represents the woman as Mother-goddess. Bodkin illustrates this image by the
figure of Thetis met in Homer's Iliad. This pattern has been applied for the analysis of Conrad's novella.
Here the figure of Marlow's aunt has been recognized as a representation of the Mother-goddess. The
second pattern distinguished by Bodkin is that of the woman Temptress which she finds in the Epic of
Gilgamesh. The pattern of goddess Ishtar has been recognized in the image of the Wilderness whose
human embodiment is found in the figure of black woman. The third mythological pattern extended by
the woman is the woman as the arbiter of fate. This archetypal pattern is met in Greek myths
represented by Moeraes, or Fates, the motif echoed by Romans in Parcaes and in Norse myths they are
depicted as Norns. In the novella, the Fates are embodied in the characters of two women whom
Marlow met at the reception to the Company he was going to Marlow work for. The women were
knitting black wool which symbolizes the thread of fate, an attribute of the Fates. The resemblance is
also conveyed by the with-like appearance of the old knitter.
Finally, the analysis has been made employing the insights of Mircea Eliade presented in his
study The Sacred and the Profane. Eliade distinguished two modes of being in the world, namely, the
sacred and the profane. He claims that the demonstrating people of the sacred mode of being, or
religious people, experience the world as not homogeneous and that they observe the manifestations of
the sacred, or hieropahies, in their everyday activity and objects. On the other hand, the representatives
of the profane mode of being, or non-religious people, have desacralized the objective reality and
assume the world as homogenous. Eliade maintains that religious people repeat the pattern of the
paradigmatic actions of gods. Thus, when they create a habitation, they imitate the cosmogony and
compose cosmos out of chaos. The ideas proposed by Eliade have been applied to Conrad's Heart of
Darkness and the following conclusions have been drawn. The invasion of the Europeans to Africa is
viewed as a paradigmatic conquest of the land. The white people represent the profane mode of being
since they have not consecrated the conquered land and their sole interest is profit. Meanwhile, the
native people are portrayed as religious people who perform rites and believe that the objects of reality
possess spirits which may revenge if a person misbehaves. Thus, in Eliade's terms, the blacks being
religious people assume the world as not homogeneous and distinguish between "our world", or
cosmos, and "their world", or chaos. The people of the jungle whose lands were invaded by the profit-
oriented Europeans might even take them for demons who attempted to destroy cosmos and establish
chaos which is obvious in the case of their temerarious worshiping of Mr. Kurtz.

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Ferber, M. (1999). Dictionary of Literary Symbols. New York: Cambridge University Press.
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Le Goff, J. (2003). Viduramik vaizdzio M. Vilnius: Alma littera. Translated by Diana Bueittte.
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.Guerard, Albert J. Conrad the Novelist. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard U. Press, 1958.
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Spivack, Charlotte. "The Journey to Hell: Satan, The Shadow, and the Self." Centennial Review 9:4
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Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness, New York: Dover, 1990.

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Hayes, Dorsha. “Heart of Darkness: An Aspect of the Shadow,” Spring (1956): 43-47..

Hillman, James. "Notes on White Supremacy: Essaying an Archetypal Account of Historical Events,"
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Hughs, Richard E. The Lively Image: Four Myths in Literature. Cambridge, MA: WinthropPublishers, 1975.

Jean-Aubry, George. Joseph Conrad: Life and Letters. Vol. 1. New York: Page, 1966.

Jung, C. G. Memories, Dreams, Reflections. Trans. Richard and Clara Winston. Ed. AnielaJaffe. New York:
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McLynn, Frank. Hearts of Darkness: The European Exploration of Africa. New York: Carol &Gey, 1992.

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Cook, Albert. "The Man of Many Turns." The Classic Line; a Study in Epic Poetry,. Bloomington: Indiana
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INTERNET SOURCES
Burke, C. (1925). Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness: A Metaphor of Jungian Psychology . In
http://www.ljhammond.com/phlit/burke.htm
Campbell, J. (1997). Movie Joseph Campbell: The Hero's Journey. Producer: William Free. In
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfin?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=34884723
Clarke, R. Northrop Frye "The Archetypes of Literature" (1951). In
http://www.r1wclarke.net/Courses/LITS2307/2004-2005/04BFryeArchetypesoft-iterature pdf
Delahoyde, M. Introduction to Literature In http://www.wsu.edukdelahoyd/archetypal.crit.html
Intp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archetypalliterary_criticism#Examples_of Archetypetin_Literature
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilgamesh http://en.wikipedia.org/vdki/Ishtar
http://thanasis.com/fates.htm

http://www.scribd.com/doc/18171537/Archetypes-to-help-with-literary-analysis

-Major Archetypes and the Process of Individuation

http://www.pandc.ca/?cat=carl_jung&page=major_archetypes_and_individuation
-Character Archetypes
http://www.listology.com/list/character-archetypes
-What are Archetypes?
http://aras.org/whatarearchetypes.aspx
-Colleen Burke – Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness – A Metaphor of Jungian Psychology
http://www.ljhammond.com/phlit/burke.htm