The Heart of Darkness

Conrad’s aim: to write about the criminality, inefficiency and selfishness of the civilizing mission in Africa Novella vs novel and short story 3 installments: beginning February 1899 Book format: 1902 Interpretations  Freudian psychoanalysis  Symbolic, new critical reading  existentianlist reading  postcolonial, ideologically committed

Autobiographical element: Conrad visited Africa between June- December 1890.

1.Setting: why does the story begin in London? What is the function of the frame of the narrative? 2.What motivates Marlow? How does he imagine the Congo? 3.What are the similarities and differences between Marlow and Kurtz? Why is Kurtz unable to come back to „the civilized world”? 4.The function of symbols: the river, the fog, darkness, women knitting black wool 5.Interpret Kurtz’s last words: „the horror, the horror”! Why is Marlow unable to tell his fiance that these were his last words?