Heart of Darkness

‘Heart of Darkness’, the famous novella by Joseph Conrad, first published in 1902, reveals the disgust at the cruelty that the author observed when he worked briefly in the Belgian Congo. Although no territory is named in the text, the story is based on a journey that Conrad took up the Congo River in 1890, during King Leopold II of Belgium’s abusive rule of the area. The main narrative follows the journey of the ferry-boat captain Marlow in his job as an ivory transporter on the river. Marlow’s other assignment is to return Kurtz, another ivory trader, to Europe. The severely ill Kurtz dies on the journey after handling Marlow a collection of papers. Back in Europe, Marlow gives these to a journalist instead of the parties for which they were intended. ‘Heart of Darkness’ is a story of many layers and nuances, not only about exploitation but also about the emptiness which follows when the delusion behind certain lofty ideals is exposed.