Conrad demonstrates his interest in human psychology in much of his writing. It is his signature style to delve deep into the human soul. Lord Jim addresses the issue of conscience above all else. Jim makes a mistake and pays a heavy price due to society’s view; however, the central issue is that Jim realizes his mistake is an expression of the very way his mind works – he is intrinsically unheroic and selfish, and he therefore has to live with disliking himself. Ultimately his torment reaches a point where he is willing to die so that he can leave the world having done something honourable. Some scholars also see Lord Jim as a comment on the values of ‘civilized’ societies and ‘primitive’ societies in juxtaposition. That is to say, one might think that issues of honour and etiquette are the product of high culture, but in fact they are fundamental components of all cultures. Jim realizes this and that is why he is compelled to do the right thing. Wherever he hides in the world, his failings will inevitably come to the surface and let him down in the eyes of others, whoever they happen to be.
At the time that Lord Jim was published, anthropologists were just beginning to study non-Western cultures and beginning to realize that it was a mistake to view them as primitive in comparison. Although they did not possess the same levels of scientific and technological progress, that did not mean that their societal rules were any less sophisticated. The Golden Bough (1890) by James George Frazer was an insightful investigation of the evolution of cultures and societies that greatly influenced the thinkers of the period.
Heart of Darkness
Conrad’s most celebrated work, Heart of Darkness (1902) was inspired by time spent as a river boat captain in the Congo in 1889. The region was in a state of warfare over slavery at the time, leading to massacres and atrocities that Conrad bore witness to. This experience coloured his view of humanity and crystallized his own views, allowing him to become more complete as a personality. It also erased the romantic vision of Africa that he had developed as a child and which led him there in the first place. He came away with the nucleus of a story, painting Africa as a primal, dangerous and unprepossessing continent, hence the chosen title.
In essence, the central character of Charles Marlow is Conrad himself. The narrator is recounting the adventures of Marlow in the Congo, to a crew of boatmen on the Thames. As Marlow’s story unfolds and things become more baleful so dusk envelops the narrator’s audience, only adding to the general sense of claustrophobia, oppression and atrociousness of the scenario.
The axis of Heart of Darkness is Marlow’s struggle to deal with a shadowy figure named Kurtz, who holds influence over local tribesman. Kurtz’s motive is trade in ivory, which the authorities want for themselves. As a result, Marlow’s boat is sabotaged and his crew is attacked, making Marlow’s job difficult and dangerous. Ultimately, Marlow finds himself taking Kurtz into his protection due to his declining health. Aboard the boat Marlow is struck by the charisma of Kurtz, but also sees a dying mortal, in marked contrast to the god-like status he has among the Congo natives.
Conrad used Heart of Darkness as a vehicle for his exploration of human mores – morals and ethics. He was intelligent enough to understand that qualities considered virtuous are relative and subjective. Kurtz manipulates the belief systems of the natives for his own gain, but becomes morally bankrupted by the atrocities committed in his name, where villages are ransacked and their inhabitants slaughtered to access the valuable ivory. By the time he dies, Kurtz is horrified and ashamed by what he has affected. Conrad’s point is that civilization, knowledge and education are easily used by Kurtz to control the behaviour of those who exist in a primitive culture, but the outcome shocks Kurtz because they place less value on life and have different ideas about right and wrong.
In effect, Kurtz is hoisted by his own petard. Marlow, in contrast, is the moral leveller. He initially wishes to perform his duty as river boat captain and arrives with an optimistic outlook on his new life. The events that ensue serve to adjust his outlook, but he remains on an even keel, despite the unpleasant things he is exposed to. He comes away with a wiser and more considered comprehension of the human animal. He has been irrevocably jaded and scarred by his experience in the Congo, but he is also tougher and more tolerant; accepting even.
Victory
The novel Victory, published late in Conrad’s career (1915), is a good example of his shifting style as he disregards any attempt to maintain consistency in the narrative voice. As a result the story is narrated in various ways – from the perspective of a sailor, and that of an omniscient main character. This use of different narrative voices creates an increasingly claustrophobic feel to the story as the world progressively closes in on the main character.
The novel is both an adventure and a tragedy, and the book gave Conrad a belated flush of popular success. Victory is set among islands in Indonesia, which was then known as the Dutch East Indies. The region had been a colony for two centuries, and the population was a mix of indigenous and foreign people. Conrad drew on the cultural tensions that resulted from this environment, where lawlessness made the atmosphere both exciting and dangerous. As a result, the feel of the place easily switches from utopia to dystopia.
It would seem that Conrad was writing a moral tale disguised as an exotic adventure. There is certainly the sense that the ever-decreasing circles of their lives are the result of living in an archipelago where social rules and conventions cannot easily be policed. In this setting, criminality and villainy are an ever-present threat to peace and harmony. As a result, people take what pleasure they can from life when they can, knowing that it is likely to be short-lived.
In essence, Victory is a thriller, imbued with a pervading sense of menace and uncertainty. The reader knows that the moments of happiness and calm will be fleeting and that, ultimately, the central characters are doomed by their circumstances.
Conrad and Humanity
In the modern world we now understand scientifically that all organisms are nothing more than evolved life support systems for DNA, be they human, beast or plant, and that morals and ethics are therefore constructs of the human imagination. When Conrad was alive such strictly secular ideas were not yet formulated, so even atheists tended to believe that there must be some purpose to life. They also acknowledged that society needed people to adhere to behavioural rules based on notions of right and wrong to prevent anarchy and chaos.
Conrad was interested in what happens when different societies overlap, so that contrasting mores are juxtaposed and blended together. His underlying message was that the one cannot judge the other, because they are borne on cosmologies (world views in anthropological terminology) that are each constructs, but an amalgamation can result in outcomes that are reprehensible to both parties. In a way, Conrad’s writing was a portent of the complications that have arisen in modern societies where people from different cultures attempt to homogenize but often realize that cultural isolation or segregation are the best ways to find social harmony and accord. We may all belong to the same species biologically, but socially and culturally we can be so disparate as to seem like different species. In essence modern nations immerse peoples of ‘primitive’ culture within populations of ‘developed’ culture, so that incompatibilities and antitheses cause people to foment. No one is right, no one is wrong, but the results can be unfortunate and unpleasant whatever one’s precepts.
In this way Conrad was a kind of literary social anthropologist. Study of the human as a moral being was his interest, because he himself had encountered a plethora of specimens of humanity over the years and witnessed all manner of extreme behaviours, including his own. He wanted to understand what it means to be human and the novel became the chosen