Joseph Conrad in the Popular Imaginary: The Case of Heart of Darkness

Abstract

In his defining work The Great Tradition (1948), F.R. Leavis declared, with characteristic asperity, that apart from Jane Austen, George Eliot, Henry James and Joseph Conrad, “there are no novelists in English worth reading” (Leavis [1948]1962: 9). Notwithstanding Conrad’s canonisation in the pantheon of the “great tradition” of English literature, he has been a controversial figure, first, in his native country Poland, and subsequently in parts of Africa where Achebe’s ad hominem attack on the writer still echoes in the corridors of academe well into the 21st century. In this paper I argue that Heart of Darkness, as is often referenced in the media and the popular imaginary, is much more than just a journalistic shorthand or cliché for stereotypes about Africa or Conrad for that matter. Stated differently, the title of Conrad’s novella has become metonymic of anything and everything negative about Africa, which in turn has detracted from the story’s impact as an exposé of the evils of colonialism.

Opsomming
In sy bepalende werk The Great Tradition (1948), verklaar F.R. Leavis met sy kenmerkende felheid dat behalwe Jane Austin, George Elliot, Henry James en Joseph Conrad, “daar geen Engelse romanskrywer is wat werd is om gelees te word nie” (Leavis 1949: 9; my vertaling). Ten spyte van Conrad se kanonisering in die panteon van die “grootse tradisie” van die Engelse literatuur, was hy ʼn aanvegbare figuur, ten eerste, in sy geboorteland Pole en gevolglik in dele van Afrika waar Achebe se ad hominem aanval op dié skrywer steeds in die 21ste eeu deur die gange van die akademiese wêreld weerklink. In hierdie artikel stel ek dat Heart of Darkness, soos dikwels daarna in die media en in die populêre fiktiewe verwys word, baie méér is as ʼn joernalistieke kortbegrip of cliché vir stereotipes oor Afrika en selfs oor Conrad. Anders gestel, die titel van Conrad se novelle het die simbool geword van alles wat in Afrika verkeerd is en het gevolglik afbreuk gedoen aan die verhaal se onthulling van die boosheid van kolonialisme.