In Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness,” both a modernist style of writing and the impressionistic style for which Conrad is known are utilized to convey Marlow’s epic narrative.
Conrad’s work employs the modernist style in two ways; Marlow’s story is extremely cerebral, relying on the chaotic stream of his own consciousness to tell much of his story and the two complementary monologues present throughout “Heart of Darkness.” These complementary monologues are clearly disproportionate, but nonetheless still compete for the reader’s attention throughout the book and serve a greater purpose. While Conrad could have easily chosen to tell Marlow’s story with himself as the narrator, he doesn’t. Instead, Conrad experiments with the modernist style, which invites the reader to be lost in the story, just as those on The Nellie will be entranced simultaneously; Marlow’s story is an experience, which you share with those to whom he is currently telling the story. However this illusion is only possible if Conrad uses a narrator who is known to also be listening to the story. Conrad’s other use of the modernist style is that much of the story happens within the mind of Marlow. Many literary authorities have attributed the cognitive nature of Marlow’s story as the reason that “Heart of Darkness,” while short in length, reads very slowly. Marlow’s rational is intended to cause the reader to think; much of the novella is choppy and disjoint, which requires the reader to interpret then novel for themselves. Furthermore, as the reader sifts through the thoughts of Marlow, these thoughts catalyze the reader’s own reflection on similar subjects because while many things are introduced, such as the phrase “Heart of Darkness,’ very few are explicitly described.
The impressionistic style, of which Conrad is a quintessential writer, exhibits several common characteristics, however one literary work does not always exploit the use of all of them. The text is intentionally ambiguous, placing much of the responsibility to form conclusion on the reader. Actions are described as they happen through the eyes of the character or characters. Also, concerned with how the setting affects the characters emotionally, the text requires you to look at the work holistically to gain a clear understanding, and events are not often told chronologically, but rather events are explained how or why they happened. “Heart of Darkness” certainly satisfies several of these staples of impressionistic style. For example, as previously stated, the cerebral nature of the text is vague, but with a purpose. In Conrad’s retelling many details seem disconnected from the rest of the story and, in fact extraneous, but at the end of the novella you realize that such details are necessary to the complete understanding of the story. For instance, the knitting women at the Belgian company are described in great detail, although the reader is unsure as to exactly why. However, by reading the novella and reflecting on its entirety, it is revealed that the women and their eeriness contributed to the general tone of the book as it related to the Congo and foreshadowed the turbulence of Marlow’s upcoming journey. Finally, the following passage demonstrates how Conrad described the action as it occurred: “I saw a face amongst the leaves on the level with my own, looking at me very fierce and steady; and then suddenly, as though a veil had been removed from my eyes, I made out, deep in the tangled gloom, naked breasts, arms, legs, glaring eyes – the bush was swarming with human limbs in movement, glistening, of bronze colour. The twigs shook, swayed, and rustled, the arrows flew out of them, and then the shutter came to” (Conrad 61). Conrad reports the arrack, through the eyes of Marlow, as it is happening. In fact, Conrad waits for a few lines to even inform the reader that an attack is occurring, his realization mimicking our own, thereby creating a concurrent experience.
