Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1996. Vol. 1. Eger Journal of English Studies.(Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 24)
Tibor Tóth: Conrad's 'Secret Garden'
nowhere. Gone, disappeared; swept off without leaving a whisper or a shadow behind." 5 The failure of even the empirical perception of the dark, alien and unknown continent is clearly stated by these lines. Marlow in consequence does not comment on the outer realities but his description rises to a dramatic tone. Avoiding the interference of his inner state, he controls his compassion so that there is no trace of sentimentality, although the plight of the black labourers is clearly formulated: Near the same tree two more bundles of acute angles sat with their legs drawn up. One, with his chin propped on his knees, stared at nothing, in an intolerable and appalling manner: his brother phantom rested its forehead, as if overcome with a great weariness; and all about others were scattered in every pose of controlled collapse, as in some picture of a massacre or pestilence ... 2 Ó The narrative restraint intensifies the horror of the scene where people are dying slowly, the cause being the pernicious effect of the 'civilising' process. Marlow's language is symptomatic of his predicament: his adjectives are not meant to define, his noun-objects are mainly abstract. His destination comes to be dissolved into the heart of darkness as his journey becomes a spiritual attempt, rather than an objective search for the station where Kurtz is dying. The discourse seems to submerge the initial terms of Marlow's quest and becomes expression of an anti-message. The difference between moral fictional attempt (Marlow's attempt to discover the truth about Kurtz) and amoral reality contribute to the central theme of the story. The structure of Heart of Darkness is provided by Marlow's journey to and from the heart of Africa. Since the unifying centre of this linear structure is Marlow, his related experience seems to be of utmost relevance when trying to comprehend the truth about imperialism. Marlow describes the Eldorado Exploring Expedition indignantly, and he is also critical of the key imperial agencies, the public 2 5 Heart of Darkness , 41 2 6 Heart of Darkness, 27 166
