At the time Heart of Darkness was written, the British Empire was at its peak, and Britain controlled colonies and dependencies all over the planet. The popular saying that “the sun never sets on the British Empire” was literally true. The main topic of Heart of Darkness is imperialism, a nation’s policy of exerting influence over other areas through military, political, and economic coercion. The narrator expresses the mainstream belief that imperialism is a glorious and worthy enterprise. Indeed, in Conrad’s time, “empire” was one of the central values of British subjects, the fundamental term through which Britain defined its identity and sense of purpose. One section in which one can see Marlow’s approval of this mainstream belief is on page 8 where Marlow says that “at that time there were many blank spaces on earth” whilst looking at the map. When he says this he means that these spaces were not pink on the map (which stated they were part of the British Empire). This shows the Western view of the world. Marlow (like many other Britons) believed that land meant nothing until it had been explored by a westerner.
However, from the moment Marlow opens his mouth, he sets himself apart from his fellow passengers by conjuring up a past in which Britain was not the heart of civilization but the savage “end of the world.” One can tell that he thinks this because he says that colonisation “is not a pretty thing when you look into it” and that it is taking control of other peoples’ weaknesses and unconsidered. Marlow also says that the Romans used “brute force” when taking their colonies. This is almost the peak of uncivilised behaviour yet Romans are supposed to be the ones who act the most civilised. Marlow criticises the British for doing this as he believes that they are literally stealing with no justification apart from on racial grounds: “which mostly means taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves”.
Likewise, the Thames was not the source of glorious journeys outward but the ominous beginning of a journey inward, into the heart of the wilderness. This is typical of Marlow as a storyteller: he narrates in an ironic tone, giving the impression that his audience’s assumptions are wrong, but not presenting a clear alternative to those assumptions. Throughout his story, distinctions such as inward and outward, civilized and savage, dark and light, are called into question. But the irony of Marlow’s story is not as pronounced as in a satire, and Marlow’s and Conrad’s attitudes regarding imperialism are never entirely clear.
On page 9, Marlow goes on to talk about Brussels. Again, he describes is as a dark and dangerous place. He says that the city always reminded him of a whited sepulchre. A sepulchre implies death and confinement, and indeed Europe is the origin of the colonial enterprises that bring death to white men and to their colonial subjects; it is also governed by a set of reified social principles that both enable cruelty, dehumanization, and evil and prohibit change. The description of the grave implies that it is something that may look beautiful on the outside but holds horrors within. This is what Marlow thinks of Brussels.
Marlow continues to explore the differences in Africa between the natives and the whites. Marlow disembarks at the Company’s station, which is in a terrible state of disrepair. He sees piles of decaying machinery and a cliff being blasted for no apparent purpose. He also sees a group of black prisoners walking along in chains under the guard of another black man, who wears a shoddy uniform and carries a rifle. He remarks that he had already known the “devils” of violence, greed, and desire, but that in Africa he became acquainted with the “flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil of a rapacious and pitiless folly.” On page 14, he describes the natives as having “grotesque masks” and casually refers to them as “black fellows”. Marlow also thinks of the natives as being savage like animals.Africa is described as a hostile, savage and uninhabitable place. Later on he compares them to dogs by saying they have “iron collars” and that they walked as though they had “tails”. This shows how Marlow shared the conventional attitudes of the time towards the natives. However, interestingly, in the same paragraph, Marlow feels sympathetic towards the natives by saying they “walked erect as though under a whip”. Also, on page 16, Marlow places blame on himself for the slavery of these men: “I also was a part of the great cause of these high and just proceedings.”
Marlow then comes across a grove where many of the natives sit. Marlow is appalled by the ghastly, infernal spectacle of the grove of death, while the other colonials show no concern over it at all. For Marlow, the grove is the dark heart of the station. Marlow’s horror at the grove suggests that the true evils of this colonial enterprise are dehumanization and death. All Marlow can offer these dying men are a few pieces of biscuit, and, despite the fact that Marlow is “not particularly tender,” the situation troubles him. It is at this point where Marlow has a very sudden change in his view towards these natives. He realises that they are “not enemies…[nor] criminals”. Having seen this you then come across the opposite of these men. Marlow meets the accountant of the station. He is wearing a white suit and although all of his books are in perfect order, the office is a mess. This shows how the whites want to keep up their appearance, their superiority over the natives.
Soon, Marlow sees a van arriving with natives on it. Marlow says “well if a lot of mysterious niggers armed with all kinds of fearful weapons suddenly took to travelling on the road between Deal and Gravesend catching the yokels right and left to carry loads for them, I fancy every farm and cottage thereabouts would get empty very soon”. This shows the contrast between the Europeans and the Africans. Marlow is showing how within different countries, natives would be seen very differently. For instance, in Africa they are normal whereas in England they are literally talked about as though they were a disease that no one else wanted to catch.
In conclusion, the first 20 pages of this book have and undertone of foreboding. This perhaps suggests that there is something bad coming or Conrad could just be showing how the major Western countries are dark and dangerous and filled with racism.
