Discuss the art of narration in Heart of Darkness.

Question: Discuss the art of narration in Heart of Darkness.

Or, Comment on Conrad’s narrative technique in Heart of Darkness.

Or, Discuss the role of Marlow as a narrator.

Ans. There are two narrators in the novel Heart of Darkness. The first narrator, who remains unnamed, merely serves to introduce Marlow to us and to set the background of the story. He acquaints us with some of the essential features of Marlow’s personality. Marlow is described at the beginning as a man with sunken cheeks, a yellow complexion, and an ascetic appearance. He is seen sitting cross-legged in the posture of a Buddha preaching in European clothes and without a lotus flower.

Conrad’s indirect or oblique method of narration is a difficult one and puts a great strain on the memory of the reader. This difficulty is further increased by his use of Marlow, a sea captain, as the chief narrator, who stands between the novelist and the reader. Marlow serves as a guide and helper, commenting, explaining, and illuminating events. In fact, it is Marlow who enables the novelist to achieve complete objectivity. He helps Conrad dramatize the action and compels the reader to see it through his eyes. Through Marlow, the novelist is able to make various comments and speak in different moods, which would not have been possible otherwise.

Conrad, like Henry James, is a historian of the “fine conscience,” and Marlow acts both as an evaluator and a recorder. Marlow is a talkative person, and through his numerous digressions, he introduces a number of characters and incidents which help us to assess characters like Kurtz. It is through Marlow that a multiple point of view is brought to bear upon the psychology of Kurtz, and thus we are able to form a comprehensive idea of Kurtz’s character.

Conrad’s sense of impression and suspense enables him to render a lifelike story. His stories usually have dramatic openings. They begin at a critical moment in the life of the central character, and the events leading up to that moment are revealed gradually as the story progresses. Suspense is created by focusing attention on some peculiar gesture, look, or mannerism of the character concerned. It is also Conrad’s habit to begin with long conversations about his characters before they actually appear in the narrative. Kurtz in Heart of Darkness is perfectly visualized through what is told about him. We never see him in action; we see him only at the moment of his death, and yet we know him very well.

The story of the novel exercises a kind of magic spell upon the reader. It engages the mind with intensely dramatic situations and exciting events. What truly unsettles the reader is the mode of narration itself. Marlow alone would have been sufficient to distance the reader from Conrad. The introduction of another narrator besides Marlow appears to be a somewhat clumsy device, yet it helps the reader grasp the proper meaning and significance of the portrayal of characters in the novel.