Marlowe's Function As A Narrator In 'Heart Of Darkness'

6 Pages 1511 Words

Focuses on Marlowe's function in the novel and his relationship to the author.
Marlowe is the main and the most important character of Joseph Conrad’s novel “Heart of Darkness”. Marlowe’s importance increases with the fact that he is the narrator of the story of the journey in to the heart of darkness. Marlowe is the person who navigates the ship of plot from the beginning, slowly and gradually and steers it to its final culminating point. Joseph Conrad also wrote a novel about Marlowe called “Youth”, a narrative before beginning “Heart of Darkness” in 1898. He wrote most of his other major works- including “Lord Jim” which also features Marlowe. So, Marlowe is an important character which is the integral part of some of Conrad’s novels, as Willson Follett says: “Half the discussion of Mr. Conrad’s way of getting his stories told in talk is necessarily the discussion of Marlowe, known to us in “Youth”, though unnamed in “Folk”, “Lord Jim” and “Chance”. Another critic Guerard says about Marlowe’s role in “Heart of Darkness”: “Substantially and in its central emphasis “Heart of Darkness” concerns Marlowe………..and his journey towards and through certain facets or potentialities of self.”
Marlowe is much like Conrad. For him too the journey begins in a sinister office in Brussels, that “white sepulcher” of a city. He too, like Marlowe walked two miles through the jungle to Kinshasa before reaching his ship. And he too went up the river to an inner station toiling” along slowly on the edge of black and incomprehensible frenzy.” Conrad also says himself in this regard: “Youth” is a feat of memory….a record of experience……….”Heart of Darkness” is experience too; but it is experience pushed a little (only a little) beyond the actual facts of the case.”

Marlowe’s function as a narrator is many faceted. In a sense he is a kind of helper to Conrad. Marlow...