The Feministic Perspective On Male And Female Images In Heart Of Darkness By Joseph Conrad

Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) is one of the most distinguished British novelists in the20th century. His life spaned the19th and the20th centuries and experienced the alternation of tradition and modernity. As a novelist, he attempted to explore human being’s spiritual world and inherent nature and paid great attention to the form of the novels and the innovation of the skills. Therefore, some people say "Conrad was real heir of Henry James in many ways".Heart of Darkness is the most famous of Conrad’s jungle novels. Based on Conrad’s travelling to Congo, many details in the novels have true feeling, such as steamboat navigation, the African environment in the mainland, black primitive life, etc. It is divided into two parts: the inland river trip and the death of Kurtz. From feministic perspective on the male and female images in Heart of Darkness, the thesis aims to reveal the patriarchal ideology and marginalization of women. It is divided into five parts. The first chapter is the introduction of Joseph Conrad and the novel. The second chapter is about the feminism theory. The third chapter is the analysis of Kurtz and Marlow’s patriarchal ideology. Kurtz’s patriarchal ideas include finding indigenous woman as mistress, cheating his fiancee and plundering African hinterland. Marlow’s patriarchal ideas are laughing at his aunt who helped him find job, intentionally concealing Kurtz’s fiancee and reading Kurtz’s "Suppression of Savage Customs". Then feminism is applied to analyze Kurtz and Marlow’s negative images. The analysis encloses the fact women belongs to men, women are objects and women’s world is dark. The fourth chapter studies the women images from feministic view. The women include stupid Marlow’s aunt, ignorant Kurtz’s fiancee and backward Kurtz’s indigenous mistress. The fifth chapter is the conclusion. The feministic analysis of the men and women images exposes the constraints and oppression women suffered in a patriarchal society.The thesis uses feminism criticism theory to analyze the patriarchal ideology and the marginalization of women.