Heart of Darkness

The interplay between light and dark become a key motif in the book, evening contributing to the title. The narrative is presented as a journey from light to dark, both in the sense of journeying from the “enlightened” Europe into the dark heart of Africa and journeying into the darkness of Kurtz’s character. This transition from light to dark is gradual and corrupting, affecting Marlow and changing him forever.

The lighting in the book is perpetually hazy. There are very few moments of pure light; instead, everything is cloaked in fog, mist, and darkness. In London, as Marlow and his companions sit on the Thames, a mist settles over the river and the sun begins to set. It is this fading light that inspires Marlow to tell the story of the time he confronted darkness in its purest form. Additionally, the Belgian city is described as gloomy and impervious. This reflects the characters’ willful ignorance of the truth about what is happening in Africa; Marlow’s aunt, for instance, will not be convinced that the colonial presence in the Congo is anything other than benevolent. Her ideas, like the city itself, is shrouded in an impervious fog that morality and truth struggle to penetrate.

Darkness, so key to the novel’s title, becomes an important motif for the abandonment of morality that allows the Company to operate its colonial projects. While the light struggles to penetrate the European fog, the descriptions of Africa often focus on the darkness itself. Marlow spends a lot of time awake at night or peering into the shadows of the jungle. The further he travels up the river, the closer he gets to Kurtz, the more he is subsumed into this darkness. When he finally confronts Kurtz, they are together in the darkness of the jungle. There is danger all around Marlow and—in that moment—he finally understands the depths of the darkness in Kurtz’s heart. Marlow is forced to confront the darkness of Kurtz, of Africa, and of European colonialism and it changes him forever. He returns to Europe, but he now sees everything cast in the shade of his experience. When he walks the streets of Europe, he is struck by the willful ignorance of everyone he meets. They cannot be viewed the same ever again, as they have not seen into the eponymous heart of darkness.