Henry Rider Haggard is often considered as a crude imperialist and chauvinist expansionist ideals, whereas Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness has often been called the anti-imperialist novel par excellence. In this essay, I argue against this perspective. I claim thatin comparison to Heart of Darkness, which indeed projects Africa as a negative foil for Europe, Rider Haggard manages to give Africa and its inhabitants, despite his literary shortcomings, a graceful quality not found in Conrad’s work. While both authors depict Africa as ‘the other world’ in the way their ambitions and prejudices create an image with little historical accuracy, Haggard’s embellished social utopia fails to display the deep-seated anxiety towards Africa Achebe finds in Conrad.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. An Image of Africa: Achebe’s criticism of Conrad
3. Critical reactions to Achebe’s lecture
3.1 Irony, voice and authorship
3.2 The historical defence
3.3 Conrad’s anti-European purpose
4. Applying Achebe’s frame of criticism
4.1 Treatment of the natives
4.2 Treatment of women
4.3 The ambiguity of imperialism
5. Comparing Conrad and Haggard
Research Objectives and Themes
This essay aims to re-evaluate the debate surrounding racism in Joseph Conrad’s "Heart of Darkness" by contrasting it with the imperial romances of H. Rider Haggard. The primary objective is to investigate Chinua Achebe’s critique of Conrad’s dehumanizing portrayal of Africans and to determine whether Haggard’s works, despite their literary limitations, offer a more humane representation of native populations.
- The validity of Chinua Achebe’s critique of "Heart of Darkness" as a racist text.
- Evaluation of common theoretical defenses of Conrad’s narrative choices.
- Comparative analysis of the treatment of native identity and agency in Conrad versus Haggard.
- The intersection of misogyny and imperialism in late 19th-century colonial literature.
- Questioning the justification of imperialism through moral or "civilizing" narratives.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1 Irony, voice and authorship
In Heart of Darkness, Conrad employs various narrative devices – such as multiple narrators, irony and contradiction – in order to disguise his authorial voice. Therefore, the relationship between Marlow and Conrad is not as straightforward, the critics say, as Achebe purports it to be.
By having an anonymous primary narrator pass on Marlow’s tale, Conrad includes an additional filter between himself and the narration. For a full seven paragraphs, the narrator can set the scene by “exalting the British naval empire” and displaying “naïve imperial enthusiasm” (Clendinnen, 7) before Marlow sharply enters the picture: “And this also…” (33). This technique leads Cedric Watts, among others, to differentiate between Marlow and the author because when Marlow enters [the paragraph] it is as though, as in life, an author had been interrupted by a character whose experience and intelligence exceed the author’s” (198).
A second technique Conrad employs is irony. Cedric Watts counts many “measured, specific, shrewdly ironic passages” (202) which Achebe “ignores […] as the tale unfolds” (204). Sarvan goes even further by finding a “mocking humour which denotes ‘distance’ between creator and character” (7), for instance when Marlow is described as a “meditating Buddha” (Heart of Darkness, 105).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the literary impact of "Heart of Darkness" and sets the stage for the comparative analysis with Haggard’s "King Solomon’s Mines" regarding their respective depictions of Africa.
2. An Image of Africa: Achebe’s criticism of Conrad: This section details Chinua Achebe’s seminal critique, which characterizes Conrad as a racist for depicting Africa as a "negative foil" to European civilization.
3. Critical reactions to Achebe’s lecture: This chapter examines the backlash against Achebe’s lecture and explores common academic arguments used to defend Conrad, such as narrative irony and historical context.
3.1 Irony, voice and authorship: This subsection analyzes whether narrative devices like multiple narrators and irony effectively insulate Conrad from charges of racism.
3.2 The historical defence: This subsection evaluates the claim that Conrad was simply a man of his time, suggesting that his views were bound by late 19th-century prejudices.
3.3 Conrad’s anti-European purpose: This subsection investigates the argument that "Heart of Darkness" is inherently anti-European and critical of white exploitation, potentially complicating Achebe's assessment.
4. Applying Achebe’s frame of criticism: This chapter applies Achebe’s criteria to "Heart of Darkness" to assess its racist underpinnings in detail.
4.1 Treatment of the natives: This subsection focuses on how Conrad’s use of dehumanizing appellations, animalistic imagery, and the denial of articulate language affects the portrayal of Africans.
4.2 Treatment of women: This subsection explores how Conrad’s gendered depictions of women reinforce imperialist prejudices and mirror his broader dehumanizing strategies.
4.3 The ambiguity of imperialism: This subsection discusses the moral ambiguity in the novel, where critique and praise of imperial projects seem to coexist.
5. Comparing Conrad and Haggard: This chapter concludes that Haggard, while stylistically inferior, offers a more humane portrayal of natives and rejects imperialist domination more explicitly than Conrad.
Keywords
Heart of Darkness, Chinua Achebe, H. Rider Haggard, Postcolonialism, Imperialism, Racism, Narrative Technique, Representation of Africans, Victorian Literature, Misogyny, Colonial Discourse, King Solomon’s Mines, Literary Criticism, Marlow, Humanism.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this paper?
The paper examines the portrayal of Africa, natives, and imperialism in Joseph Conrad’s "Heart of Darkness," specifically addressing Chinua Achebe’s critique that the novel promotes racist ideology.
What are the primary themes discussed?
The main themes include racial representation, the impact of imperialist discourse, the dehumanization of marginalized groups, and the comparative role of narrative structure in justifying or critiquing colonial practices.
What is the primary objective of the research?
The objective is to determine the extent to which "Heart of Darkness" propagates racist views and to show that H. Rider Haggard’s "King Solomon’s Mines" provides a more humane alternative despite its artistic shortcomings.
Which methodology is employed in this study?
The study uses close textual analysis of both Conrad’s and Haggard’s novels, evaluating them against Achebe’s framework of postcolonial criticism and secondary scholarly reactions.
What aspects are covered in the main body?
The main body analyzes narrative techniques (irony, voice), historical context, the depiction of natives and women, the ambiguity of imperialism, and a direct stylistic and thematic comparison between Conrad and Haggard.
Which key terms define this work?
Key terms include postcolonialism, colonial discourse, racial representation, imperial romance, and the intersection of humanism and political ideology in 19th-century literature.
How does the author interpret the "historical defense" of Conrad?
The author argues that citing the historical climate of the 19th century is a "shabby excuse," as there were contemporaries of Conrad who managed to avoid propagating such derogatory views of Africa.
Does the author find Conrad's criticism of white Europeans exonerating?
No, the author contends that Conrad’s critique of white exploitation does not negate or compensate for his dehumanizing and racist portrayal of native Africans.
Why does the author prefer Haggard’s portrayal of natives?
The author argues that Haggard avoids the "stunted" and dehumanizing stereotypes found in Conrad’s work, instead granting native characters agency, dignity, and independence from white colonial oversight.
- Citar trabajo
- Niklas Manhart (Autor), 2011, Exploring the Other World: Racism and Imperialism in Joseph Conrad and Henry Rider Haggard, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/188991
