Help!!!!!!!!

[Kaye]

Do you think Marlow has achieved some sort of enlightenment? Have you? What is the meaning(s) of Heart of Darkness?

[Ilthigore]

Firstly, part of the meaning of Heart of Darkness is that there is no meaning (excuse my paradox). Essentially, Conrad is arguing (like Marlow, for whom a story is not like the kernel of a nut but a haze around it, or whatever it says around page 10 ish) that life and the universe is not inherently ordered (and that the light of logic cannot ever illuminate the dark of chaos), and illustrates this point with his tantalisingly vague and inconclusive plot. Therefore, to look too deeply for meanings is to have been unable to see the forest for the trees.

In terms of enlightenment, again we have a bit of a paradox. We are enlightened to a lesser degree than the opening narrator, who is enlightened to a lesser degree than Marlow, who is enlightened to a lesser degree than Kurtz. However, this 'enlightenment' whereby knowledge and understanding and transcendence of our human nature is obtained, is in fact a coming to grips with and surrender to a force of 'darkness', so perhaps 'enlightenment' is actually the complete opposite to what it is. He is instead weighted down walking wearily bearing the burden of the knowledge that everybody in the civilised world is living a lie, a pretence, shining a torch around to look for the truth while blindfolded to prevent themselves from seeing it. However, this 'ignorance is bliss' by comparison to Marlow who became very nearly insane, and Kurtz who actually was driven to insanity by too close a contact with the 'darkness' of his nature, too much 'enlightnment' (literally becoming lighter, less heavy) reduced his intertia so much that he was so easily blown around 'like a tree blown in the wind' that he was unable to exercise any restraint, thus became his downfall.

In the end the only clear message Conrad offers the reader seems to be "Don't dig too deep into your nature, or your nature will defeat your 'humanity', and even if (or "though") your humanity is only a pretence, it's better than the truth", made very clear in the widow scene.

I hope some of my rambling is of help. :)

[Redzeppelin]

Marlow's description as "Buddha-like" in the intro paragraphs is meant to suggest his status as enlightened (or perhaps, more accurately, "initiated") master. He is the hero who has visited the "dark world" and returned a scarred and wiser man. Perhaps Ilthigore is correct in deconstructing the meaning of Marlow's experience, but I'm not so sure. Marlow comes face-to-face in his expereince with Kurtz with the terrifying reality that the human heart is capable of immense depravity - that the horror we project out onto the world in its worst moments is actually residing quietly inside each one of us. Marlow looked over the edge of the abyss; Kurtz jumped in head first. The problem is that Marlow's enlightenment was wasted: none of his listeners seemed to have responded to his uncomfortable tale of the frightening contents of the human heart.