Joseph Conrad’s book title The Heart of Darkness bears an obvious reference to Africa, the long considered “dark continent.” The title also references the main character’s journey into the interior of the continent’s jungle landscape. When we think about the books with a social commentary about colonialism and the British Empire’s insatiable quest for imperialism, thus, a deeper meaning becomes evident within this classical novel’s title.
If to note briefly, the things fall apart as the imperialistic mission of the company inevitably leads to the disintegration of civility, morality, and even sanity among the European intruders that have staked claim in Africa “to tear treasures out of the bowels of the land” (50). In the very “˜heart’ of this apparent collapse of humanism is the dark struggle between madness and morale, in which madness is the ultimate winner. This sinister struggle can arguably be declared as the darkness Conrad evokes through the book’s title and metaphoric narrative; and its implications are most of all evidenced in the behavior and mannerisms of Kurtz and Marlow. From the psychological perspective, these dark implications ripe with prejudice, racism, greed and moral corruption and serve as the literary embodiment of the struggle between the Id and the Superego as represented by the scholars mentioned above Kurtz and Marlow respectively.
The fundamental principles of psychoanalytic theory state for the fact that the unconscious forces of the id as well as the superego are related to the one’s psychological composition. The id is related to the person’s initial need to gratify the deepest and darkest desires, and the superego is responsible for the person’s strife towards morality and altruism. When the id is viewed as accountable for such brutish traits as greed and cruelty as a result of the selfish and barbaric desire, it is clear to see how this is personified through Kurtz. He becomes selfish, amoral and pitiless and stops before nothing to get what he wants (the ivory and power) without even a flicker of guilt or remorse about the crimes he has committed in order to behave in such way. These sentiments are evidenced in Marlow’s recollection that “he had collected, bartered, swindled, or stolen more ivory than all the other agents together” (79). Contributing to this image of selfish and merciless brutality are the facts that Kurtz had almost shot a man with the cold blood because “he wanted [the ivory] and wouldn’t hear reason” (95); and he had used the heads severed off of the natives as a decoration for his house. Clearly, Kurtz is devoid of morality and reservation due to his plummet into the raw and savage desire. Lastly, Marlow comments that Kurtz “lacked restraint in the gratification of his various lusts” (97) solidifying the notion that Kurtz personifies the Id.
On the opposite end of spectrum there is Marlow, who, prior to his encounters in Africa, idealized the “noble cause” (13) of colonization as “the glor[y] of exploration” (11). He is referred to as being “the gang of virtue,” (41). Perhaps he is called so because of his sensitivity towards Africa and its rightful inhabitants. Thus, Marlow is a representation of the Superego, of the strife towards morality; and this is best evidenced in his conception of the presence in Africa as wrong. Marlow urges that the company’s acquiring of the foreign land’s resources was “with no more a moral purpose”¦than there is in burglars breaking into a safe” (50). The extent of the company’s amorality, however, becomes most apparent to Marlow when he comes across the “grove of death” (31). He is “horror-struck” by the sight of dying Africans, and with the intention of humanity and compassion, he offers one of the men the only thing he has: a biscuit to eat (27). Clearly, Marlow becomes aware of the evils of imperialism and strongly disapproves of them. But as the plot moves forward, Marlow constantly finds himself questioning what is right, and what the reality is. He comments that he had started to “becom[e] scientifically interesting” (33), thus, he began to question his own sanity. Thus, the struggle between madness and morale ensues.
As the struggle between madness and morale, between the id and the superego concludes, the madness can be declared as the winner. For by story’s end, Marlow makes excuses for the evil he has encountered referring to it as the truth and legitimacy, and to Kurtz as the “universal genius” (122). This truth is the dark truth, and in the very heart of it there are some important implications about the ugly side of human nature. The quest for imperialism is the dark one that stems from the dark desire residing within humanity. In the heart of the imperialistic quest there is the heart of darkness itself. These are the consequences, which follow the campaign fueled by greed and led by the selfish desire. As the final interaction between Kurtz and Marlow shows The Heart of Darkness is, as its title implies, as dangerous, desperate and deplorable as the landscape that it comprises.