Question: What is the symbolic significance (or implied meaning) of the imagery of light and darkness in the Prologue?
Ans. Images of light and darkness, bearing deep symbolic significance, are used in the Prologue as well as throughout Heart of Darkness. In the opening scene, the “luminous space” of sea and sky “welded together,” the “luminous estuary,” the “benign immensity of unstained light,” the “august light of abiding memories,” and the “stir of lights” are all contrasted with the “brooding gloom.”
The description of the setting given by the first narrator serves, to some extent, to characterize him as possessing a “lightened,” perhaps naively optimistic, viewpoint—though he is also aware of the surrounding gloom. Symbolically, light signifies civilization, enlightenment, knowledge, and realization.
By contrast, the forest is associated with darkness. However, Conrad deliberately complicates this opposition: what appears dark may in fact contain truth, while what appears light or white may conceal darkness. The portrait of Kurtz as a torchbearer is an ironic image, commenting on the dark evil he actually practices.
There are numerous instances of the imagery of light and darkness in the novel, and their repeated juxtaposition suggests Conrad’s central theme—the exploration of the shadow, the dark jungle of the unknown. The physical journey into Africa thus becomes a symbol of a deeper journey into the hidden recesses of the human mind.
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