What's in a symbol? Darkness in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness
Author
Fosnæs-Hart, Chris Morten
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2020
Submitted on
2020-06-02
Pages
79
Abstract
Denne kandidatafhandling undersøger, hvorfor meget nutidig litteraturkritik er politiseret, og hvorfor Northrop Fryes tilgang kan fungere som en relevant og mere universel mellemposition. Afhandlingen sammenligner udvalgte politiserede læsninger af Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness med en læsning baseret på Fryes essay Ethical Criticism: Theory of Symbols fra Anatomy of Criticism. Fryes metode organiserer litterære symboler i fem faser, som her anvendes på romanens symbol 'mørke': Den bogstavelige fase ser på interne referencer og motiver i teksten; den deskriptive fase forbinder symbolet med ydre referencer og læser det som et tegn; den formelle fase forener de to første og ser symbolet som et billede, så der kan foretages værdibedømmelser; den mytiske fase forstår symbolet som en arketype i universelle fortællemønstre; og den anagogiske fase søger det mest generelle, næsten totaliserende perspektiv, hvor symbolet optræder som en monade. De to sidste faser muliggør også nutidige paralleller i forståelsen af romanens mørke. Sammenligningen viser, at politiserede læsninger ofte prioriterer politiske pointer frem for snævert litterære analyser, selv om der også er væsentlige overlap, fordi romanen i sig selv behandler politiske emner som imperialisme. Eksempelvis læser Chinua Achebe Conrad som racistisk i skildringen af de indfødte, mens denne afhandling finder, at romanen mere åbent kritiserer europæerne. Edward Said hævder, at Conrad ikke kan tale for den Anden og understøtter sin position med personlig autoritet; afhandlingen argumenterer derimod for, at Conrads implicitte og eksplicitte kritik af imperialismen kan lade ham tale på tværs af denne grænse. I forhold til feministiske læsninger findes der bred enighed i flere overordnede iagttagelser, men afhandlingen placerer grundlaget for disse iagttagelser andre steder i teksten. Overordnet viser analysen, at Fryes symbolske ramme giver et systematisk redskab til at teste påstande på flere niveauer og tilbyder en mindre polariseret måde at læse Heart of Darkness på.
This thesis examines why much contemporary literary criticism is politicized and argues that Northrop Frye offers a relevant, more universal middle-ground approach. It compares selected politicized readings of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness with a reading guided by Frye’s essay Ethical Criticism: Theory of Symbols from Anatomy of Criticism. Frye’s method organizes literary symbols into five phases, applied here to the novel’s symbol of darkness: The literal phase looks at internal references and motifs; the descriptive phase connects the symbol to external references and treats it as a sign; the formal phase unifies the first two and understands the symbol as an image, enabling value judgments; the mythical phase reads the symbol as an archetype within universal story patterns; and the anagogic phase seeks the broadest, near-total perspective, where the symbol functions as a monad. The last two phases also support contemporary parallels in interpreting the novel’s darkness. The comparison finds that politicized readings often prioritize political claims over narrowly literary analysis, though there is significant overlap because the novel itself addresses political issues such as imperialism. For example, Chinua Achebe reads Conrad as racist in his depiction of the natives, while this thesis finds the novel more overtly critical of Europeans. Edward Said argues that Conrad cannot speak for the Other and bolsters this view through personal authority; the thesis instead contends that Conrad’s implicit and explicit critique of imperialism can enable him to speak across that divide. Regarding feminist readings, the thesis broadly agrees with several observations but locates their evidential basis elsewhere in the text. Overall, the analysis shows that Frye’s symbolic framework provides a systematic tool to test claims across levels and offers a less polarized way to read Heart of Darkness.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
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