What do you think?
Rate this book
Amy Foster
Un nativo de la cordillera oriental de los Cárpatos, Yanko Goorall, sobrevive al hundimiento de un buque al que ha sido enrolado por la fuerza y que ha naufragado en la costa de Eastbay. Desesperado, llega al valle de Colebrook buscando ayuda pero los habitantes del pueblo, gente huraña e ignorante, desconfían de un hombre desaliñado y que no habla su idioma. El hambre, la sed, el frío y el miedo hacen que Yanko casi enloquezca, pero Amy Foster aparecerá para brindarle su bondad. Enamorada, acepta casarse con él y emprenden una vida juntos pero las habladurías y el desconocimiento del origen de su marido harán mella en el débil carácter de Amy.
91 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1901
About the author
Joseph Conrad
3,561 books5,160 followersJoseph Conrad was a Polish-British novelist and story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language and, although he did not speak English fluently until his twenties, he became a master prose stylist who brought a non-English sensibility into English literature. He wrote novels and stories, many in nautical settings, that depict crises of human individuality in the midst of what he saw as an indifferent, inscrutable, and amoral world.
Conrad is considered a literary impressionist by some and an early modernist by others, though his works also contain elements of 19th-century realism. His narrative style and anti-heroic characters, as in Lord Jim, for example, have influenced numerous authors. Many dramatic films have been adapted from and inspired by his works. Numerous writers and critics have commented that his fictional works, written largely in the first two decades of the 20th century, seem to have anticipated later world events.
Writing near the peak of the British Empire, Conrad drew on the national experiences of his native Poland—during nearly all his life, parceled out among three occupying empires—and on his own experiences in the French and British merchant navies, to create short stories and novels that reflect aspects of a European-dominated world—including imperialism and colonialism—and that profoundly explore the human psyche.
Conrad is considered a literary impressionist by some and an early modernist by others, though his works also contain elements of 19th-century realism. His narrative style and anti-heroic characters, as in Lord Jim, for example, have influenced numerous authors. Many dramatic films have been adapted from and inspired by his works. Numerous writers and critics have commented that his fictional works, written largely in the first two decades of the 20th century, seem to have anticipated later world events.
Writing near the peak of the British Empire, Conrad drew on the national experiences of his native Poland—during nearly all his life, parceled out among three occupying empires—and on his own experiences in the French and British merchant navies, to create short stories and novels that reflect aspects of a European-dominated world—including imperialism and colonialism—and that profoundly explore the human psyche.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews
March 27, 2013
Amy Foster, a short story by Joseph Conrad, reveals the great range and depth of the master’s ability.
Though a short story, or novella, the language is tight and the imagery is thick with multiple meanings and the story reads slow and pregnant with interpretations. The most ready to mind is that this is strongly inspired by his own experience as a central European living in England and feeling socially and culturally isolated from those around him. While this departs from his usual stories centered on a life at sea, this story demonstrates Conrad's depth of talent and reveals what close students of his work already know, that his ability to convey a complex emotional situation is rare.
Amy Foster, a simple, gentle girl, could also be seen as a double for his own English wife Jessie, about whom there was some criticism amongst the literary and intelligentsia group. Close friends, though, remarked upon what a perfect mate she was to the cerebral and esoteric Conrad and how her unassuming manner was complementary and necessary for his frenetic curiosity.
A sad, but beautifully crafted story told by a genius at telling such tales.
Though a short story, or novella, the language is tight and the imagery is thick with multiple meanings and the story reads slow and pregnant with interpretations. The most ready to mind is that this is strongly inspired by his own experience as a central European living in England and feeling socially and culturally isolated from those around him. While this departs from his usual stories centered on a life at sea, this story demonstrates Conrad's depth of talent and reveals what close students of his work already know, that his ability to convey a complex emotional situation is rare.
Amy Foster, a simple, gentle girl, could also be seen as a double for his own English wife Jessie, about whom there was some criticism amongst the literary and intelligentsia group. Close friends, though, remarked upon what a perfect mate she was to the cerebral and esoteric Conrad and how her unassuming manner was complementary and necessary for his frenetic curiosity.
A sad, but beautifully crafted story told by a genius at telling such tales.
February 2, 2020
My thanks to my GR Friend Ilse for putting me onto this short story, via the review below:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
In some ways it’s odd that Conrad gave the title “Amy Foster” to the story. Although she is one of the characters, it’s more the tale of Yanko, an east European peasant and sole survivor of an emigrant ship that sinks in the North Sea whilst heading to America. Yanko, (the narrator describes him as “a Carpathian mountaineer”) is washed ashore near a coastal village in England. He speaks no English and has no idea where he is. The inward-looking villagers treat him with hostility and suspicion.
It’s moving tale of what it is to be cast adrift, and to be isolated and marooned amongst people who are not your own.
Conrad himself was of course an ethnic Pole from what is now Ukraine, who emigrated to Britain and anglicised his name because British people couldn’t pronounce his Polish one. Is there perhaps something of Conrad’s own life in Yanko’s tale?
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
In some ways it’s odd that Conrad gave the title “Amy Foster” to the story. Although she is one of the characters, it’s more the tale of Yanko, an east European peasant and sole survivor of an emigrant ship that sinks in the North Sea whilst heading to America. Yanko, (the narrator describes him as “a Carpathian mountaineer”) is washed ashore near a coastal village in England. He speaks no English and has no idea where he is. The inward-looking villagers treat him with hostility and suspicion.
It’s moving tale of what it is to be cast adrift, and to be isolated and marooned amongst people who are not your own.
Conrad himself was of course an ethnic Pole from what is now Ukraine, who emigrated to Britain and anglicised his name because British people couldn’t pronounce his Polish one. Is there perhaps something of Conrad’s own life in Yanko’s tale?
September 1, 2022
Joseph Conrad and I have been on a break since his
Victory
defeated me heavily. Five years had passed and I felt ready to make amends. I hoped Amy Foster (1901) would be a breakthrough. Besides, a Polish protagonist piqued my interest immediately.
What is the difference between this short story and the other five books by Joseph Conrad I have read so far? Amy Foster is much more romantic and melancholy, it brims with emotions. At first sight, it is a moving tale of a shipwreck survivor's attempts to integrate with the local community. Actually, there is much more.
I had the impression Conrad weaved into the story many autobiographical experiences, his nostalgia and longing for Poland. It was not difficult to detect quite a few similarities between Yanko Goorall and the author himself who must have often felt like a man transplanted into another planet also. Conrad emigrated to the United Kingdom in his teens and at first, did not speak English at all.
Apparently, the linguistic aspect seems to be important in Amy Foster. The communication barrier between the strange, repulsive foreigner and the villagers is often emphasized: his broken English resembled anxious baby-talk. I know from the author's son's memoir, Joseph Conrad: Times Remembered that the writer's pronunciation was a bit ridiculous too, even when he learnt English perfectly. I guess his interlocutors' reactions were not always friendly, like the villagers' in the story. A lot of his own humiliation, anger and exasperation must have been depicted in Amy Foster.
The autobiographical layer is just one of a few possible interpretations. Conrad delves into the contrast between the mentality of the West and the Slavonic countries in many aspects. Besides, Amy Foster is an account of a painful clash between a down-to-earth, primitive crowd and a sensitive, very emotional person. As you can guess, the reaction to the weird stranger was far from warm at first.
I appreciated the author's literary mastery and his remarkable writing style in this short story, its heartbreaking atmosphere, but I faced a problem. I kept repeating to myself constantly, like a mantra, that it is not fair to judge Conrad by our norms, that some things were different 121 years ago. Notwithstanding, I find his misogynism intolerable. As it irritated me in his other books also, it must be a constant element of his repertoire. I was so curious and hopeful to see a female name in the title of this short story and wished that Amy Foster would break the spell.
Well, my happiness didn't last long and it was dashed by the way Amy Foster was portrayed. The keyword in her characterization is dull :
I had the time to see her dull face, red, not with a mantling blush.
“She seems a dull creature,” I remarked listlessly.
“‘Please, sir, nobody seems to care to come,’ she muttered, dully resigned all at once.
Ah! but you should have seen stirring behind the dull, blurred glance of these eyes the spectre of the fear.
His memory seems to have vanished from her dull brain as a shadow passes away upon a white screen.
Quite a lot for 48 pages, isn't it? If you still did not grasp that Amy Foster was dull, just in case, Conrad reminds us about the inertness of her mind—an inertness that one would think made it everlastingly safe from all the surprises of imagination.
I am aware that most probably Amy symbolizes the unpredictability, irrationality and complexity of human nature but the intensity of the author's aversion was truly creepy. I am afraid, I need another break with Joseph Conrad.
Allan Douglas Davidson, The Castaway.
What is the difference between this short story and the other five books by Joseph Conrad I have read so far? Amy Foster is much more romantic and melancholy, it brims with emotions. At first sight, it is a moving tale of a shipwreck survivor's attempts to integrate with the local community. Actually, there is much more.
I had the impression Conrad weaved into the story many autobiographical experiences, his nostalgia and longing for Poland. It was not difficult to detect quite a few similarities between Yanko Goorall and the author himself who must have often felt like a man transplanted into another planet also. Conrad emigrated to the United Kingdom in his teens and at first, did not speak English at all.
Apparently, the linguistic aspect seems to be important in Amy Foster. The communication barrier between the strange, repulsive foreigner and the villagers is often emphasized: his broken English resembled anxious baby-talk. I know from the author's son's memoir, Joseph Conrad: Times Remembered that the writer's pronunciation was a bit ridiculous too, even when he learnt English perfectly. I guess his interlocutors' reactions were not always friendly, like the villagers' in the story. A lot of his own humiliation, anger and exasperation must have been depicted in Amy Foster.
The autobiographical layer is just one of a few possible interpretations. Conrad delves into the contrast between the mentality of the West and the Slavonic countries in many aspects. Besides, Amy Foster is an account of a painful clash between a down-to-earth, primitive crowd and a sensitive, very emotional person. As you can guess, the reaction to the weird stranger was far from warm at first.
I appreciated the author's literary mastery and his remarkable writing style in this short story, its heartbreaking atmosphere, but I faced a problem. I kept repeating to myself constantly, like a mantra, that it is not fair to judge Conrad by our norms, that some things were different 121 years ago. Notwithstanding, I find his misogynism intolerable. As it irritated me in his other books also, it must be a constant element of his repertoire. I was so curious and hopeful to see a female name in the title of this short story and wished that Amy Foster would break the spell.
Well, my happiness didn't last long and it was dashed by the way Amy Foster was portrayed. The keyword in her characterization is dull :
I had the time to see her dull face, red, not with a mantling blush.
“She seems a dull creature,” I remarked listlessly.
“‘Please, sir, nobody seems to care to come,’ she muttered, dully resigned all at once.
Ah! but you should have seen stirring behind the dull, blurred glance of these eyes the spectre of the fear.
His memory seems to have vanished from her dull brain as a shadow passes away upon a white screen.
Quite a lot for 48 pages, isn't it? If you still did not grasp that Amy Foster was dull, just in case, Conrad reminds us about the inertness of her mind—an inertness that one would think made it everlastingly safe from all the surprises of imagination.
I am aware that most probably Amy symbolizes the unpredictability, irrationality and complexity of human nature but the intensity of the author's aversion was truly creepy. I am afraid, I need another break with Joseph Conrad.
Allan Douglas Davidson, The Castaway.
November 15, 2016
Joseph Conrad is one of the most influential British writers of the 20th century. His writing inspired the likes of Orwell, Greene, Faulkner, Hemingway, and many more. His best known novel is Heart of Darkness. He also wrote short stories.
His short story, Amy Foster, tells the story of a Central European emigrant, Yanko Goorall, who is shipwrecked of the English coast. He eventually falls in love with and marries a local servant girl, Amy Foster, which upsets the local villagers.
His short story, Amy Foster, tells the story of a Central European emigrant, Yanko Goorall, who is shipwrecked of the English coast. He eventually falls in love with and marries a local servant girl, Amy Foster, which upsets the local villagers.
September 24, 2019
Μολονότι το ολιγοσέλιδο αυτό διήγημα περιστρέφεται κυρίως γύρω από την περιπέτεια του Γιάνκο Γκούραλ, ενός βουνίσιου από την Ανατολική οροσειρά των Καρπαθίων, που το ναυάγιο του μεταναστευτικού πλοίου στο οποίο επέβαινε με προορισμό (ποιόν άλλο;) την Αμερική τον ξέβρασε αβοήθητο και μόνο στις ακτές της Αγγλίας, αδιαφιλόνικητη πρωταγωνίστριά του παραμένει η Έιμυ Φόστερ, ο συμπονετικός χαρακτήρας της οποίας δεν θα μπορούσε ν' αφήσει ασυγκίνητο τον νεαρό ναυαγό. Βρήκε, λοιπόν, στην ελεήμονα καρδιά της Έιμυ Φόστερ το μερτικό από το χρυσάφι που δεν έμελε ποτέ να του προσφέρει η Αμερική ή, μήπως, ο χρόνος κι οι προκαταλήψεις των ανθρώπων γύρω τους θα επηρεάσουν δυσμενώς τον αγνό φιλάνθρωπο ψυχισμό της ηρωίδας;
Φρονώ ότι η μικρή της έκταση και η αφαιρετική αφηγηματική φόρμα του Κόνραντ αποδυνάμωσαν την ιστορία του, που παραμένει πάντως εξόχως λυπητερή και απολύτως ενδεκτική του τρόπου που ανέκαθεν οι άνθρωποι αντιμετώπιζαν τον άγνωστο, τον ξένο και τον πένητα.
Φρονώ ότι η μικρή της έκταση και η αφαιρετική αφηγηματική φόρμα του Κόνραντ αποδυνάμωσαν την ιστορία του, που παραμένει πάντως εξόχως λυπητερή και απολύτως ενδεκτική του τρόπου που ανέκαθεν οι άνθρωποι αντιμετώπιζαν τον άγνωστο, τον ξένο και τον πένητα.
August 21, 2023
Spesso nel commentare un libro lo si definisce "un autentico gioiellino", salvo poi imbattersi nel gioiellino vero e proprio, e allora ci si rende conto di quanto si sia stati di manica larga nelle precedenti recensioni. Questo qui un gioiello lo è per davvero. Linguaggio, scrittura, ritmo e fraseggio sono perfetti in ogni dettaglio; e suonano talmente bene anche dopo la traduzione, che riesco facilmente a immaginarmi quale debba essere il livello della qualità in lingua originale.
Un raccontino brevissimo che non parla soltanto dello straniamento dell'emigrato lontano dalla sua terra e dalla sua lingua, e non parla soltanto degli atteggiamenti della massa nei confronti del "diverso", sia esso pecora nera o mosca bianca; parla anche dell'importanza che una buona dose di immaginazione riveste - paradossalmente - per rapportarsi con la realtà e la vita tutta. Immaginazione intesa come capacità di immedesimazione e quindi, in ultima analisi, capacità di empatia e simpatia.
E ancora, il tema della lingua: è una specie di magia che rende possibile la comunicazione attraverso i suoni, e una specie di maledizione perché quando non la si capisce i suoi suoni aspri sono solo una musica sgradevole.
Il film è alquanto aderente al libro tranne che in un dettaglio, ma si tratta tuttavia di un dettaglio essenziale: mentre la Amy del libro è interpretata da una Rachel Weisz che non è solo bella ma ha occhi profondi, espressivi e maliziosi ed enigmatici, e allora per ovviare a questa modifica le è stata attribuita una caratterizzazione che la fa somigliare ad una sorta di fata-strega, a una creatura dei boschi; ebbene: nel racconto originale Amy è una ragazza comune e bruttina se non proprio brutta, con spenti occhi miopi, radi capelli castani, non è solo una semplice ma proprio un'ottusa. Con questa premessa, l'autore fa risaltare maggiormente il personaggio di Yanko: costui è il vero elfo, la vera creatura dei boschi, un essere pressoché fatato.
Il racconto è tanto breve quanto denso, ci sarebbero mille passi da citare, mille temi da sviscerare, ma vale sempre la regola per cui una recensione non può essere più lunga del testo recensito. Soddisfattissima di averlo scoperto per caso e di essermici messa subito. Di Conrad non ho mai amato particolarmente lo stra-famoso Cuore di tenebra, ma ogni qualvolta mi imbatto in uno dei suoi romanzi brevi (prima Tifone, tanti anni fa, e ora questo), allora la musica è proprio diversa.
Un raccontino brevissimo che non parla soltanto dello straniamento dell'emigrato lontano dalla sua terra e dalla sua lingua, e non parla soltanto degli atteggiamenti della massa nei confronti del "diverso", sia esso pecora nera o mosca bianca; parla anche dell'importanza che una buona dose di immaginazione riveste - paradossalmente - per rapportarsi con la realtà e la vita tutta. Immaginazione intesa come capacità di immedesimazione e quindi, in ultima analisi, capacità di empatia e simpatia.
E ancora, il tema della lingua: è una specie di magia che rende possibile la comunicazione attraverso i suoni, e una specie di maledizione perché quando non la si capisce i suoi suoni aspri sono solo una musica sgradevole.
Il film è alquanto aderente al libro tranne che in un dettaglio, ma si tratta tuttavia di un dettaglio essenziale: mentre la Amy del libro è interpretata da una Rachel Weisz che non è solo bella ma ha occhi profondi, espressivi e maliziosi ed enigmatici, e allora per ovviare a questa modifica le è stata attribuita una caratterizzazione che la fa somigliare ad una sorta di fata-strega, a una creatura dei boschi; ebbene: nel racconto originale Amy è una ragazza comune e bruttina se non proprio brutta, con spenti occhi miopi, radi capelli castani, non è solo una semplice ma proprio un'ottusa. Con questa premessa, l'autore fa risaltare maggiormente il personaggio di Yanko: costui è il vero elfo, la vera creatura dei boschi, un essere pressoché fatato.
Il racconto è tanto breve quanto denso, ci sarebbero mille passi da citare, mille temi da sviscerare, ma vale sempre la regola per cui una recensione non può essere più lunga del testo recensito. Soddisfattissima di averlo scoperto per caso e di essermici messa subito. Di Conrad non ho mai amato particolarmente lo stra-famoso Cuore di tenebra, ma ogni qualvolta mi imbatto in uno dei suoi romanzi brevi (prima Tifone, tanti anni fa, e ora questo), allora la musica è proprio diversa.
January 26, 2020
Toccante storia incentrata sul tema dell'esclusione, ambientata in un mondo chiuso su se stesso e intriso di pregiudizi, che mal tollera qualsiasi interferenza esterna. In un simile contesto si consuma la tragica storia d'amore di Yanko e Amy, spiriti candidi e semplici in un mondo di lupi, il cui tenero rapporto e la purezza che lo caratterizza non bastano a rischiarar una società spiritualmente ed emotivamente immersa nelle tenebre.
January 4, 2019
This was my first, well, anything by this author but even though this was pretty short, there was a lot packed into it. I definitely want to explore his work some more.
January 2, 2024
La terra che vedeva gli sembrava tenuta molto bene, come fossero campi attorno alla residenza di un proprietario terriero; la mole dei cavalli da tiro lo riempiva di stupore; le strade gli sembravano vialetti di un giardino e l’aspetto delle persone, specialmente di domenica, parlava di opulenza. Si chiedeva cosa rendesse loro tanto duri di cuore e i loro figli così arroganti.
Unico sopravvissuto al naufragio sulla costa inglese di una nave partita da Amburgo e diretta in America con il suo carico di emigranti, il montanaro dei Carpazi che parla una lingua sconosciuta deve fronteggiare l’ostilità e la paura di tutti gli abitanti del villaggio, tranne due: il medico/narratore ed Amy Foster.
“Amy è un essere passivo. Basta guardare quelle mani arrossate che pendono dalle braccia corte, gli occhi marroni sporgenti e pigri, per comprendere l’inerzia del suo intelletto, un’inerzia che si potrebbe pensare l’abbia messa al sicuro da tutte le sorprese dell’immaginazione. Eppure, chi di noi è al sicuro? Comunque, così come la vedi, ha avuto abbastanza immaginazione per innamorarsi.”
Prima migrante, poi naufrago e infine esule. Questo racconto sembra scritto ieri.
La nave di Amburgo, riempiendosi d’acqua all’improvviso, si capovolse mentre affondava e, alle prime luci del giorno, sull’acqua non era visibile neanche la punta di un pennone. Fu segnalata come dispersa, naturalmente, e all’inizio i guardacoste pensarono che avesse trascinato l’ancora oppure spezzato la gomena di ormeggio durante la notte e fosse stata spinta in mare aperto. Poi, quando la marea cambiò, il relitto deve essersi spostato un po’ rilasciando alcuni corpi, perché una bambina – una piccola bimba bionda con un vestitino rosso – fu rigettata a riva all’altezza della torre Martello.
Unico sopravvissuto al naufragio sulla costa inglese di una nave partita da Amburgo e diretta in America con il suo carico di emigranti, il montanaro dei Carpazi che parla una lingua sconosciuta deve fronteggiare l’ostilità e la paura di tutti gli abitanti del villaggio, tranne due: il medico/narratore ed Amy Foster.
“Amy è un essere passivo. Basta guardare quelle mani arrossate che pendono dalle braccia corte, gli occhi marroni sporgenti e pigri, per comprendere l’inerzia del suo intelletto, un’inerzia che si potrebbe pensare l’abbia messa al sicuro da tutte le sorprese dell’immaginazione. Eppure, chi di noi è al sicuro? Comunque, così come la vedi, ha avuto abbastanza immaginazione per innamorarsi.”
Prima migrante, poi naufrago e infine esule. Questo racconto sembra scritto ieri.
La nave di Amburgo, riempiendosi d’acqua all’improvviso, si capovolse mentre affondava e, alle prime luci del giorno, sull’acqua non era visibile neanche la punta di un pennone. Fu segnalata come dispersa, naturalmente, e all’inizio i guardacoste pensarono che avesse trascinato l’ancora oppure spezzato la gomena di ormeggio durante la notte e fosse stata spinta in mare aperto. Poi, quando la marea cambiò, il relitto deve essersi spostato un po’ rilasciando alcuni corpi, perché una bambina – una piccola bimba bionda con un vestitino rosso – fu rigettata a riva all’altezza della torre Martello.
May 31, 2020
Heart of Darkness at Home
Amy Foster, which was written and originally published in 1901 and later included in the collection Typhoon and Other Stories (1903), may be named after the young English woman who falls in love with and marries the castaway from Central Europe, but it is not too bold an assumption that Conrad really wrote something of himself into that story and that therefore it is the Polish castaway Yanko Goorall who can be seen as the actual protagonist of this story.
1899 was the year Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness and one cannot help thinking that Amy Foster also presents some kind of Heart of Darkness experience in that England is as strange, unsettling and mysterious a country for the tempest-tossed Yanko as the Congo proved to Marlow, and this effect is certainly increased by the fact that Yanko did not voluntarily set his foot on English soil:
Characteristically, the first sight that is familiar and soothing to Yanko when he is cast ashore in England is a flock of sheep, amongst whom he is seeking shelter:
The sheep, huddled together in the nightly rain, may well symbolize the comfort of the herd to which any individual, especially one estranged from their surroundings, is driven, but ironically, even those meekest and most Christian of animals disperse as soon as Yanko approaches them, leaving him with nothing but the familiar sound of the soothing baas. What an ill omen!
Yanko’s alienation from life as he finds it in his new environment mirrors the feeling of isolation Marlow encountered on the Congo river but when reading Amy Foster we are rather on the other side of the fence, being part of the society Yanko faces as an outsider, and it is by putting ourselves into Yanko’s shoes that we learn something new, not wholly pleasing, about ourselves, and, in fact, many of the observations Yanko made and later communicated to the narrator of the story, may, for all we know, be Conrad’s own. Here are some of them:
Was it really that Conrad, on his arrival in England, was struck by things like these? By a general lack of human warmth and interest and compassion? By tightfistedness and roughness in adults, and boldness and lack of respect in children? And by a church that was not welcoming? Conrad’s humour is at his most sarcastic [1] concerning the British way of living Christianity when he has the narrator tell about Yanko that ”[i]f it hadn't been for the steel cross at Miss Swaffer's belt he would not, he confessed, have known whether he was in a Christian country at all.” Apparently, there was little enough of Christian values in the people’s behaviour, and so the steel [!] cross was the only hint Yanko could gather at his being among fellow-believers. Even the kindness, or help, Yanko experiences is at first not really based on compassion and a feeling of fellowship in humanity. Let’s take old Mr. Swaffer, who first takes Yanko under his wing, as an example. What’s his motive for looking after Yanko? Frankly speaking, it’s probably his love for everything that is “outlandish” or exotic. We learn that Mr. Swaffer, a well-to-do, well-read man, would also travel miles in the rain ”to see a new kind of rose in somebody’s garden, or a monstrous cabbage grown by a cottager”, and now he treats himself to an outlandish specimen of human who digs in his garden, barefooted. Of course, Yanko will later find a better friend in Mr. Swaffer, but the beginning of the old man’s interest in the castaway was capricious curiosity rather than pity.
It's only Amy Foster who is capable of feeling compassion for the distraught survivor of the shipwreck, and about her, our narrator, the country doctor Kennedy, says,
But even compassion and understanding seem to be liable to influence by group pressure, by notions of propriety and familiarity, and when Amy finds Yanko singing to their little son in his mother tongue and teaching him his language, she might feel doubts as to whether she herself might not have taken too wide a step out of her comfort zone when marrying this stranger – after all, is he not going to include his son in the strangeness that is still clinging to him? – and these doubts will lead to the tragic end the story finally takes. Interestingly, Conrad experienced the same as Yanko, though with no fatal results, when one night during his honeymoon, being in a fever-induced delirium, he fell back into his native Polish and frightened his wife.
I find that I have already written quite a bit and still not really lost a word about Amy Foster’s character as such nor about the sombre imagery and language the narrator keeps using in connection with the land and the people living on it, describing it as a land from which no sound, no life seems to be emanating – but I’m afraid that this would start me off on an entirely new track, and so I might reserve these musings for further re-reads of this fascinating story by one of the greatest authors of the English language (who, in fact, started like Yanko Goorall).
[1] Those who hold that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit probably only do so for the pain they experienced when sarcasm fell on their feet because they didn’t see it coming.
Amy Foster, which was written and originally published in 1901 and later included in the collection Typhoon and Other Stories (1903), may be named after the young English woman who falls in love with and marries the castaway from Central Europe, but it is not too bold an assumption that Conrad really wrote something of himself into that story and that therefore it is the Polish castaway Yanko Goorall who can be seen as the actual protagonist of this story.
1899 was the year Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness and one cannot help thinking that Amy Foster also presents some kind of Heart of Darkness experience in that England is as strange, unsettling and mysterious a country for the tempest-tossed Yanko as the Congo proved to Marlow, and this effect is certainly increased by the fact that Yanko did not voluntarily set his foot on English soil:
”And for him, who knew nothing of the earth, England was an undiscovered country. It was some time before he learned its name; and for all I know he might have expected to find wild beasts or wild men here, when, crawling in the dark over the sea-wall, he rolled down the other side into a dyke, where it was another miracle he didn't get drowned.”
Characteristically, the first sight that is familiar and soothing to Yanko when he is cast ashore in England is a flock of sheep, amongst whom he is seeking shelter:
”He fought his way against the rain and the gale on all fours, and crawled at last among some sheep huddled close under the lee of a hedge. They ran off in all directions, bleating in the darkness, and he welcomed the first familiar sound he heard on these shores.”
The sheep, huddled together in the nightly rain, may well symbolize the comfort of the herd to which any individual, especially one estranged from their surroundings, is driven, but ironically, even those meekest and most Christian of animals disperse as soon as Yanko approaches them, leaving him with nothing but the familiar sound of the soothing baas. What an ill omen!
Yanko’s alienation from life as he finds it in his new environment mirrors the feeling of isolation Marlow encountered on the Congo river but when reading Amy Foster we are rather on the other side of the fence, being part of the society Yanko faces as an outsider, and it is by putting ourselves into Yanko’s shoes that we learn something new, not wholly pleasing, about ourselves, and, in fact, many of the observations Yanko made and later communicated to the narrator of the story, may, for all we know, be Conrad’s own. Here are some of them:
”He had approached them as a beggar, it is true, he said; but in his country, even if they gave nothing, they spoke gently to beggars. The children in his country were not taught to throw stones at those who asked for compassion.”
“The land he looked upon seemed to him kept neatly, like the grounds round a landowner's house; the size of the cart-horses struck him with astonishment; the roads resembled garden walks, and the aspect of the people, especially on Sundays, spoke of opulence. He wondered what made them so hardhearted and their children so bold.”
“He became aware of social differences, but remained for a long time surprised at the bare poverty of the churches among so much wealth. He couldn't understand either why they were kept shut up on week days. There was nothing to steal in them. Was it to keep people from praying too often?”
Was it really that Conrad, on his arrival in England, was struck by things like these? By a general lack of human warmth and interest and compassion? By tightfistedness and roughness in adults, and boldness and lack of respect in children? And by a church that was not welcoming? Conrad’s humour is at his most sarcastic [1] concerning the British way of living Christianity when he has the narrator tell about Yanko that ”[i]f it hadn't been for the steel cross at Miss Swaffer's belt he would not, he confessed, have known whether he was in a Christian country at all.” Apparently, there was little enough of Christian values in the people’s behaviour, and so the steel [!] cross was the only hint Yanko could gather at his being among fellow-believers. Even the kindness, or help, Yanko experiences is at first not really based on compassion and a feeling of fellowship in humanity. Let’s take old Mr. Swaffer, who first takes Yanko under his wing, as an example. What’s his motive for looking after Yanko? Frankly speaking, it’s probably his love for everything that is “outlandish” or exotic. We learn that Mr. Swaffer, a well-to-do, well-read man, would also travel miles in the rain ”to see a new kind of rose in somebody’s garden, or a monstrous cabbage grown by a cottager”, and now he treats himself to an outlandish specimen of human who digs in his garden, barefooted. Of course, Yanko will later find a better friend in Mr. Swaffer, but the beginning of the old man’s interest in the castaway was capricious curiosity rather than pity.
It's only Amy Foster who is capable of feeling compassion for the distraught survivor of the shipwreck, and about her, our narrator, the country doctor Kennedy, says,
” If it’s true, as some German fellow has said, that without phosphorus there is no thought, it is still more true that there is no kindness of heart without a certain amount of imagination. She had some. She had even more than is necessary to understand suffering and to be moved by pity. She fell in love under circumstances that leave no room for doubt in the matter; for you need imagination to form a notion of beauty at all, and still more to discover your ideal in an unfamiliar shape.”
But even compassion and understanding seem to be liable to influence by group pressure, by notions of propriety and familiarity, and when Amy finds Yanko singing to their little son in his mother tongue and teaching him his language, she might feel doubts as to whether she herself might not have taken too wide a step out of her comfort zone when marrying this stranger – after all, is he not going to include his son in the strangeness that is still clinging to him? – and these doubts will lead to the tragic end the story finally takes. Interestingly, Conrad experienced the same as Yanko, though with no fatal results, when one night during his honeymoon, being in a fever-induced delirium, he fell back into his native Polish and frightened his wife.
I find that I have already written quite a bit and still not really lost a word about Amy Foster’s character as such nor about the sombre imagery and language the narrator keeps using in connection with the land and the people living on it, describing it as a land from which no sound, no life seems to be emanating – but I’m afraid that this would start me off on an entirely new track, and so I might reserve these musings for further re-reads of this fascinating story by one of the greatest authors of the English language (who, in fact, started like Yanko Goorall).
[1] Those who hold that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit probably only do so for the pain they experienced when sarcasm fell on their feet because they didn’t see it coming.
November 23, 2022
If it hadn’t been for the steel cross at Miss Swaffer’s belt he would not, he confessed, have known whether he was in a Christian country at all.
A foreigner is shipwrecked off the coast of an English town and finds himself rejected by virtually all the townsfolk save one young woman. A beautiful and image rich tale in which Conrad focuses on a community’s response to an outsider. It was good to revisit this powerful short story with its multi-leveled symbolism.
A foreigner is shipwrecked off the coast of an English town and finds himself rejected by virtually all the townsfolk save one young woman. A beautiful and image rich tale in which Conrad focuses on a community’s response to an outsider. It was good to revisit this powerful short story with its multi-leveled symbolism.
January 8, 2018
I think of Joseph Conrad as a required taste. It ain't easy to love his works, they are hard to read. *cough* (Heart of Darkness) *cough*
Yet, I keep finding myself going back to read one of his works.
Yet, I keep finding myself going back to read one of his works.
May 10, 2015
:مجموعه 4 داستان کوتاه از جوزف کنراد با عنوان های
"تالاب" ، "امی فاستر" ، "پایگاه پیشرفت و "قصه"
هر 4 تا داستانهای خوبی بودند اما بشخصه از "قصه" و "امی فاستر" بیشتر لذت بردم
. در عشق و جنگ باید همه چیز آشکار باشد "
آشکار مثل روز ، زیرا هر دوی اینها آرمان هایی هستند که ممکن است به آسانی، بسیار آسان ، تحت عنوان «پیروزی» به تباهی کشیده شوند
امی فاستر و قصه های دیگر، جوزف کنراد؛ ترجمه رحمن مکوندی؛ نشر موج
"تالاب" ، "امی فاستر" ، "پایگاه پیشرفت و "قصه"
هر 4 تا داستانهای خوبی بودند اما بشخصه از "قصه" و "امی فاستر" بیشتر لذت بردم
. در عشق و جنگ باید همه چیز آشکار باشد "
آشکار مثل روز ، زیرا هر دوی اینها آرمان هایی هستند که ممکن است به آسانی، بسیار آسان ، تحت عنوان «پیروزی» به تباهی کشیده شوند
امی فاستر و قصه های دیگر، جوزف کنراد؛ ترجمه رحمن مکوندی؛ نشر موج
November 25, 2016
“Amy Foster” reads like a melancholic yarn spun by a seafaring man who on a lonesome winter’s evening felt a compulsion to share an unforgettable experience. The nameless narrator recounted a story by a country doctor who had a practice in Brenzett, a village by the sea. Joseph Conrad was a seaman and this tiny novella harked back to earlier days “when there were continents with unexplored interiors”. To me, what Conrad explored here appeared to be the inscrutable interior of the human heart, which remotely connected me back to “Heart of Darkness”.
The theme is alienation; the key character is a castaway. Yanko Goorall, an emigrant mountaineer from Central Europe, was shipwrecked on the coast of England. This is, in essence, a story of Yanko’s bewildering experience of trying to find his bearings in a foreign country. His fate was tied up with Amy Foster, the only person in an extremely hostile village who was kind to him. I was more drawn to Yanko than to Amy and wondered why the book title bore her name. Yanko was the outsider, much maligned, misunderstood, and mistreated. In another time and another place, his destiny would have been very different. He would not have seemed so strange and weird; he might have found acceptance and be integrated into a community. I read this book twice over, and the second reading made me ache even more for Yanko who was "cast out mysteriously by the sea to perish in the supreme disaster of loneliness and despair." What Conrad did remarkably well was to capture the hidden core personality traits of his characters, and the impulses that moved them.
The last word uttered by the key character in Conrad’s novels is all important. “The horror, the horror” was the last cry in “Heart of Darkness”. “Nothing” (if my memory served me) was the final word in “Victory”. In “Amy Foster”, Yanko’s last word was “Merciful”. These last words say so much about Conrad’s skill as a storyteller.
February 10, 2017
“Amy Foster” es el título de uno de los cuentos más conocidos de Joseph Conrad, escritor de origen polaco (nombre de pila: Józef Teodor Konrad), naturalizado inglés. En él, habla sobre sus propias experiencias como marino y como inmigrante, reflejando lo que significa ser un extranjero en tierra extraña. Para ello se apoya en la ficción autobiográfica y en el personaje de Yanko Goral, un forastero de Europa central que sobrevive a un naufragio y llega a costas inglesas “con una mano delante y otra detrás”. Es decir, sin recursos, sin contactos, sin conocer el idioma y sin siquiera saber en dónde se encuentra.
amyfosterLa inmigración es un fenómeno tan común que solemos olvidar su naturaleza trágica: el inmigrante sacrifica su libertad y sus derechos, poniendo en riesgo su vida y sufriendo el desamparo de sus semejantes. El hombre pobre que huye de su país (ya sea por extrema necesidad o cegado por un sueño quimérico de riqueza o libertad) tendrá que viajar en condiciones infrahumanas, tendrá que soportar el hambre y el embate del clima, y tendrá que sortear el acecho de bandidos y otros criminales, quienes buscarán aprovecharse de su indefensión para explotarle o esclavizarle. Nadie respeta sus derechos; a nadie le interesan sus orígenes, ni sus creencias. En el mejor de los casos, si logra llegar con bien a su destino, tendrá que enfrentar un medio hostil que le exigirá adaptarse de inmediato al idioma, a la cultura, a la religión y las leyes del país al que llega.
Conrad pone de manifiesto esta problemática en un breve cuento de noventa páginas, que bien podría leerse en un sólo día. La técnica que acostumbra es la de un narrador completamente ajeno a la historia, que permite que sea otro personaje quien relate los acontecimientos. Ese “segundo narrador” ofrece su versión de los hechos con la desorganización común de cualquier relato oral. Por tanto, el tiempo no es lineal, ni el orden de los acontecimientos es riguroso. En su primera mitad, el relato puede enredarse con frases largas y descripciones indirectas (lo que nos recuerda que estamos hablando de una obra escrita ya en el siglo XX, por uno de los precursores del modernismo literario). Sin embargo, al final se vuelve ligera sin ofrecer mayores complicaciones.
El titulo de “Amy Foster” ilustra el nombre de la única persona capaz de tender la mano al inmigrante Yanko, verdadero protagonista de la historia. Algunas sinopsis sugieren que este cuento narra una historia de amor (En efecto, la versión fílmica convierte este cuento en una historia de amor incomprendido). No obstante, yo lo encuentro más bien como una obra de denuncia social, capaz de hacernos reflexionar sobre la forma como algunos seres humanos nos comportamos en relación con los extranjeros. Joseph Conrad nos habla sobre la incomprensión, el recelo y la ignorancia de la gente que se deja dominar el miedo a lo desconocido. En estos tiempos en que la inmigración resurge con fuerza, leer “Amy Foster” resulta muy provechoso.
amyfosterLa inmigración es un fenómeno tan común que solemos olvidar su naturaleza trágica: el inmigrante sacrifica su libertad y sus derechos, poniendo en riesgo su vida y sufriendo el desamparo de sus semejantes. El hombre pobre que huye de su país (ya sea por extrema necesidad o cegado por un sueño quimérico de riqueza o libertad) tendrá que viajar en condiciones infrahumanas, tendrá que soportar el hambre y el embate del clima, y tendrá que sortear el acecho de bandidos y otros criminales, quienes buscarán aprovecharse de su indefensión para explotarle o esclavizarle. Nadie respeta sus derechos; a nadie le interesan sus orígenes, ni sus creencias. En el mejor de los casos, si logra llegar con bien a su destino, tendrá que enfrentar un medio hostil que le exigirá adaptarse de inmediato al idioma, a la cultura, a la religión y las leyes del país al que llega.
Conrad pone de manifiesto esta problemática en un breve cuento de noventa páginas, que bien podría leerse en un sólo día. La técnica que acostumbra es la de un narrador completamente ajeno a la historia, que permite que sea otro personaje quien relate los acontecimientos. Ese “segundo narrador” ofrece su versión de los hechos con la desorganización común de cualquier relato oral. Por tanto, el tiempo no es lineal, ni el orden de los acontecimientos es riguroso. En su primera mitad, el relato puede enredarse con frases largas y descripciones indirectas (lo que nos recuerda que estamos hablando de una obra escrita ya en el siglo XX, por uno de los precursores del modernismo literario). Sin embargo, al final se vuelve ligera sin ofrecer mayores complicaciones.
El titulo de “Amy Foster” ilustra el nombre de la única persona capaz de tender la mano al inmigrante Yanko, verdadero protagonista de la historia. Algunas sinopsis sugieren que este cuento narra una historia de amor (En efecto, la versión fílmica convierte este cuento en una historia de amor incomprendido). No obstante, yo lo encuentro más bien como una obra de denuncia social, capaz de hacernos reflexionar sobre la forma como algunos seres humanos nos comportamos en relación con los extranjeros. Joseph Conrad nos habla sobre la incomprensión, el recelo y la ignorancia de la gente que se deja dominar el miedo a lo desconocido. En estos tiempos en que la inmigración resurge con fuerza, leer “Amy Foster” resulta muy provechoso.
November 8, 2014
This was a sweet short story. It was about this man who was victim of a shipwreck to which he was the only survivor. Coming from a far-away country that doesn't speak English, he does not understand anybody (nor anyone can understand him) and therefore he is taken by a madman. Amy Foster, a sweet, kind young girl, sees that he means no harm and then she helps him by giving him some food. After that moment starts Yanko's love for her, calling her “charitable lady”.
It is said that this book is somewhat autobiographical, with its author (Joseph Conrad) being Yanko. Conrad was Polish, but he got a British nationality, nonetheless, he was always considered a Polish. He was victim of what happened to Yanko in the story and thus, he wrote Amy Foster.
Perhaps this is not necessary to tell, but I experimented that feeling of loneliness and exclusion at some time, because I'm a foreign in the country I live. Now I have adapted to it, and people know where I come from without thinking “I'm a mad woman”, besides, I feel proud of my country.
Anyway, if you're looking for a fast-read classic, this one might be for you. It goes right to the point and is a romance that didn't make me roll my eyes.
It is said that this book is somewhat autobiographical, with its author (Joseph Conrad) being Yanko. Conrad was Polish, but he got a British nationality, nonetheless, he was always considered a Polish. He was victim of what happened to Yanko in the story and thus, he wrote Amy Foster.
Perhaps this is not necessary to tell, but I experimented that feeling of loneliness and exclusion at some time, because I'm a foreign in the country I live. Now I have adapted to it, and people know where I come from without thinking “I'm a mad woman”, besides, I feel proud of my country.
Anyway, if you're looking for a fast-read classic, this one might be for you. It goes right to the point and is a romance that didn't make me roll my eyes.
May 30, 2016
Es una historia preciosa.
March 3, 2022
Zdecydowanie powinno znaleźć się w kanonie lektur, bo jest świetną podstawą do dyskusji.
November 6, 2025
Harkening back to a time when settings were described in glorious, soaring prose; and, like other Conrad stories, there is a character who tells the tale — in The Brute that character was a stranger in tweeds, and in this tale it is the navy surgeon who now had a medical practice in the village by the sea.
Amy Foster is the title character here, and so we must focus our attention on her. She is a simple, kind-hearted soul, who the doctor suggests would be "safe from all the surprises of imagination. And yet which of us is safe?"
Amy was kind towards birds, dogs, cats, even a toad in the field, and her kindness propels her to reach out to a hungry, dirty stranger, a foreigner — and thus this story moves off into the murky depths of the tale.
The backstory to this tale is fabulous, in the sense of being like a fable, or even a science-fiction tale wherein a rustic meets the glories of European civilization.
"Amy Foster" is a marvellous tale by Conrad, a mixture of sea and shore, of farmers and foreigners. In today's terms this would almost make a novella, but in Conrad's time it is simply a short story.
Amy Foster is the title character here, and so we must focus our attention on her. She is a simple, kind-hearted soul, who the doctor suggests would be "safe from all the surprises of imagination. And yet which of us is safe?"
Amy was kind towards birds, dogs, cats, even a toad in the field, and her kindness propels her to reach out to a hungry, dirty stranger, a foreigner — and thus this story moves off into the murky depths of the tale.
The backstory to this tale is fabulous, in the sense of being like a fable, or even a science-fiction tale wherein a rustic meets the glories of European civilization.
"Amy Foster" is a marvellous tale by Conrad, a mixture of sea and shore, of farmers and foreigners. In today's terms this would almost make a novella, but in Conrad's time it is simply a short story.
November 18, 2016
This is an excellent story if you a. want to get an idea of why Joseph Conrad is regarded as one of the greats in the English cannon, and b. how long standing are the human drive to migrate for better opportunities and the xenophobia people face when they arrive, in this case washed up after a ship wreck.
January 23, 2021
This long short story only has a loose connection to Conrad’s own biography. It is also untypical among his writing as the action is mostly on land and not on waters. It is solid enough in plot and characters. More than the story of Amy and Yanko it tells the dismal tale of speculators alluring impoverished shepherds and subsistence farmers of Eastern Galicia with promises of better future in America.
My family has its own experience with this practice. Providentially, though they were more successful. Two of my uncles, and one aunt, and other relatives went through this immigration process after the turn of the century and before the Great War (WWI). They arrived at Ellis Island, New York in circumstances that were more fortunate. Some stayed in NYC and others proceeded further on to Chicago where other relations were already somewhat established. The Ellis Island Museum’s ship records have record of their arrivals.
My family has its own experience with this practice. Providentially, though they were more successful. Two of my uncles, and one aunt, and other relatives went through this immigration process after the turn of the century and before the Great War (WWI). They arrived at Ellis Island, New York in circumstances that were more fortunate. Some stayed in NYC and others proceeded further on to Chicago where other relations were already somewhat established. The Ellis Island Museum’s ship records have record of their arrivals.
September 30, 2017
Relato triste y sobrecogedor en el que vemos el triste destino que le espera a Yanko, un extraño un "extranjero"que trata de sobrevivir a pesar del ambiente hostil que lo rodea.
Sí, era un naúfrago. Un pobre emigrante centro europeo con destino a america, que fue arrastrado por las olas hasta la orillas en medio de una tormenta.
Sí, era un naúfrago. Un pobre emigrante centro europeo con destino a america, que fue arrastrado por las olas hasta la orillas en medio de una tormenta.
January 5, 2026
Χάθηκα αρκετά στο πρώτο μισό του βιβλίου αλλά ύστερα η ιστορία κύλησε κατανοητά.
August 28, 2026
Relat curt però intens sobre la solitud, el dolor i la desesperació de les persones migrades que no són ben rebudes. Un context d' un altre segle, però de més actualitat que mai.
Volia agafar-lo des que a "Los amigos de mi vida" de Hisham Matar vaig llegir aquest paràgraf:
"?Recuerdas esa frase del relato de Conrad que tanto nos gusta, Amy Foster, sobre el exiliado que pierde la lengua, y con la lengua pierde el camino? Lo encontré por internet y volví a leerlo. Esta vez me rompió aún más el corazón."
Així és.
Volia agafar-lo des que a "Los amigos de mi vida" de Hisham Matar vaig llegir aquest paràgraf:
"?Recuerdas esa frase del relato de Conrad que tanto nos gusta, Amy Foster, sobre el exiliado que pierde la lengua, y con la lengua pierde el camino? Lo encontré por internet y volví a leerlo. Esta vez me rompió aún más el corazón."
Així és.
May 29, 2018
Recensione originale: https://sonnenbarke.wordpress.com/201...
Questo breve racconto, pubblicato originariamente nel 1901, può essere scaricato gratuitamente e legalmente su Project Gutenberg, mentre a quanto pare in Italia è stato tradotto con lo stesso titolo e allegato a Repubblica alcuni anni fa. Probabilmente è presente sul mercato italiano anche in qualche raccolta di racconti scritti da Conrad. Ad ogni modo vi consiglio di cercarlo e, se lo troverete, dubito che ne rimarrete delusi.
È un racconto molto breve in cui Conrad narra la storia di Yanko (scopriremo il suo nome solo ben oltre la metà del racconto), un naufrago che si è ritrovato solo, sperduto e senza conoscere la lingua sulle coste inglesi, affamato e mezzo annegato, disperatamente bisognoso di aiuto. La storia porta il nome di Amy Foster perché è lei che incontriamo all'inizio del racconto, sebbene rimanga una figura in certo senso di contorno è comunque importantissima per lo sviluppo della storia.
Il dottor Kennedy è a passeggio nel villaggio in compagnia di un amico, e saluta una giovane donna con un bambino. È lei Amy Foster. Per quanto la ragazza sembri un essere completamente privo di interesse, Kennedy sente il bisogno di raccontarne la storia al suo amico. La storia però, come dicevo, non è davvero quella di Amy ma di quello che sarà suo marito, Yanko il naufrago.
Yanko, dopo aver compiuto un vero e proprio viaggio della speranza, partito dai Carpazi e raggirato da coloro che gli hanno consentito di intraprendere questo viaggio che avrebbe dovuto condurlo in America, si ritrova sbalzato sulla costa inglese dopo il naufragio della nave su cui era imbarcato. Nel villaggio si viene ovviamente a sapere dal naufragio ma, poiché vengono ritrovati solo cadaveri e poiché Yanko compare solo in seguito, nessuno mette in connessione l'uomo con la nave naufragata e tutti lo prendono per un pericoloso barbone. Forse anche perché le persone, specie in piccoli villaggi ma non solo, sono portate a vedere "l'altro" come sbagliato, cattivo, pericoloso, piuttosto che a pensare prima di tutto ad aver pietà di una persona bisognosa.
Pertanto gli abitanti del villaggio scacciano Yanko, che non parla una parola della loro lingua e perciò sembra ancora più minaccioso. Solo Amy gli dà un pezzo di pane, e la riconoscenza di Yanko sarà per sempre. In seguito, grazie al salvataggio di una bambina, Yanko inizia a essere visto con occhi un po' meno sospettosi, ma comunque non è accettato dalla comunità, per i suoi modi così "estranei". «Alla fine la gente si abituò a vederlo. Ma non si abituò mai a lui.» Così scrive Conrad nel racconto, spiegando la situazione in maniera eccellente. Sebbene vedere una persona possa diventare un'abitudine e quindi qualcosa di naturale, questo non significa che la stessa persona venga accettata: per compiere questa accettazione e integrazione nella società ci sarebbe bisogno di un passo successivo che la gente del villaggio non pensa minimamente di fare.
Conrad, anch'egli immigrato in Inghilterra da quella che allora era la Polonia (il suo paese natale si trova oggi in Ucraina), conosceva dunque bene la diffidenza con cui è visto lo "straniero". E questa diffidenza, che si trasforma in pura cattiveria, la racconta egregiamente in questo racconto. Conrad è diventato un grandissimo scrittore in una lingua che non era la sua, il protagonista di questo racconto non avrà invece neppure un briciolo di quella fortuna. Ma è proprio questo che rende Joseph Conrad l'autore più adatto a narrare una storia di questo genere, che è poi una storia di ordinario razzismo: ordinario per i tempi, ordinario per la gente che non ci vede niente di male, straordinario e catastrofico per la persona che ne è oggetto,
In questo senso Amy Foster è un racconto feroce che mette a nudo chiaramente cosa sia il razzismo e le conseguenze che può avere. Come direbbe William Burroughs, ci fa vedere "il pasto nudo", cioè precisamente quello che abbiamo nel piatto, ovvero in questo caso come diventiamo quando diamo libero sfogo ai nostri pregiudizi e alle nostre paure nei confronti dell'"altro".
Questo di Conrad è un racconto che di questi tempi dovremmo tenere tutti sul comodino, forse dovrebbero farcelo leggere alla scuola elementare, così da farci crescere con la chiara idea delle conseguenze orribili che può avere la "paura dell'altro", o per chiamarla col suo nome, il razzismo.
Questo breve racconto, pubblicato originariamente nel 1901, può essere scaricato gratuitamente e legalmente su Project Gutenberg, mentre a quanto pare in Italia è stato tradotto con lo stesso titolo e allegato a Repubblica alcuni anni fa. Probabilmente è presente sul mercato italiano anche in qualche raccolta di racconti scritti da Conrad. Ad ogni modo vi consiglio di cercarlo e, se lo troverete, dubito che ne rimarrete delusi.
È un racconto molto breve in cui Conrad narra la storia di Yanko (scopriremo il suo nome solo ben oltre la metà del racconto), un naufrago che si è ritrovato solo, sperduto e senza conoscere la lingua sulle coste inglesi, affamato e mezzo annegato, disperatamente bisognoso di aiuto. La storia porta il nome di Amy Foster perché è lei che incontriamo all'inizio del racconto, sebbene rimanga una figura in certo senso di contorno è comunque importantissima per lo sviluppo della storia.
Il dottor Kennedy è a passeggio nel villaggio in compagnia di un amico, e saluta una giovane donna con un bambino. È lei Amy Foster. Per quanto la ragazza sembri un essere completamente privo di interesse, Kennedy sente il bisogno di raccontarne la storia al suo amico. La storia però, come dicevo, non è davvero quella di Amy ma di quello che sarà suo marito, Yanko il naufrago.
Yanko, dopo aver compiuto un vero e proprio viaggio della speranza, partito dai Carpazi e raggirato da coloro che gli hanno consentito di intraprendere questo viaggio che avrebbe dovuto condurlo in America, si ritrova sbalzato sulla costa inglese dopo il naufragio della nave su cui era imbarcato. Nel villaggio si viene ovviamente a sapere dal naufragio ma, poiché vengono ritrovati solo cadaveri e poiché Yanko compare solo in seguito, nessuno mette in connessione l'uomo con la nave naufragata e tutti lo prendono per un pericoloso barbone. Forse anche perché le persone, specie in piccoli villaggi ma non solo, sono portate a vedere "l'altro" come sbagliato, cattivo, pericoloso, piuttosto che a pensare prima di tutto ad aver pietà di una persona bisognosa.
Pertanto gli abitanti del villaggio scacciano Yanko, che non parla una parola della loro lingua e perciò sembra ancora più minaccioso. Solo Amy gli dà un pezzo di pane, e la riconoscenza di Yanko sarà per sempre. In seguito, grazie al salvataggio di una bambina, Yanko inizia a essere visto con occhi un po' meno sospettosi, ma comunque non è accettato dalla comunità, per i suoi modi così "estranei". «Alla fine la gente si abituò a vederlo. Ma non si abituò mai a lui.» Così scrive Conrad nel racconto, spiegando la situazione in maniera eccellente. Sebbene vedere una persona possa diventare un'abitudine e quindi qualcosa di naturale, questo non significa che la stessa persona venga accettata: per compiere questa accettazione e integrazione nella società ci sarebbe bisogno di un passo successivo che la gente del villaggio non pensa minimamente di fare.
Conrad, anch'egli immigrato in Inghilterra da quella che allora era la Polonia (il suo paese natale si trova oggi in Ucraina), conosceva dunque bene la diffidenza con cui è visto lo "straniero". E questa diffidenza, che si trasforma in pura cattiveria, la racconta egregiamente in questo racconto. Conrad è diventato un grandissimo scrittore in una lingua che non era la sua, il protagonista di questo racconto non avrà invece neppure un briciolo di quella fortuna. Ma è proprio questo che rende Joseph Conrad l'autore più adatto a narrare una storia di questo genere, che è poi una storia di ordinario razzismo: ordinario per i tempi, ordinario per la gente che non ci vede niente di male, straordinario e catastrofico per la persona che ne è oggetto,
In questo senso Amy Foster è un racconto feroce che mette a nudo chiaramente cosa sia il razzismo e le conseguenze che può avere. Come direbbe William Burroughs, ci fa vedere "il pasto nudo", cioè precisamente quello che abbiamo nel piatto, ovvero in questo caso come diventiamo quando diamo libero sfogo ai nostri pregiudizi e alle nostre paure nei confronti dell'"altro".
Questo di Conrad è un racconto che di questi tempi dovremmo tenere tutti sul comodino, forse dovrebbero farcelo leggere alla scuola elementare, così da farci crescere con la chiara idea delle conseguenze orribili che può avere la "paura dell'altro", o per chiamarla col suo nome, il razzismo.
October 10, 2024
Interesting choice of narrator, never really figured that one out. Upsettingly topical.
March 25, 2014
This is a short story about a man who is shipwrecked on the English coast and stumbles ashore unable to speak any English. He is poorly treated by the villagers who distrust him and it is only a simple servant girl who falls in love and marries him. But things go poorly between them even after the birth of a son. Conrad is a subtle writer and there are tragic dimensions to this sad tale.
October 23, 2016
2.5*
Strong writing, as expected, and I liked the incongruous heroine. The end didn't hold together for me, I had a hard time suspending my disbelief. One word? Just one word ended everything? But anyway. Read it, see if you feel any different.
Strong writing, as expected, and I liked the incongruous heroine. The end didn't hold together for me, I had a hard time suspending my disbelief. One word? Just one word ended everything? But anyway. Read it, see if you feel any different.
April 24, 2013
A novella about loneliness and strangeness - told by someone else.
Haven't you ever felt like a stranger yourself?
Haven't you ever felt like a stranger yourself?
April 5, 2018
Heartbreaking. I can relate to a lot of little points in the novel being an expat myself.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews