In the early 1900s, females were still known as the ones with the
inferior roles to men. How does Joseph Conrad, who seems to be quite
progressive in his critique of imperialism, reflect the traditional treatment
of women? Does he seem to have the conventional perspective that many from his
period have? Or does he have an advanced way of thinking toward the concept of
females? Unfortunately, in Heart of Darkness, Conrad offers no
advancement to the cause of women by following convention and minimizing the agency
of females through the creation of two separate, engendered spheres. So far in
Part 1, two female characters have appeared. These characters were kept unnamed
and their speech limited, emphasizing the disparagement of women in the
male-dominated society.
The first women that Conrad’s protagonist, Marlow, recounts are the
two knitters at the Company office in Brussels. The younger one greets the men with
a “cheery and foolish face” who come in for examinations before they leave for Africa.
Although not so much the older woman, the younger woman is unwise in the ways
of the world. She gives off a carefree attitude toward the men before they
enter the Congo. This gives the young woman a sense of innocence and ignorance.
She clearly has no idea that the men are getting themselves into the “heart of
darkness.” If she did know what the “real
world” had to offer, she would be frightened and probably would not be able to
handle it. If she actually knew the true, harsh realities of the world outside
of her own bubble, that innocence would forever be lost.
The second female character that the readers encounter is Marlow’s
aunt. Before Marlow braves the challenges that await him in the Congo, he
visits his aunt to thank her for securing the job of steamboat captain for him.
Marlow remains critical of his aunt even though he could not get employment
without her help (Hinkle). He views her as "out of touch with the
truth" along with the rest of womankind, who are in "a world of their
own" (Conrad 10). The world of women may be separate from the realm of
Marlow and other males, but these worlds are certainly dependent on each other.
Earlier Marlow said that the beautiful idea behind colonization masks the
ruthless practice of colonialism. Well, his aunt clearly buys the idea, and in
doing so establishes women as symbols of civilization’s inability to see its
hollow corruption.
Marlow has a very specific and sexist attitude towards women. They play
only minor roles in the novel and often live vicariously through their male
counterparts. They are rarely given voices of their own and are more often seen
than heard. Depicting women as unnatural entities, voiceless and agent less, to
their male counterparts destroys any shot of redemption for the fairer sex, so
Conrad aligns all the women in the narrative with unreality to evolve the
importance of separate realms.
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