Conrad’s Heart of Darkness fits perfectly into the genre of Gothic
Literature for several reasons, one of which being its abundance of supernatural
elements, a major theme of the club. Take Wuthering Heights, for example, in
which Catherine’s ghost roams from the very beginning. The most obvious example
of similar supernatural elements within Heart
of Darkness is Conrad’s allusion to the Fates towards the beginning of the
story. When Marlow enters the office in Belgium, he is greeted by two old women
who are knitting black wool and “guarding the door to Darkness” (Conrad 16). Conrad’s
description of these women makes it obvious that they represent the Fates who
are “knitting” the black thread of fate. Not only is this a substantial example
of supernatural elements, but Marlow also runs in to several other supernatural
situations, such as Kurtz’s ominous last words: “the horror, the horror” (Conrad).
Aside from the explicitly supernatural
elements of Heart of Darkness, there
are also many moments of pure horror woven throughout the text. Some of these
horrific moments are literal moments that occur to and around Marlow, such as
when he notices the human heads being used as decoration on Kurtz’s fence. The
constant demise of characters within the book, such as the man that Marlow
replaces as well as Maslow’s helmsman, also contributes to the literal horror
within the novel. More importantly, though, as the title suggests, many of
these horrific moments that help categorize Heart
of Darkness as a Gothic novel occur within the hearts of the men that
Marlow meets. From the evil of the greedy manager, to the lunacies of the mentally
ill Kurtz, to the obscure traditions of the natives, Marlow sees the different
types of evil within their hearts, thus contributing to Heart of Darkness as a perfect example of a piece of Gothic literature.
Works Cited
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York, Penguins: 1999. Print.
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