What might the title represent—the heart of darkness—what
is this referring to?
At first glance, the
title of Conrad’s novella is evocative of light and dark. A heart is associated
with love and affection which are commonly representations of light in many
religions. Darkness can be associated with the core of things where little
light is allowed to penetrate. Although these themes do arise within the text,
the novella reveals that the core of the Congo is the heart of the dark Africa.
With this statement, two meanings of the title quickly arise. Conrad could be
referring to darkness as that of the physical coloration of the natives he
encounters along his travels toward the heart of Africa; however, he could also
be characterizing the density of Africa, specifically its heart which resides
in the Congo.
With textual clues noted,
the title is a representation of the heart of a land darkened by ignorance and
its human inhabitants. Conrad reveals that not many Europeans understand the
nature of the African people. His perception of them is of darkness from head
to toe. In one of his passages, he remarks that “a black figure stood up,
strode on long black legs, waving long black arms.” Conrad also references the
jungle as being dark and mysterious as well. To the Europeans, Africa was a
dark land allowing Conrad to set Marlow on a quest for its heart where he would
find Kurtz. Although various meanings arise, the title evokes images of a quest
for the heart of the Congo which is blanketed with darkness.
As ironic as it may seem, I had never considered the heart in context of the title to be alluding to love. It would be interesting to tie in this concept of “dark love” with Kurtz between his African mistress and his Intended. The contrasting traits of these characters are similar to the division in Kurtz’s heart for them. Kurtz is consumed by this division of dark, corrupted love. Because this love triangle is not the main driving conflict of the novella, however, I agree that this title most likely reflects the heart of Africa, shrouded in gloomy mystery.
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