Essay on Jungian Psychology and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of...

As the Heart of Darkness snakes its way into the savage shadows of the African continent, Joseph Conrad exposes a psycho-geography of the collective unconscious in the entangling metaphoric realities of the serpentine Congo. Conrad’s novella descends into the unknowable darkness at the heart of Africa, taking its narrator, Marlow, on an underworld journey of individuation, a modern odyssey toward the center of the Self and the center of the Earth. Ego dissolves into soul as, in the interior, Marlow encounters his double in the powerful image of ivory-obsessed Kurtz, the dark shadow of European imperialism. The dark meditation is graced by personifications of anima in Kurtz’ black goddess, the savagely magnificent consort of the underworld,†¦show more content†¦The unknown and uncharted topography of the African continent first beckoned Conrad’s narrator, Marlow, into its depths in his boyhood: â€Å"Now, when I was a little chap I had a passion for maps . I would look for hours at South America, or Africa, or Australia, and lose myself in all the glories of exploration† (Conrad, 5). When Marlow was grown and Africa was no longer a blank space on the map, but rather â€Å"a place of darkness,† there was still one river there that drew him especially, â€Å"a mighty big river, that you could see on the map, resembling an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest curving afar over a vast country, and its tail lost in the depths of the land† (Conrad, 5-6). This same deep place that had seduced Conrad’s ivory hunting Kurtz into the horrors of its savage embrace had, in 1890, lured Conrad himself into adventure that turned him from sailor to writer (Smith, 25) and severely effected his health for the rest of his life (Conrad,v). As the voyage up the Congo proved fateful for the development of Conrad’s narrator, Marlow, it was equally fateful for Conrad’s individuation, as he reflects in his letters â€Å"Before theShow MoreRelated Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Carl Jungs Principle of Opposites2119 Words   |  9 Pagespsychoanalysis two years before his decease, they are both highly revered for the myriad of ways in which they developed the understanding of the mind. Parallel to this period, Joseph Conrad penned and published the novella Heart of Darkness, which tackled much of what Jung had found about the psyche and its inner workings. In Heart of Darkness, both Marlow and Kurtz are representations of strong reoccurring archetypes within human myth, religion, and folklore. They work together to epitomize one of Jung’s CoresRead MoreHeart of Darkness in the Light of Psychoanalytic Theories.4599 Words   |  19 Pages Psychoanalytic criticism originated in the work of Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who pioneered the technique of psychoanalysis. Freud developed a language that described, a model that explained, and a theory that encompassed human psychology. His theories are directly and indirectly concerned with the nature of the unconscious mind. Through his multiple case studies, Freud managed to find convincing evidence that most of our actions are motivated by psychological forces over which weRead MoreEssay about Heart of Darkness: Psychoanalytic Criticism4502 Words   |  19 PagesHeart of Darkness: Psychoanalytic Criticism Psychoanalytic criticism originated in the work of Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who pioneered the technique of psychoanalysis. Freud developed a language that described, a model that explained, and a theory that encompassed human psychology. His theories are directly and indirectly concerned with the nature of the unconscious mind. Through his multiple case studies, Freud managed to find convincing evidence that most of our actions are motivated