Darkness

The theme of "darkness" from the title recurs throughout the book. It is used to reflect the unknown (as Africa at the time was often called the "Dark Continent" by Europeans), the concept of the "darkness of barbarism" contrasted with the "light of civilization" (see white man's burden), and the "spiritual darkness" of several characters. This sense of darkness also lends itself to a related theme of obscurity - again, in various senses, reflecting the ambiguities in the work. Moral issues are not clear-cut; that which ought to be (in various senses) on the side of "light" is in fact mired in darkness, and so forth.

To emphasize the theme of darkness within ourselves, Marlow's narration takes place on a yacht in the Thames tidal estuary. Early in the novella, the narrator recounts how London, the largest, most populous and wealthiest city in the world, where Conrad wrote and where a large part of his audience lived, was itself in Roman times a dark part of the world much like the Congo then was. Like Marlow himself, the astute reader emerges from the tale with an expanded comprehension of the darkness within his own mind.

Themes developed in the novella's more superficial levels include the naÐ"ЇvetÐ"© of Europeans - particularly women - regarding the various forms of darkness in the Congo; the Belgian colonialists' abuse of the natives; and man's potential for two-facedness. The symbolic levels of the book expand on all of these in terms of a struggle between good and evil, not so much between people as within every major character's soul.vb

When Marlow talks of London being a dark place, the theme of civilization versus savagery comes into play. Marlow's aunt believes he is an emissary of light, being sent into the darkness. Marlow sees this darkness through the placing of heads on poles, for a man named Kurtz. All of this makes Marlow change his inner feelings of himself, which relates to the theme of the journey of the inner self. Marlow talks of when the Romans first came to Britain, and how they had actually brought some light into the somberness of London, and how one day that light may disappear. This relates to the theme of dark and light. As Marlow tells of his voyage deeper into the unknown,

The second theme of course is man's journey into self. During

Marlow's mission to find Kurtz, he is also trying to find himself. He,

like Kurtz had good intentions upon entering the Congo. Conrad tries to

show us that Marlow is what Kurtz had been, and Kurtz is what Marlow could

become. Every human has a little of Marlow and Kurtz in them. Marlow says

about himself, "I was getting savage," meaning that he was becoming more

like Kurtz. Along the trip into the wilderness,