Alli’s Reviews > Heart of Darkness > Status Update

a haunting development in the coloniser narrative with kurtz being conquered by the wilderness instead of vice versa. he's been sealed to the dark side of the river in a way that charlie can't even begin to get his head around. a reminder from nature to 'be careful what you wish for' when it comes to absolute power.

'he sported a pair of brass earrings, wore a blue cloth wrapper from the waist to the ankles, and thought all the world of himself. he was the most unstable kind of fool i had ever seen'. lol victorian style dry humour is so great 😭

current theme is cannibalism and developing insight and self awareness. there is a contrast between the so-called savages showing immeasurable restraint when faced with hunger, as opposed to the supposedly superior europeans displaying brutality and lack of regard for human life in the face of hunger. charlie begins to realise that imperialism and civilisation are actually quite hollow.

'...each section headed by a donkey carrying a white man in new clothes and tan shoes, bowing from that elevation right and left to the impressed pilgrims'.

and they say women are dramatic 🙄

'but triumphant health in the general rout of constitutions is a kind of power in itself'

ironically suggests that 'power'comes from bodily resilience. still applies today where individuals will endure high levels of stress and burnout or even an unhealthy work culture, tolerating harm in exchange for promotion, or treating endurance as a marker of worth.

'it's queer how out of touch women are with truth. they live in a world of their own, and there had never been anything like it, and never can be'.

while i find the second sentence relatable, charlie marlow is weaponising the inner world of women, which can be a refuge, to protect male authority and imperial power.

"the slim one walked toward me, still knitting with downcast eyes - and only just as i began to think of getting out of her way, as you would for a somnambulist, stood still, and looked up. her dress was as plain as an umbrella cover, and she turned round without a word" - your average daily encounter with me walking through the city