LIT 367 Literature of Descent

Christina Dersch

Discuss how the descent narrative can function as a form of political and/or
social dissent!

During the past century, our ideas and definitions of hell have changed significantly

through the experience of two world wars, the far reaching consequences of

decolonization, the Holocaust, the split of mentalities into the dichotomy of "East" and

"West" as well as most recent threats like diseases, changing moral values and

terrorism. These developments make us think about hell in different terms and slowly

superimpose classical schemes transmitted via Greek and Roman myths. It is most

notably the motif of descent that has altered as death is no more considered the core

of the narrative but instead has become an allegory. As Pike points out, `Myth and

history are the motor of the descent, but it is driven by the very nature of its narrative

structure: to be found in the underworld, a person must be dead. `1

For the narrative tradition of classical antiquity, this certainly proves true. The twofold

descent, consisting of

nekuia

(a ritual that implies a re-orientation towards the future

and simultaneously abandons the past) and

katabasis

(the physical journey to an

underworld), traditionally had clearly defined reasons: (1) to achieve wealth and

riches, (2) to gain a wider knowledge by accessing prophecies, (3) to confront the

combat with a higher spirit or (4) the quest for a lost beloved.2 Therefore, the hero

had to undergo a transformative journey, including the metamorphosis of the self by

confronting the absolute other and finally the experience of an infernal

revelation that brings him back to the surface and enables him to tell his story.

Consequently, `myth generates history, and history, myth.´3

1 David L. Pike,

Passage through Hell: Modernist Descents, Medieval Underworlds

(New York: Cornell

University Press, 1997), p.5

2 Cf. Margaret Atwood,

Negotiating with the dead, a writer on writing

(London: Virago, 2003), p. 150

3 David L. Pike,

Passage through Hell: Modernist Descents, Medieval Underworlds

(New York: Cornell

University Press, 1997), p.7

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LIT 367 Literature of Descent

Christina Dersch

The modern Western psyche however replaced the literal death by allegories: the

idea of the underworld rises as a symbol for life on earth. As a result, the distinction

between mythical and historical descents cannot be maintained because hell actually

is part of the structure of feeling of our time. In other words: `Both worlds are

represented as equally real.´4 Apart from being frightening and eerie, this makes way

for a more concrete and tangible handling of infernal experiences as hell does not

remain untouchable: It can rather be transformed and even demolished; and it is not

a single, chiefly male hero that gains access but a vast majority of society that -

involuntarily - takes part in that "journey".

Traditional descent narratives are not only role models that are recoined by modern

approaches; they also shape our present ideas of hell. However, the reasons that

conjure the sense of being trapped into an underworld have extended dramatically

and include hell as a state of mind; as a condition within ourselves. Nowadays, this

conception is all the more influenced by cultural, societal and economical factors that

add up to the inherited historical and mythical ones.

I therefore object to examine how 20th-century descent narratives can also imply

forms of political and social dissent as a response to the experience of a hellish, life-

changing situation.

Around 1900, the idea of hell becomes much more materialized. Research now

focuses on the exploration of the self by going down into the unconscious, where

truth seems to be located. In addition to being a physical place of exile and

imprisonment, the descent to hell is now considered an encounter with the demon

within and is aimed to be made a productive experience. The precedent narrative

tradition which understands hell as a punishment with a chance to experience

4 Rachel Falconer,

Hell in contemporary literature: Western Descent Narratives since 1945

(Edinburgh:

Edinburgh University Press, 2005), p.4

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LIT 367 Literature of Descent

Christina Dersch

revelation and to recover is turned into a metaphor of alienation, suspended

spirituality and fragmentation.

In Conrad′s

Heart of Darkness

the creation of hell consists of the estrangement from

the known world and simultaneously a confrontation with a different culture where an

unacquainted system of norms and values prevails. The feeling of disorientation and

being lost is the main motif that dominates the entire novel and is especially

expressed through the language Conrad uses.

As it can be presumed that ´language determinates our view of reality`5, reality in this

novel seems to fade progressively as words construct mere images of characters.

The crisis of language and communication becomes immanent as it often attempts to

cover up the underlying hollowness of both the intention of the journey and the

characters themselves. Consequently, the chasm between language and reality

broadens constantly and reveals the final truth that nothing is what it pretends to be.

Language is no longer a means of communication but of repression, as Ray

confirms: ´Imperialism uses language to control its colonies while simultaneously

using it to distance and gloss over the truth. `6 It functions as a barrier and provides

`indirect chains of mediation between imperialist and exploited people. `7 Therefore,

the descent journey presented here does not object to find truth and knowledge but is

in fact a voyage towards nothingness; causing disenchantment and emptiness as the

absolute other - the horror, death - remains an unspeakable mystery.

Another blatant theme is that of ambiguity. Although language is used like a fog to

create mistiness and unclarity, there are several clear-cut oppositions like that of light

and darkness. Africa is described as the most obscure hell where everything is

5 Martin Ray,

Joseph Conrad

(Edinburgh: Edward Arnold, 1993), p.19

6 Ibid., p.23

7 Jeremy Hawthorn,

Language and Fictional Self-Consciousness

(London: Edward Arnold, 1979), p.22

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LIT 367 Literature of Descent

Christina Dersch

cloaked in darkness. All settings, including London and Brussels, are described as

somehow gloomy and dark, which implies the inability to see. Metaphorically, this

also operates as a description of the human condition in Conrad′s time and has far-

reaching implications. Failing to see each other means failing to understand and,

additionally, failing to establish any sort of sympathetic communion with someone.

That lack of understanding gravely shapes social circumstances and leads to further

alienation.

The contrast between interiors and exteriors is another opposition of huge

importance. As already mentioned above, it is not the hidden truth that is longed for

in this novel. The priority is rather placed upon the surface and the observation of the

surrounding area, which forms an antithesis to the common approach. This

demonstrates that penetrating to the interior of an idea or a person has become

impossible, and it reveals the superficiality and indifference of society.

Concerning the political aspects of

Heart of Darkness

, the glory and exclusiveness of

the colonial mission, to "pass on the torch of knowledge", is completely reversed by

the experience of reality in the wilderness. Confusion, darkness, disorientation and

surrealism increasingly characterize the journey: instead of order and discipline,

Marlow encounters scenes of torture and cruelty. Madness works as a vivid,

emblematic metaphor for the consequences of imperialism; and physical illness as

well as mental disintegration play an important role. However, in the context of the

Belgian trade company and the Congo as a foreign country, insanity becomes difficult

to define or describe and finally results from being removed from one′s original social

context. The entire dehumanization of people, of black people in particular,

announces the end of Western civilization and a turn towards savagery.

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