Question+5

There are two prominent female figures in the story -- the Intended and the magnificent African woman who appears twice on the shore -- but women are also represented by the two women knitting at the Company headquarters and by Marlow's aunt. How can these women be analyzed in order to further develop the themes of the novel?

The Intended, Kurtz's fiance é, is seen near the end of the story as she speaks to Marlow. Marlow tells her that Kurtz has died and he spoke her name as his last words (although he really did not). She is certain that this is the case, and her actions further Marlow's belief that women are naive and innocent.

The African woman who appears on the shore seems to be Kurtz's mistress from this native land. Her beauty and great presence stun those around her, as she is very elegant while on the shoreside. Her influence over the workers of the Company is a result of her outstanding beauty. This shows that women can be of power and can influence men in the story as well as real life.

The two women knitting at the Company headquarters when Marlow arrives there show foreshadowing. They are knitting black wool and seem to spook Marlow as he enters to see these women. This dark wool could be viewed as a look into the future of a dark or gloomy occurence for the main character on his journey. Also, the black wool shows just one of the many comparisions/contrasts of light and dark (black and white).

Lastly, Marlow's aunt was the one who got her nephew an interview at the Company after Fresleven's death. This action showed that women could help to society in certain ways, and also showed Marlow that women were worthy of respect (as well as the natives). He showed this belief a few times, as he stated that the Europeans were doing harm. -BP

The functionality and role of women within Conrad's novel is multi-faceted, as evidenced by the array of female characters contained within Marlow's tales and experiences. Respectively, they each are significant to the further emphasis of Conrad's theme.

With regards to the author's focus on the hypocrisy and senseless of imperialism, consider the sentiments of Marlow's aunt: "She talked about 'weaning those ignorant millions from their horrid ways,' till, upon my word, she made me quite uncomfortable. I ventured to hint that the Company was run for profit" (Conrad 76). Her role was pivotal due to her influence, as stated above, yet one must consider that the majority of her influence is derived from men due to the fact that her power lies within her social connections to high-class males. As such, Marlow's aunt is allowed to represent some form of strength, but also the feminine sentiment for beauty that is unique to females.

Marlow's feelings concerning Kurtz's Intended echo his admiration for the beauty of feminine aspirations: "They -- the women, I mean -- are out of it -- should be out of it. We must help them to stay in that beautiful world of their own, lest ours gets worse" (121). The purity of their naivete is a nod to the novel's overarching theme of the hypocrisy of conquest; their "beautiful world" is a dream that men seem only able to attain through senseless violence and domination.

-TL

Women are used to represent different themes in the novella Heart of Darkness. Marlow says of them, "It's queer how out of touch with truth women are. They live in a world out of their own, and there has never been anything like it, and never can be" (76). Kurtz's Intended symbolizes this through her ability to only see the light of the world. The beauty of the African woman, though, shows that they have a power and influence over them.The two women sit "knitting black wool" (73) which foreshadows the darkness that Marlow has yet to encounter.

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