Hearts

There are many definitions of the word heart: it can be a symbol for love, an anatomical organ that pumps blood and sustains life, it also is used to mean the innermost part of something, or the most important aspect. As we read heart of darkness I have been trying to figure out which one of these hearts is the “heart of darkness”. Most obviously, I think “heart” is referring to the inside of the Congo. As the book progresses we travel deeper into Africa, and deeper into a world we don’t understand. Marlow says, “When you have to attend to things of that sort, to the mere incidents of the surface, the reality—the reality, I tell you fades. The inner truth is hidden—luckily, luckily” (41). Reality is a tricky subject to figure out in this book. If we look at the journey though Africa as a psychological journey into the depths of the mind it is apparent that subconscious contains “hidden truths”. I am not sure what Marlow means by “luckily” but it seems to be an ominous warning. I think the connection between the use of hearts as anatomical objects is interesting when compared to the other body imagery throughout the text. If the story represents the mind, why it is filled with “a mass of hands clapping, of feet stamping, of bodies swaying, of eyes rolling, under the droop of heavy motionless foliage” (42)? If hearts are the mechanics of life, what is the heart of life in the Congo? I am not quite sure yet.