In Heart of Darkness, Marlow recounts his adventures as a steamer captain in Congo. He hears rumors about Kurtz, becomes fascinated with this charismatic agent, and journeys to the interior of Africa to meet him. Later Marlow finds out that Kurtz has yielded to "savagery," living and ruling as a god, indulging in cannibalism and unspeakable rituals. The story ends with Marlow's return to lie to Kurtz's devoted fiancée (the Intended), in order to save Kurtz's reputation and give her something to live for.
For this assignment, you are asked to analyze the characters in the story. Please choose one from the following characters and analyze it with 200-250 words, cite pertinent texts if necessary.
1) the two women who "knitted black wool feverishly"
2) the doctor who is eager to measure Marlow's crania
3) the Company's chief accountant who is sartorially savvy and who has trained a native woman to do laundry for him
4) the manager who never ills
5) the savage woman who appears as Kurtz is being carried onto the steamboat
6) the Russian harlequin who is Kurtz's "last disciple"
7) the fiancée who "carried her sorrowful head as though she were proud of that sorrow, as though she would say, I--I alone know how to mourn for him as he deserves"
55 comments:
The company’s chief appeared in a dazzling-snowy white suit in the Africa. Apparently, it was very “civilized” in Europe. It symbolized the white authority. But it meant nothing but weird in a Africa primitive village. The initial mission for the white was to bring civilization to this country, however, it was just a beautiful wrap for a dirty lie. The white suit of the company’s chief was like a throne, and he was just unwilling to leave it any seconds and experience the life he never lived before. How could two countries exchange their cultures when they were unaware of each other? Therefore, the unfair status and miserable lives for the black kept existing since the white never tried to understand the culture, tradition, citizen and even nature in the Africa. Arriving in Africa after a long journey, the white only gave the black one thing: suffering. Moreover, the company’s chief trained a native woman to do laundry for him was just a nonsense. He was not teaching her anything, he was just asking a native woman to serve him. It was like a man taught a woman how to bake while the country where the woman lived has no grain at all. It was useless and meaningless to Africa’s people to learn the skill they did not need in their daily lives. The white did not put themselves into the black’s shoes.
The General Manager, who is the chief agent of the Company in African territory and runs the Central Station, is pretty fair in appearance and unremarkable in abilities. He is considered to be a foil of Kurtz, but both Kurtz and the manager have a commonplace in “evil” characteristic. The manager gives Marlow the willies with cold blue eyes and inscrutable smile. His eyes are “as trenchant as an axe” and his vacuous smile is depicted as “seal applied on words to make the meaning of the commonest phrase appear absolutely inscrutable.” In other words, everything what he said becomes mysterious by smile. Furthermore, the manager is richly described as an “empty” figure. Because “there was nothing within him,” he has resistance to get ill. He also remarks that “Men who come out here should have no entrails” at an accident that diseases attack every agent except for him. It implies that this wilderness can draw out humanity and leave a self-shell. As Marlow observes, the manager has a poor capacity to originate anything. He is also cold-blood and only cares his own things. Even he is jealous of Kurtz for his success. Unlike Kurtz, controlling his people by inspiring awe and respect, the manager can control his people by staying healthy and inspiring uneasy. Since there is nothing within him, emptiness and indefinable smile make him superior to others.
Judy(49902027)
I choose to analyze the Company's chief accountant who is sartorially savvy and who has trained a native woman to do laundry for him.
“high starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket, snowy trousers, a clear necktie, and varnished boots”. The chief accountant is a man who always dresses up in spotless whites and appears neat, clean, and in order.
It seems that he is unaffected by his surroundings as if he still works in the office in Europe instead of working on an undeveloped continent. He is a man who seems to not be affected by the heinous acts within the Inner Station. The books are the chief accountant’s life. He is always immersed in his accounting books, diligently completing his work, which represents the Company’s devotion to perfection and excellence. He also thinks that he is an intellectual and a man who will bring civilization to the Congo, and who will bring “Europe” to the Congo. The chief accountant symbolizes the company as it wants to be seen, and his attire represents what the Company wants to be- clean, dignified, and respected. The image is the priority for the Company that employs the chief accountant. In fact, this character represents the darkness, and his appearance is what covers the darkness up. Conrad uses this character to expose the truth about humanity that he believes people are ultimately amoral. When they are faced with darkness,they would always default to their basic animalistic ways.
Kurtz’s fiancé has a pure and naïve image. In the era, women are, as Marlow’s aunt is described, “out of touch with truth”. Under Marlow’s narration, men leave “confounded fact” to themselves while women are protected under their wings and thus remain the status of their beautiful existence. Before the fiancé appears, the narrator describes the place she lives: a luminous and white drawing-room, even columns of the room covered by drapes, as if it is a cage for a spotless soul. With the inexperienced life she has, she imagines and exaggerates the greatness of Kurtz, and thus has no doubt of the influence Kurtz had. Base on her pure logic, the most proper attitude she has to be is sorrow. Thus, she pretends her sorrow keeps as strong as a year ago, and the appearance she has divulges some proud, that is she enjoying the perfect performance of her pretended desolation. Thoughts of the fiancé are also straightforward. Due to the conversation between the narrator and her, the one carries Kurtz’s relics must know Kurtz well, must be a friend of Kurtz, and must be as mournful as her for the world to lose the trace of Kurtz. For the sureness of her talking about the great existence of Kurtz, the narrator hides the truth from her and fakes the last word of Kurtz’s to patch up the lie of the perfect world she lives in.
The two women who “knitted black wool feverishly” gave Marlow an eerie feeling. “A door opened a white-haired secretarial head, but wearing a compassionate expression, appeared, and a skinny forefinger beckoned me into the sanctuary.” The two women had seen too many people came here and never came back. They knew too much about the company and why people would never come back. However, it was useless to say it. Those people were full of passionate to go to the Africa and they thought they would come back successfully and so as Marlow. The two women were looking at him compassionately because they knew one young man will die soon. “I began to feel slightly uneasy. You know I am not used to such ceremonies, and there was something ominous in the atmosphere. It was…Not many of those she looked at ever saw her again--- not half, by a long way.” In this paragraph the two women knitted black wool feverishly. I think the old lady wanted to figure out what those people are thinking about. She didn’t know why people wanted to send themselves to die so eagerly. I think the two ladies thought they were used to it but in their deep heart they felt sorrow and regret. They couldn’t prevent those bad things happened even they knew it would definitely happened. They didn’t have the channel to let the bad mood off so the only way they could do to depress their sorrow is by knitting the wool feverishly.
My analysis of the Company’s chief accountant: When Marlow saw this man, he described that he wore “a high starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket, snowy trousers, a clear necktie, and varnished boots.” Using a lot of bright – color images to present this man. Marlow also said that this man is a “miracle”, because in Africa, there were many black men, even for white foreigners, it was impossible to dress such fancy clothes. These suggested that this man was very confident with himself, because white color always can draw great attentions. That is, he was proud of being a white and felt good about himself among those black native people. But the funny thing is, the person who did laundry for him was a native woman. It was pretty ironic here because all those good trim relied on a “black woman”. This woman was especially trained to do this for him. In other words, it was the white man who stained the white clothes, and it was the black man to make the clothes clean again. So, I think the Company’s chief here was to emphasis how ridiculous it was to bring the so-called “civilization” to these native people who already had their own way to live. How ridiculous it was to try to change them.
I choose to analyze the two women who ‘’knitted black wool feverishly’’. In Heart of Darkness, women are actually not the key characters but these two women can be the prophet that foresaw the destinies of people who come to this company and the beginning of the death. ‘’Two women, one fat and the other slim, sat on straw-bottomed chairs, knitting black wool.’’ Black can associate with death, unknown, and evil. Two of them looked like seeing through this world. They might see those young fellows were innocent and stupid that didn’t know when they stepped into this company; they started to reduce their lives. Two women were used to see this situation so they always kept silence and made eerie and ominous feelings. Maybe they wanted to warn those young fellows that they were in danger. ‘’ Often far away there I thought of these two, guarding the door of Darkness, knitting black wool as for a warm pall, one introducing, introducing continuously to the unknown, the other scrutinizing the cherry and foolish faces with unconcerned old eyes’’ as what the author wrote, the two of women like the guard of death that led them into and prepared their palls for their funerals in advance. Two women might be old and near to die but those young fellows would die early than them. So Morituri te Salutant!
I want to answer the Question 1, analyzing the two women who guard the door of Darkness. The woman who first appears in the novel is the slim and the younger one. This woman is younger, and maybe has less experience in this job, so she is still “introducing continuously to the unknown.” She wears a plain dress, and non-stopping knitting black wool. This movement may represent that she possibly gets crazy for staying in this crazy company. Plain has the same meaning of white, so she wears the white dress also make this company like a big sepulcher. Her mission just likes sending those “cherry and foolish” people into the tomb. The other woman is old and fat one. She in this novel seems having more wisdom, but she is “unconcerned” about those stupid people. In my opinion, maybe she ever was the person as the younger one; however, she knew that she could not change the fate of those people. When the time passed, she became more unconcerned of those people’s fate. All that she can do is using her “unconcerned wisdom” and give people the “eerie feeling” to warn them this company is not a good one, and if they go on this trip, they will die. The two women, one is want more people like her suffering those weird feeling and dead atmosphere. The other seems does not care anything; in fact, I think she is using her own way to warn those “foolish and cherry” people.
Kurtz’s naïve and long-suffering fiancée is still in mourning one full year after Kurtz’s death. She is proud of being sorrow for Kurtz, because she thinks that Kurtz deserves it. For her, Kurtz is a saint who goes into Africa to spread goodness and civilization, and it’s impossible for people to know him and not to admire and worship him. The Intended thinks nobody knew Kurtz better than she does. However, she lives in the memory which Kurtz used to like, and she has no idea what he turned into after he went into Congo. She is anxious and on the edge of collapsing, because Kurtz is all she has now and then, but she didn’t stay with Kurtz when he died. Without her fiancé’s last words, she has nothing to live with. In Patriarchalism, this is a proper and traditional mourning for women. In addition, Marlow lies and says Kurtz’s last words were her name instead of “The horror! The horror!” Woman are kept from the sinister reality, and treated as an innocent infant in the traditional society. Kurtz’s fiancée represents typical woman and wife in Europe, and she lives in an ivory tower which is built up by lies, fear, arrogance and fantasy.
The life and the personalities of Kurtz’s fiancée are formed and controlled by Kurtz and the male-dominant society. The figure of the fiancée in this book is innocent and well-protected woman who don’t know the reality of outside world. Her main focus of her whole life is her husband, Kurtz. Because her husband worked abroad and did not always accompany with her, her life was definitely not intere interesting. Without her husband’s mentally care, she was very lonely and looked forward to the coming back of her husband everyday. Consequently, when she heard the bad news of her husband, I believe that her grieve came from her heart and she did not want to believe the news. Not only her life, but also her personalities are controlled by her husband and the society. I think maybe the society give the constraint to women that women should stay at home and were asked to be innocent, and of course Kurtz’s fiancée was not excluded, she indeed was an innocent and childish woman. It seemed like her whole world was her husband. Her husband died, her world died. Consequently, I think this is why the speaker said that kurtz’s last words are her name instead of ”horro”. The speaker did not want to stimulate her after she heard the bad news, so he told a lie. It seemed like the fiancée was in the different world and male should not bother her peaceful life throughout telling her the horror of the outside words. So, I think her whole world was dominated by her husband and the male-dominated society.
The two women who knitted black wool feverishly is, in my point of view, the gate guard or the outsider of that English-Africa trade company. The company itself, is however, the gateway to the "savage land of Africa." The two women can be considered as the witness to the "abyss" named Africa which made English men never come back. This abyss, the continent of Africa can also be understand by many points of views, for example, it can be said as the abyss of greed, of violence and of darkness, no matter it means the skin tone or its unknown, undiscovered characteristic. The two women "knitted black wool feverishly" are somehow more like the symbol of the europeans' fanaticism among Africa, the land that requires their lightening of civilization. The black wool might be able to be understand as the black skins of Africans, and they are fecerishly knitted by the European conquerors, without any weapon or measures to defend themeslves. All in all, in any circumstances, the two woman are the symbol of Europeans, no matter they are europe itself or just the witness.
In the story, Kurtz’s fiancée always show up with the color “black”. In Kurtz’s painting, she stood in the black shadow, and held a torch to help her go forward, but unfortunately, a scarf made her blind by covering her eyes. And in the end, when Marlow met her, she also wore black clothes and walked in the night. Maybe it means that Kurtz’s fiancée can’t see the truth. She was cheated by her husband. She didn’t understand the working environment of her husband, either his extramarital relation, but she still said that “no one knew him so well as I”. It looks like that she just lived in her dreams, strongly believed her husband would call her name before he died. I thought that she was very pity, because she can’t get along with her husband when he was sick. And she either can find any ways to understand the working environment of her husband, so the only thing she could do is trust him.
Marlow went to office to do some procedures, when he exited; he met two women knitted black wools feverishly. Black often means ominous, mysterious, and evil and so forth. Also there was a cat, the wart on one’s cheek and silver rimmed spectacles; just like the bad witch in the common fairy tales. They also threw at young explorers the glance of unconcerned wisdom. Maybe they thought “oh~ here are other fools want to challenge the jungle again.” They were described to the “guarding the door of Darkness”, it means if you insist to advance into the deeper area, you will foretaste the despair and hopelessness. Those black wools also were described to the “warm palls” which only used in the funeral. In makes reader feel creepy and uncomfortable, two old women seems know what terrible things will happened in the future. Finally, “not many of those she looked at ever saw her again- not half, by a long way.” Here we can figure out that how dangerous the rain forest is. When fellow decide to take a adventure to the jungle, over 50% people can turn back safely. Seems like both of old women see too many examples in recent years and they conclude a horrible statistics. But how many people will withdraw their movement to the heart of darkness?
Rita(49802026) said...
The two women, who sat on straw-bottomed chairs and knitted black wools in the novel, played the roles of watchmen of the inferno. They had weird and ominous feature: one was fat and another was slim, and they knitted black wools feverishly. Black is a symbolic of death. They were knitting black wools in the outdoor room implies that an evil conspiracy was stewing and waiting for Marthow. Why they knitting wools feverishly? Knowing that their job was sending innocent people to die, they felt uneasy with this secret in minds. The slim woman led Marthow as a somnambulist, which is not normal for an officer who works in a company. It is strange that her dress was the umbrella-cover rather than uniform. Apparently, she took a lower position there since her job is to walk back and forth. By contrast, the old woman took higher position in the company. When the young woman walked all around, she could sit to knit the wools. She not only wore slippers but also a cat was on her leg. Her appearance featured a weird but sophisticated impression: she had a wart on her cheek, and silver-rimmed spectacles hung on the tip of her nose. In conclusion, they were the guards of the inferno, one introduced people to come, and another one checked and scrutinized people.
In the story, Marlow met the two old women in the company. They sat on the outer room. This vision made the two old women like the guards of the door which related to death. In addition, they were knitting black wool. We would commonly think that black is associated with depress, sorrow, death and so on. The symbols of black are not positive. So the black wool was just like a shroud. When we look the appearance of the old one, she wore a starched white affair and silver-rimmed spectacles; her face had a wart. Therefore, she looks like a terrific witch. Although she glanced at Marlow placidly, she let him feel uncomfortable. Her eyes were unconcerned. It is because the old lived here for a long time, they knew lots of things. They knew a lot of the unknown. Hence, they would think that these people wouldn’t come back again. They seemed that they had pity on them because they knew Marlow and other people were on the way to death. The old women made the eerie vision and situation. Marlow and other people would go to the unknown and dangerous places, the two old women were mourning for their death.
In the story, the Company's chief accountant who is sartorially savvy and who has trained a native woman to do laundry for him, is being describe as well-dressed man. (He always wears “a high starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket, snowy trousers, a clear necktie, and varnished boots.)This seemed particularly wired and eye-chatching in the undeveloped area like south -Africa. And it draws one’s attention to make people think that he is a high class person and very confident of himself. Besides, he buried himself on work as an accountant and the only thing he cared about is the accountant book. I think that here accountant represents the imperialism (appears in an arrogant ways) He trained the native woman to do things for him, and still considered himself as a pure and honor person. However, the ironic part is that the so-called “civilization” is actually a crude and violent action to stain the people who were being seemed as undeveloped ones. Under the white cover, the accountant is in fact hiding the darkness side of his own. The writer, Joseph Conrad makes the readers to collect our thoughts about what is the truth about the “civilization, which is contra naturally.
The two women; one was young and the other was old. Many youth wanted to go to the heart of darkness and before they went, they met these two women. These two women guarded the door of Darkness. However, on the other hand, they also guarded the door of Death. The young woman introduced these youth just like the guard introduced death to the dying people. Therefore, Conrad used “foolish and cheery countenances” to describe these youth who were deceived easily. On the other hand, the old one scrutinized the youth with a glance of unconcerned wisdom. The old one had the wisdom maybe it was because she has already seen many foolish youth to sacrifice their lives. Then, many people still wanted to get this work; however, only the old woman knew what they would die in the end. This old woman seemed uncanny and fateful just like a witch who made people felt uncomfortable. In addition, they knit the black wool “feverishly” and the black was the symbol of death and pall. The black was usually represented of death so that the black wool was like a warm pall. Therefore, they were the guard of Death and continued to send the foolish youth to the Death. Once the youth passed these two women, they would not come back anymore.
The Kurtz’s fiancée seems a symbol in “ heart of darkness”. Is this female character a main character? Does she love her fiancé, Kurtz? Obviously she is a significant character even though she is mentioned in the end of this novel. Owing to Marlow’s description of visiting Kurtz’s fiancée, the reader can understand Kurtz’s fiancée is pure and to her love is unshakable even though they don’t know each other yet. This engagement is merely a promise and the reader can realize how Kurtz’s fiancée’s love is stable to Kurtz. This ambivalent love for this female character is quite ironic. Although she feels sorrowful because of Kurtz’s death, she knows how to give the Kurtz’s mourning he deserved and feels pound of that sorrow. However, it’s quite ironic in their relationship. Moreover, as this female character feels sorrowful and her stable love to Kurtz, Marlow decides to lie to her and makes her believe Kurtz still loves her for comforting her gloomy emotion. No doubt she lives in lie and her whole life is dominated by her husband. It seems that she is like a plaything made by male. Therefore, the readers can find how pathetic she is and think she is a tragic character.
The two women, they sat before the door that leads to death, watching people walking into the gate emotionlessly. Like partners, they had com006Dzon setting. One of them was thin and the other was fat- perfect two. They were knitting black wool. The color black gives people ominous feeling. It symbolizes death, the fearful thing. They were actually knitting shrouds for those who did not know what would soon come to them.
What scary was that one of them was walking back and forth introducing those ignorant to the gate that she guarded and the other one just sat indifferently with her wisdom. Both of them clearly knew that where would those stupid young men go. The old one was just the image of a witch. “Her flat cloth slippers were propped up on a foot-warmer, and a cat reposed one her lap.” She had a wart in one cheek and silver-rimmed spectacles hung up on the tip of a nose. She seemed to know all about the two young men. She knew their fate. Not many of those she looked at ever saw her again-not half, by a long way. The two women were ingenious metaphors. What they were guarding was the door of Darkness. They just knitted palls for people came to them, with unconcerned wisdom.
I choose the first one to analyze.
Marlow met the two women in high houses with innumerable windows in the deserted street. I think the house symbols the hell and the windows symbol the room of the innocent people. The innumerable windows equal to innumerable victims. The slim woman in the story represented a guide to hell. In the beginning, she led Marlow to the waiting-room. After Marlow signed the contract of death, he met the fat woman. She always sat and just observed people in short glances. She had a wart on the cheek and was like a witch with a cat. The second woman represents an unspeakable prophet. When she saw the two young boys, she probably mocked at them in private. She could not do anything to rescue them and just pray to them and knit the pall for them. “Morituri te salutant.” They two were perfect partners, cooperating to arrange the road to death. The two women were continuously feverishly knitting black wool because so many people were going to die. There’s not enough time to knit the pall so they do their things simultaneously. At last, “Not many of those she looked at ever saw her again－not half, by a long way.” This also means the black wool they knitted were used entirely.
I choose question one. The two women who knitted black wool feverishly gave a strong creepy impression and an ominous feeling. When Marlowe stepped in to the room: "There was something ominous in the atmosphere. It was just as though I had been let into some conspiracy - I don't know - something not quite right." From Marlowe’s anxiety and his uneasy feeling about the woman who knew everything - even about him too, I think that the women maybe represent as the watchman of the door. They just keep knitting and watching the cheery, foolish youths passing over the door. Beyond question, they surely know what things will happen next in their life, something ominous. The color of the wool, black, somehow foreshadows the fate ahead of Marlowe. His journey, like the darkness of the wool, will be a difficult, uncomfortable and risky one. The thing they knit can also link to shroud, they already knew the youths will not coming back. The creepiest thing is as they knitting the black wool, it is just like they mourn over their death in front of the youths.
4)
According to the description of Marlow, we can saw the words such as, commonplace, middle, ordinary, and usual, in the lines. Every word expresses that the manager was merely a common person in every aspect. The only reason why this common person could be in a high position for so long is his healthy body, the only unusual part of this man. And his merit was his faculty of making people felt uneasy.
Although the manager seemed common in his appearance, he must have an extraordinary inner world. Since he had ability to become a manager, I think that he probably good at something. In terms of “he never gave that secret away”, we can confirm that the manager knew something confidential, and we can presume that perhaps he excelled in keeping secret or scheming. Moreover, the sentence, “Men who come out here should have no entrails.” reveals that the manager was a hollow man, also indicates that he was a man without conscience. Therefore, he destroyed the steamer in the wreck in order to delay the prime time of Mr. Kurtz’s treatment. They were two men at opposite ends of the image, commonplace and outstanding. I think the manager did this out of his desire for power and jealousy of Kurtz.
If Kurtz is to be defined as an eloquent spiritual leader of “his own religion”, his fiancée, with her innocence and gullibility, would no doubt become the most devout follower to the religion composed only of deceit and idolism. In her eyes there is truthfulness.”She seemed ready to listen without mental reservation, without suspicion, without a thought for herself.” This quote best illustrates her innocence. She is beguiled with his charismatic eloquence to the point of being mesmerized. She adores him, sanctifies him, and even regards her intimacy with him as the highest pride and joy which can only belongs to her. She is pure, innocent, trustful and so very gullible. Therefore she is easily preached by Kurtz and holds him as spiritual leader. She is selflessly immersed in the love and admiration towards him as if she has hollowed herself and fills in her foolish worship to him. After his death, she tastes the bitter and sorrow consequence of insane devotion, that is the life-long mourning. “She had a mature capacity for fidelity, for belief, for suffering.” It is this capacity of her that makes her a foolish adorer of Kurtz. Marlow is astonished upon realizing that this women and Kurtz are indivisible. Perhaps this reveals that her existence is to be served as a foil to Kurtz’s evil, as she is so pristine. Her innocence is the antithesis of his evil, and yet the two characters are a unity of interdependency and indivisibility.
I choose to analyze the doctor who is eager to measure Marlow's crania.
Before the doctor appeared, the atmosphere was strange already. When I read “…and then with a certain eagerness asked me whether I would let him measure my head. Rather surprised, I said Yes…” , though it’s really weird, I did not feel strange because of the atmosphere. The doctor was unshaven and wore threadbare coat with slippers, and this looking could not convinced people that he is a doctor. He said he measured the crania of those going out there; however, no one of those came back. “Oh, I never see them.” It sounds funny, or like a joke, but it reflects the dangerous fact of going out and might make Marlow’s impulse calm. The doctor also ask weird question to Marlow. “Every any madness in your family?” And then he explained why he asked questions. “…but you are the first Englishman coming under my observation…” In this paragraph’s ending, “he lifted a warning forefinger ‘Du calme, du calme. Adieu.’” It reflected the beginning of this paragraph “The old doctor felt my pulse…” I think the doctor never thought any of those people he measured the crania would back here. He measured the crania like for fun, or his interesting, or to shock people to stop going out.
I want to analyze the savage woman who appears as Kurtz is being carried onto the steamboat. The savage woman appears in a very small part throughout the story, but she plays an important role in this section for she has several symbolic meanings. The narrator does not clearly indicate the savage woman’s status or any background, he almost focuses on her appearance and her behavior. It is said that the woman is Kurtz’s mistress in Africa, for she seems very sorrowful when Kurtz is being taken away.
About racism, she is described as wearing a lot of jewelries and dressing barbarous ornaments. It shows how most people (white people) would think the Africans’ dressing style. Her behavior, such as yelling and waving her arms, also represents the characteristics of the savages. Furthermore, although she is superior to ordinary people in the village, on confronting the white people, she can do nothing to remain her lover. As for gender roles, we can find that she has no any word or speech in the section. It seems to represent that women had no right to speak and men controlled the society in that time. In addition, the savage woman also reveals Kurtz’s true character which is his gluttony, imperialism, and evil-minded, his character is discovered through her.
All in all, the savage woman represents the racism, shows the conflict between gender roles and discloses Kurtz’s true character.
The two women who “knitted black wool feverishly” make Marlow has eerie feeling. And, there are ominous atmosphere around the two women, for example, they are knitting “black” wool continuously and there is a cat reposed on one of the women’s lap. Both black and cat symbolize ominous things and also imply that there is something bad going to happen. In the company the two women who guard the door of Darkness had seen a lot of foolish and cheery young men wanted to get the job but sacrificed their lives. The younger woman introduces youths into the door of Darkness but it is also the door of death. In addition, the old woman glanced at Marlow and other young men with unconcerned old eyes, because she knows they will never come back. The two women know all the youths who get the job are going to die, but they can’t say anything because it is their jobs. Therefore, they still introduce youths into the door of death and knit black wool feverishly. Because it may be the only thing that they can do for the youths is to knit black wool as for shrouds.
I choose to analyze the two women who “knitted black wool feverishly”. The two women who “knitted black wool feverishly” make Marlow feels creepy and eerie and the atmosphere of the office make Marlow feels uneasy, too. In the very beginning, he meets the two women when he comes to the office and one of the women, the slim one, precede him into the room without say anything to him and even look at him, she just keep knitting her black wool. Why the women knitting the black wool? It symbolizes the death; the two women are knitting the death of Marlow and the people who are going to the heart of darkness, Congo. And the compassionate secretary, who full of desolation and sympathy not only makes Marlow feels ominous in the atmosphere but also the readers. The ominous atmosphere gradually pile up, in the outer room, Marlow notice another woman, who has a wart on one cheek and a cat reposes on her lap and she keep knitting black wool as for a warm pall, which is described like a witch and the guard of the Darkness of the door. The two women seem to warn Marlow that he is going to the hell step by step.
I choose to analyze the doctor who is eager to measure Marlow's crania.
Before going to Africa, almost everyone needed to visit to the doctor for their safety. In the following paragraph ’‘Good, good for there,’ he mumbled, and then with a certain eagerness asked me whether I would let him measure my head.” described the condition. As a doctor, it was very essential for him to do thousands of health examinations in order to keep his patients’ safety. Instead of telling Marlow not to go to Africa in a serious way, he always smiled during the conversation, which made Marlow felt extremely weird and amazingly made the doctor measured his head. When the Marlow asked the doctor whether he ever seen his patients again, the doctor answered ‘’Oh, I never see them ‘’ this gave us a connotation that the person who went to Africa would never returned home again, because they were dead. However during the conversation, the doctor even asked Marlow ‘’ Every any madness in your family?’’ from this question, we could tell that the doctor probably teased at Marlow, because he thought it must be something wrong with Marlow, otherwise he wouldn’t go to Africa. The doctor told Marlow what he asked Marlow simply for ‘science’. In this kind of description, we could feel that Joseph Conrad’s ironic tone about the ‘’Civilization world’’.
I choose to answer of The two women who “knitted black wool feverishly”.
As the moment that Marlow saw the women knitted black wool feverishly, he feels uneasy immediately, so that could tell the atmosphere there would certainly be heavy and strange, people who ever goes there might be full of passion to start an adventure in Africa, but what they didn't know is the danger been hidden there, the women who knitted black wool feverishly must have saw lots of people who tries to accomplish their dream or try to do something great there, but there are no one who actually really return.
Black, usually represent something like bad luck, unknown or death, and makes people feel unlucky, as the two women knitting, the wool gets longer, just like implying Marlow that bad things he's going to experience will only be more of them, and there will be no end of this tragedy.
Like a door keeper, or to say like two witches, the two women just sits there and looked at clueless people walk through the door to hell, but they just couldn't stop them from it. Echoes with the title, The heart of darkness, the two women knitting feverishly are like the symbol of disaster.
I think it's quite an auspicious sign to see this scene before a journey, the two women here are just like a sign, saying that the future they are trying to go was not as good as they think.
I would like to analyze the Company’s chief accountant.
The first time that he showed up in the book was really impressive. Joseph Conrad described him as a civilized noble, “high starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket, snowy trousers, a clear necktie, and varnished boots”. His appearance was modern at that time in Europe. However, I think this is a huge irony that Joseph Conrad wanted to show the readers. What is civilized? What is savage?
The trip that Marlow and the others were heading to Africa with like a plague to the local Africans. The Europeans thought they were going to teach them civilization, while the Company’s chief accountant was their ideal image of a civilized European. The chief accountant always required to wear neat and clean clothes even when he is in Africa. That was the reason why he hired a local woman to do the laundry for him, since he couldn’t tolerate himself wearing dirty clothes. Also, the way he hired a local to do the laundry for him was a way to show that Europeans are teaching and dominating the Africans. The Europeans claimed that they bought the Africans a better life, while actually what they brought to the Africans was colonization and domination. The chief accountant was one of the Europeans who had this belief.
2) the doctor who is eager to measure Marlow's crania
I think when Marlow described everything above till this part, all of the things were tricky and quiet weird. However, at the moment I saw this part, I felt it was a little bit funny when the doctor measuring Marlow’s crania. I thought that he must eager to figure out what kind of people would interest to go to an adventure of Congo, at the same time I thought the doctor was also thought Captain Marlow was insane. We can know that in Heart of Darkness, after the doctor felt Marlow’s pulse, the doctor mumbled “good, good for there,” and then measuring Marlow’s head as if doing a science experiment, in fact, the doctor wanted to prove just those people whose brain had some problems would go there. I think that the doctor is the most normal guy in this novel through his behavior and methodical style of speech.
In the story, before Marlow went to Congo, he was asked to have a physical. In the story “Heart of Darkness”, the doctor was described as a clerk, shabby and careless, either boastful or just to disguise himself. He wore a jacket with ink-stains and a strange cravat. We can see his shabby and careless. However, he said” I’m not such a fool as I look quoth Plato to his disciples. ” It leads readers to think of another angle, is doctor really smart or just boastful? In my opinion, doctor disguised himself as a clerk to reveal those adventurers’ fates casually. We can see clues when doctor asked Marlow to measure his cranium. Those people who were measured their crania by the doctor had never came back. In this way, the doctor didn’t care to annoy Marlow because he didn’t believe that Marlow will come back again. Moreover, Marlow is the first Englishman to apply this job, so the doctor is more interested in Marlow. That’s why the doctor queried Marlow about any madness in his family. Joseph Conrad created this character that makes the story more comical and mysterious.
The company’s chief accountant:
The Chief Accountant of the company being in Africa is like a city girl, who always dresses up and cannot tolerate any dirt on her clothes, being in a farm. They want to be great looking at all times, feeling (even just a bit) superior to others. The chief accountant symbolizes the Europeans who think they are so much better than those of darker skins, and he does not care if the people around him are wearing poor clothes. He’s taught a native woman how to do his laundry because he can’t stand any uncleanness, not because he actually wants to improve the natives’ lives.
The first time Marlow sees the Chief Accountant, he is completely amazed by the accountant’s appearance: “I saw a high starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket, snowy trousers, a clear necktie, and varnished boots…he was amazing, and had a penholder behind his ear.” Just imagine how decent the chief accountant must look. It’s very ironic how Marlow admires him while the people of Africa are suffering from poverty and colonialism, since Marlow is the one who cares for the Africans and “doesn’t represent his class.”
This character has quite a few interesting metaphors: looking decently elegant and wearing pretty clothes don’t necessarily equal civilization, and living a poor life doesn’t mean savage either. The chief accountant has nice clothing but his mind is no better than a real barbarian. What the Europeans do to the Africans is nothing but uncivilized.
3) the Company's chief accountant who is sartorially savvy and who has trained a native woman to do laundry for him
The chief who always wears white suit in an African tribe seems like an odd person. The chief wore white suit because he thought clean suit is a symbol that means "civilized." Whites belived that they can bring civilization to Congo. Absolutely, whites forced native to work for them. The chief taught the native woman to do the laundry for him, the work she didn't need to do it in daily life. The whites can bring civilization to native is nonsense. The whites thought native can't do nothing but the laborious work, and ignored native traditional culture. The whites seems more uncivilized and savage than innocent native.
I choose to analyze the Russian harlequin.
When Marlow first met the Russian harlequin, he welcomed them kindly and said he’s glad to them. The appearance of Russian harlequin was described nothing special, but the clothing he wore had been patched with bright color. At the first glance, readers cannot image what the Russian harlequin had experienced, because his face was like an autumn sky, overcast one moment and bright the next. In fact, he lived really hard after Kurtz went away. The Russian harlequin had been so close to Kurtz and had been obsessed by Kurtz.
The young Kurtz’s disciple started talking the story between Kurtz and him. So readers can get closer to Kurtz. We can find the Russian harlequin had already known how cruel Kurtz was, but he still followed and adored him. He even attempted to protect the reputation of Kurtz, though Kurtz wanted to shoot him. However, the Russian harlequin had confessed that he had no courage to rebel and what he wanted was a peaceful life.
The personality of the Russian harlequin is simple and pure but really wise, maybe that’s why he can’t go away from Kurtz. He is a good story teller for Marlow in the middle of the story.
I think the Manager leads an important role in the story because he keeps impeding Marlow to meet Kurtz. For example, he sabotaged Marlow’s ship and deceived him that it was destroyed by the fire accident. We can know that he is a man who is so crafty and in order to achieve his goal by all means. In addition, he is a man with bad evaluation according to Marlow once said that he inspires uneasiness and nothing more. And the description of him is commonplace complexion in everything. Though comparing to others, his ability on organizing and managing aren’t the best, he still served three terms of three years over there which is very deplorable. More, he is never ill, so it helps him overwhelm others who can’t adapt to there. And what does it cause this “ordinary” man to be the manger over there? Maybe we can speculate it from what he had said “Men who come out here should have no entrails.” It implies that his entrails may be empty and just because of this that he never gets sick. Due to this kind of “triumphant health”, it becomes a kind of power for him. And it also mentions that he never gives secret away. I think maybe he is good at keeping the secrets then taking advantage of this to maintain his status or scheming to contend with Kurtz.
The two women, one was fat and old, and the other was slim and young, both sat on chairs, knitting black wool. Black means death and bad luck. When Marlow saw the two women who “knitted black wool feverishly”, he felt uneasy and eerie. The young one was walking back and forth and kept introducing for young people. She seemed to be a leader who led innocent people into the hell. On the other hand, the old one still sat on her chair and kept knitting black wool. She had a wart on her face and wore a silver-rimmed glasses hung on the tip of her nose. A cat reposed on her lap beside a foot-warmer. The old woman was like a witch who only glanced at people coolly. She did not say any words and just stared at foolish and cheery people as she measured them and then knitted the shrouds matching on them. As more foolish and cheery people wanted to visit the heart of Africa, the two women had to knit more black wool feverishly. It means that more people are about to die and the two women had to knit more shrouds for them. In conclusion, the two women were like guardians who guarded the door of the hell, the heart of Africa, and they saw through many silly young people who wanted to visit there and then the two women did not see them again.
I choose to analyze the Russian harlequin who is Kurtz's "last disciple". He is more or less attracted to the glamour of adventure. Although he is so young, he likes to go to everywhere to adventure. In the passage we can see that” he is an idealistic explorer who has wandered to the Congo on a Dutch ship and has been caught in the web of Kurtz's obsessive ivory hunt. “He is so young that it is uncertain whether or not he fully understands what he is doing in Africa.
In the passage, he is boyish in appearance and temperament, and seems to exist wholly on the glamour of youth and the audacity of adventurousness. Also the passage describe his brightly patched clothes remind Marlow of a harlequin.
He is Kurtz's devoted companion. It is because when he arrived to the Congo on a Dutch ship and ended up becoming a loyal companion of Kurtz. “He regards Kurtz as an absolute genius whose words and ideas are amazingly powerful. His unwavering support of Kurtz makes him humble and admirable.”
I chose to analyze the two women who “knitted black wool feverishly” as my assignment. In the novel, when Marlow walking into the gate of the company, the two women are in there, Marlow then feel uncomfortable of the atmosphere. The woman who sitting on the chair is an old woman, and she looks like an evil witches, with her witches’ s like clothes and a cat laying on her lap. This shows the unlucky fate of the future. The other one woman is the young woman who seems to know about the fate of everyone who comes into the company for job. They staring Marlow the same quick glance of unconcerned wisdom, which means that Marlow might dead in the new place just like other people who comes to the new place. And in the novel, Marlow thinks: “often far away there I thought of these two, guarding the door of darkness, knitting black wool as for a warm pall.” This reflects the two women in here is the symbol of death, like the two guards of the door of death. The author describes the horrible atmosphere for caution the one who wants to go into “the heart of darkness. “ Showing many people were died in there and never come back to their country. The two women is the symbol of death and also are the guides of the gate of the death.
I want to analyze the two women who “knitted black wool feverishly.”
I think in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the two women who knitted black wool is depicted as the doorkeeper of the hell, which means Africa. Marlow goes to Brussle to meet his employer. It is the first time he meets the two women. Marlow, at that time, is like standing in front of the door of Dark Continent. And the two women are like the wise or the witch who guard the door toward Dark Continent. They are knitting the black wool which is described as “warm pall.” Also, their appearances are depicted as “eerie feeling.” For example, the slim one is described as “a somnambulist.” The old one gives Marlow the much eerie feeling. She wears “a starched white affair on her head”, has “a wart on one cheek”, “silver-rimmed spectacles hung on the tip of her nose”, and “a cat reposes on her lap.” Her appearance and her figure give her the image of the witch in the fairy tale and give the feeling of creeping. Furthermore, the old woman’s “quick glance of unconcerned wisdom” gives Marlow some uncanny feeling. The two women make Marlow uneasy and leave the foreshadowing which indicates that Marlow will encounter some horrible things in the heart of darkness.
I felt like that entire passage about two women’s knitting plot was an allusion to the three Fates of ancient Greek/Roman mythology, albeit with only two people.The fact that one of them was constantly knitting, like how the Fates spin the thread of life, felt like these women knew exactly what was going to happen to Marlow,
as seen when he says, "She seemed to know all about..me too."
This also contributes to the foreboding, ominous mood of this section.
Besides, there were certainly hints that these women understand mostly everyone in the room, which, at this point, is becoming more crowded. The first time he had seen them he simply stated that they were knitting black wool without
describing how they were doing so. However, the second time he enters the waiting room, he notes that they are knitting "feverishly," possibly compensating for the number of people in the room and trying to keep up with everyone's future. This whole section really is very creepy and ominous.
And I think its also important to note that they knitted black wool, not wool of color, but black wool. The dark color foreshadows that Marlow's journey is not going to be pleasant and simplistic, but dark, difficult and uncomfortable.
I want to analyze the first one. The two speechless women do not say a word but bring the most ominous and eeriest part of this novel. Their silence, indifference, and feverish act of knitting black wool let readers feel that they are like witches who can see through people’s minds and life because their lack of interaction with others imply they know them enough (“she threw at them the quick glance of unconcerned wisdom”). The old one is like a witch even more with the portrayal of her look (e.g. her wart on the cheek). They are also like gatekeepers of the door of darkness or of death (“one introducing, introducing continuously to the unknown, the other scrutinising the cheery and foolish faces with unconcerned old eyes”), and their act of knitting the wool “feverishly” implies that they are making these people’s palls unceasingly because there are many keeping coming here to sacrifice. Besides, they also remind people of the Fates in the ancient Greek. Two of the three fates are responsible for spinning the thread of life, which corresponds to these two women. Moreover, the black color of the wool may imply the dark journey to the heart of darkness. The absence of the third Fate who cuts the thread even adds a creepier feeling here, which lets the readers guessing about where she is hiding and—when these people’s time of death is. Perhaps she is waiting for them in Congo.
49788036 Clare
I choose he savage woman who appears as Kurtz is being carried onto the steamboat.
In my opinion, I think that she stands for the darkness. That is somewhere deep, dark, and gloomy. For every man there suppose to be one woman. However, for Kurtz it seemed to be for every man there are two women. One was his black mistress living in Africa. The other one was his intended to marry back home in England. Kurtz must have been special in some way to influence the feelings of the two very different, but somewhat similar women. Their love for Kurtz was undying and everlasting.
Kurtz was living among a group of savages. Among the tribe was a woman that was said to have been Kurtz’s mistress. Does Kurtz love her? I think that the answer would be yes! Because in the novel, Kurtz still went back to the savage place. We can see the savage woman means how important to Kurtz!
In the novel, Heart of Darkness, the doctor who is eager to measure Marlow’s crania is irony to Victoria period. In this time, their social value is that rationality is that the top and everything can be control by human beings because of Enlightenment movement. So, doctor examines the patient based on scientific basis.
Therefore, the doctor not only tries to measure Marlow’s crania, but asks his family medical history to know what size of the crania of the person thirsts for grand fortune regardless of his life. In addition, the doctor’s is shabby and careless, with ink-stain on the sleeves of his jacket, and his cravat was large and billowy and the tone while he is in diagnosis like ‘ever any madness in your family’, which suggests that the doctor himself seems not to be professional, and he can be represented the fallen of Victoria period, ration and evidence.
Moreover, the doctor is one of the clerks in the headquarters of Ship Corporation in Brussels, Belgium. The company sent many sailors into the Africa to ‘explore’ the continent. So they know that the end of the explorers is never returning, missing, or dead. When they saw Marlow, they show the indifferent and think of him as an idiot.
49804023 Tina
The company's chief accountant who wears “high starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket, snowy trousers, a clear necktie, and varnished boots” is definitely weird in a savage land. Joseph Conrad uses the world “miracle” to describe the chief which is a great irony of the white’s civilization and question the ethics of empire at the same time.
In the story, the chief trains a native woman to do things for him, but the woman distastes for the work. It is a symbol that white people want to civilize the natives and bring light into Africa-the heart of darkness. Nevertheless, they ask the natives to accept their civilization which is actually nonsense for the natives without considering their feelings. In other words, the whites only want to spread out their imperialism and give the “torch" to the blind blacks.
However, the way that civilization presents in Europe is totally different from the whites bringing to Africa. White people think they are superior to the savage people, force them to receive their “bright” culture and see them as a tool to make profits. What the whites truly caring about is only to make money. They regard the blacks as “chain gang,” have the blacks destroy their home, and take the resources that originally belong to themselves to the whites. At the end, the whites abandon them like trash if they are useless. What the whites do is just like the buccaneer, brutal and greedy.
The two women who knitted black wool in a deep silent house represent the death. The narrator describes the old one’s appearance as “wore a starched white affair on her head, had a wart on one cheek, and silver-rimmed spectacles hung on the tip of her nose.” And there was also a cat reposing on her lap when she was knitting black wool on the chair. All of the narration gives us an image of witch. “Black” is often related to something which is unfortunate, and the “black” here represents the death. The narrator also mentions that the old woman is “knitting black wool as for a warm pall.” Moreover, they are like the guarders of the door of Darkness. The old woman glanced at the narrator with indifferent placidity and unconcerned wisdom. It indicates that she had seen so many rash men like Marlow. She knew everything they had encountered, and finally they all had an only outcome – death. “One introducing, introducing continuously to the unknown, the other scrutinizing the cheery and foolish faces with unconcerned old eyes,” as if they could already see the future of Marlow without guess. The sophistication made them more senseless to the death and the men like Marlow.
The two women who knitted black wool feverishly in the waiting-room were looking over these people on the sidelines. No matter they are cherry and foolish men or a doctor, these two women had seen too much. Because here is a sort of entrance to the “heart of darkness,” people here were going and leaving. Although the “guardians” of this entrance had seen so many cases happened before and all know the consequences of these people basically, they just bare it in mind, quietly and unconcernedly weaved black wool.
The older one is in a totally unconcerned situation. She only sat there, and “threw at them the same quick glance of unconcerned wisdom.” “She seemed to know all about them and about me too.” She is wise enough to know what was going to happened on these people, because she had seen a lot of them before. She didn’t do anything but keep knitting her black wool.
The younger one was busy in introducing the new comers. Although she seemed to be more willing to help others, “Those who are about to die, salute you!”
These two women were literally the guardians of the hell. Those who were here seen by them, not half can see them again.
The doctor in the story is a man on the sidelines. Although he works for the company to diagnose the applicants who want to get into the heart of darkness, the work he does is just a matter of form. Actually, he does not observe Marlow seriously. As a doctor, he does not need to involve in the danger of ivory trade. In this case, Marlow is merely lunatics in his mind because the job he pursues is equal to suicide. Besides, he scoffs him by measuring his head size in the interests of science. Furthermore, he asks Marlow whether any madness in his family. At this point, it seems like that he is not a doctor, but a psychiatrist. “It would be interesting for science to watch the mental changes of individuals,” he explains. Despite he treats this serious matter as a joke, which irritates Marlow, he advices Marlow in the end of the diagnosis, “In the tropics one must before everything keep calm.” It seems another sneer to Marlow’s irritation. All in all, the doctor is a beholder who shows sympathy to the applicants in an ironic way.
I choose analyze the first question, the two women who “knitted black wool feverishly” these two women let Marlow feel creepy and eerie. And, they knit black wool feverishly. It gives people a feeling that they mock you because you are already going to unknown and you have a big trouble. In the heart of darkness, these two women sit in front the door and don’t say anything. They just knit black wool. I think these two women symbol the sign and guider. They will guide adventures into the death because black can associate with death. And, the adventures who want to go to Africa must go through this door. And, no one can tell any information about Africa to the adventures just like that these women don’t say anything. This situation is like adventures try to go into Africa first time. Besides, these two women are knitting black wool. It let me associate Greek goddess of fate. It is not a good symbolism. When they appear, some terrible thing will happen. I think it symbol this voyage will be unfortunate.
Ming 49804026
Kurtz utilize his talents to get massive ivories, and the purpose is not to make a fortune for himself but to devote himself to the rulers of the empire. To make the rulers keep him in their hearts, and to be remembered by people for all time, these are what Kurtz wants.
As the French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist said "Man’s desire is the desire of the Others. This is not because people have what he wants but the main purpose is to let people admire him."
This inevitably caused the alienation. Hannah Arendt said that "Those who follow the extension of the empire would extinct him or herself. In the process of the extension, people who agreed with the rulers and try to keep it successfully completed couldn’t tell what it is, but seeing his or herself as an effect. These strong actions might be the highest completion for the person himself."
In here, Kurtz has been actually from free imagination to limited symbols which is the right to social morality and law. What he has been chasing for is just power and fame. To get them, Kurtz becomes alienated.
(2)In the examination, the doctor asked Marlow if he could measure his head. Although its purpose is to check if Marlow’s mental status, the whole process is like checking the animal that is about to send into the slaughter house. Because Marlow, like the animal, was unaware the fact he was about to be send to the most dangerous place where death always lingers. This can be seen when he was annoyed by the question the doctor asked. In addition, he was also like a vulture roaming above Marlow, trying to scavenge anything from this foolish creature. Yet, the thing he was collecting was not money but the “science interests” from the “change of the individuals”. He was observing Marlow, like a predator watching its prey. And he was interested in why a fine Englishman like Marlow would sign up for a job that is almost like a death warrant. That makes him asked Marlow if there was anybody in his family that was “mad”. Although toward the end of examination, the doctor withdrew his observing eyes and advised Marlow to be calm in French. The doctor was no longer a predator in this moment, but a wise adviser. Because the horror Marlow was about to see was beyond imagination, and only calm would help him make it through. Perhaps the reason for his advice is because that if Marlow returned safely, he could have a subject for his “science interests”. Even though his attitude was quite different in the end, the thing that never changes in him was his sarcastic smile and laugh, laughing at the Marlow’s foolishness and naivety.
Kai-Ling, Chiang/ 49701224
(Sorry for the belated homework, somehow I didn’t receive the email…)
I would like to analyze the doctor who is eager to measure Marlow’s crania.
The old doctor obviously could not understand what on earth would have people to go to such dangerous place. So he wanted to find out what is the different between them and ordinary people. He told Marlow:’ I always ask leave, in the interests of science, to measure the crania of those going out there.’ Then told Marlow he never sees them so he can’t measure the size again, but the changes take place inside. So the doctor asked him: ‘Ever any madness in your family?’ He thought if the matter is not about the size of crania, it should be the mental problem. We can find that the place which Marlow is going to is really a dangerous place from the doctor’s remark. It sound like a sepulcher, only dead man would go. The doctor’s remark also add some color of darkness and mystery on Congo, I think most of people would not go to Congo if them heard the doctor said ‘Oh, I never see them.’ I think the function in this plot is to make people understand that Congo is not only a dangerous place to go but would have tremendous effect to human’s heart.
The doctor who measures Marlow's crania seems to be a French because his accent and description. “Avoid irritation more than exposure to the sun. Adieu. How do you English say, eh? Good-bye. Ah! Good-bye. Adieu. In the tropics one must before everything keep calm.” . . . He lifted a warning forefinger. . . . “Du calme, du calme.” Before his farewell to Marlow, the doctor emphasizes his country so obviously he is not a Englishman. “This is my share in the advantages my country shall reap from the possession of such a magnificent dependency. The mere wealth I leave to others.” It is a very weird atmosphere after Marlow’s checking the doctor’s appearance. The doctor is unshaved and he is interested in measuring others’ crania and act like a pervert. It seems that he doesn’t care his patients’ lives and health. Ironically, he is a doctor but doesn’t show some sympathy and compassion for those who is leaving for Africa. His cold-blooded speech (“I always ask leave, in the interests of science, to measure the crania of those going out there,” he said. “And when they come back, too?” I asked. “Oh, I never see them,” he remarked; “and, moreover, the changes take place inside, you know.” He smiled, as if at some quiet joke.) and behaviors(interest in measuring crania) associates me with a novel named Rappaccini's Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In Rappaccini's Daughter, there is a doctor named Rappaccini. He is over-enthusiastic about science and his human nature is eradicated. Beatrice, the doctor’s genetic daughter, is cruelly experimented by him. These two doctors’ indifferences for humanity and lives are, in a way, horror and dark.
Kurtz’s fiancee is, as Marlowe observes, a “tragic and familiar shade” (familiar with Kurtz.) And her tragedy lies in solitude, love and her being dependent. From her dialogue with Marlowe, she shows herself obviously as a hopeless mourner with nothing to cling to after Kurtz’s death. It could be assumed that she has been living in solitude since, as Marlowe mentions, that her people “disapproved” Kurtz. Her solitary atmosphere grows even stronger when she says that “… since his mother died I have had no one – no one – to – to (listen or speak to). Even Kurtz is not really of her company because he has been in Africa for so long that Kurtz is more like a spiritual support instead of a concrete being. And after Kurtz’s death, she has “mourned so long in silence.” Thus, when she finally has a chance to talk about her feelings and love to Kurtz, she talks like thursty people drinking water. From this, one can tell that she actually has stong love to Kurtz and her love reinforces her belief that she is the one that understands Kurtz the best and thinks that Kurtz needs her while he already has a mistress in Africa. She never sees it, and she couldn’t see Kurtz like Marlowe sees his phantom. That’s why she is so in need of Kurtz’s last words to “live with.”
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