A psychoanalytic expedition into the dark core of the ... - JPCS
A psychoanalytic expedition into the dark core of the ... - JPCS A psychoanalytic expedition into the dark core of the ... - JPCS
Journal of Postcolonial Cultures and Societies ISSN No. 1948-1845 (Print); 1948-1853 (Electronic) Navigating through this unknown and ancient planet, Marlow would “pick out a tree a little way ahead to measure [their] progress towards Kurtz”, as if he represented the very core of this unfamiliar world, and the ultimate goal of their own expedition. Much like the Freudian super-ego, Kurtz “presented himself as a voice”, a voice inside Marlow's own head. And as Marlow reaches unfamiliar psychological territory in obsessing about Kurtz as the object of desire, and at the same time, his own ego-ideal, he also starts to delve into self-doubt on how his whole journey could be based on “the sole purpose of talking with Mr. Kurtz” this inner strife drives him to a symbolic emotionally pronounced gesture where he flings his shoes off the boat on which he's sailing to find Kurtz. As the dark and wild jungles of his own unconscious mind begin to take a deeper hold on his thoughts, his self-imagined idea of Kurtz also begins to take on a haunting appearance, encountered in visions where “the wilderness ... had taken him, loved him, embraced him, got into his veins, consumed his flesh, and sealed his soul to its own by the inconceivable ceremonies of some devilish initiation.” Soon Kurtz begins to take on an aspect within the thoughts of our ego-protagonist such that he has to “to account to [him]self for … the shade of Mr. Kurtz” that he had become preoccupied with. It is only at that point in the journey when Marlow encounters the Russian underling of Mr. Kurtz that he begins to realize the real extent of the disturbing state of his own ideal. After hearing about the tribal impulses that had taken hold of Kurtz, Marlow is driven to declare that Kurtz must have gone mad. Even before his actual encounter with Kurtz, Marlow had become aware of the fact that Kurtz had lost all restraint and no longer had any restraint over his primal instincts or the “material” drives that had A psychoanalytic expedition into the dark core of the enlightened mind,’ Asif Ali Akhtar JPCS Vol 3, No 1, 2012 43
Journal of Postcolonial Cultures and Societies ISSN No. 1948-1845 (Print); 1948-1853 (Electronic) taken over his sensibilities. The figure of Kurtz seems to have lost the lofty space it once occupied in Marlow's imagination, and was quickly becoming dissolved in the primordial unconsciousness that reigned supreme in the jungles of the 'dark continent'. Marlow considers that “the whisper [of the wilderness] had proved irresistibly fascinating. It echoed loudly within [Kurtz] because he was hollow at the core. . . .” Not only had Kurtz suddenly become hopelessly ungrounded, but had apparently also imploded. No longer could Kurtz be represented by the well-defined psychological construct of the super-ego, he had devolved into something darker, a more primordial self. So how does the ego-protagonist eventually encounter the sickly and grotesque figure of Kurtz? First he visually captures the sick Kurtz, literally disrobed, as his “covering had fallen off, and his body emerged from it pitiful and appalling as from a winding-sheet”. Then he finally comes to hear the voice of his despair, as he mocks the very idea of saving him, clearly in the grips of a delusional state. Marlow had undoubtedly already cast his lot with Kurtz's, and soon saw himself sidelined by his crew, and at this point he admits: “I had turned to the wilderness really, not to Mr. Kurtz, who, I was ready to admit, was as good as buried. And for a moment it seemed to me as if I also were buried in a vast grave full of unspeakable secrets”. When Marlow finally physically catches up with Kurtz, deep in the thickness of the jungle, he finds him completely devolved to a near-bestial state, crawling on all-fours. And when he rises he encounters him as an “unsteady, long, pale, indistinct, like a vapor exhaled by the earth”. The figure who had taken hold of Marlow's own mind as the resounding super-ego had clearly dissolved into the primal desires, caught in the grip of instinctual impulses, “the heavy, mute spell of the wilderness -- that seemed to A psychoanalytic expedition into the dark core of the enlightened mind,’ Asif Ali Akhtar JPCS Vol 3, No 1, 2012 44
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Journal <strong>of</strong> Postcolonial Cultures and Societies<br />
ISSN No. 1948-1845 (Print); 1948-1853 (Electronic)<br />
Navigating through this unknown and ancient planet, Marlow would “pick out a tree a little way ahead<br />
to measure [<strong>the</strong>ir] progress towards Kurtz”, as if he represented <strong>the</strong> very <strong>core</strong> <strong>of</strong> this unfamiliar world,<br />
and <strong>the</strong> ultimate goal <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir own <strong>expedition</strong>.<br />
Much like <strong>the</strong> Freudian super-ego, Kurtz “presented himself as a voice”, a voice inside Marlow's own<br />
head. And as Marlow reaches unfamiliar psychological territory in obsessing about Kurtz as <strong>the</strong> object<br />
<strong>of</strong> desire, and at <strong>the</strong> same time, his own ego-ideal, he also starts to delve <strong>into</strong> self-doubt on how his<br />
whole journey could be based on “<strong>the</strong> sole purpose <strong>of</strong> talking with Mr. Kurtz” this inner strife drives<br />
him to a symbolic emotionally pronounced gesture where he flings his shoes <strong>of</strong>f <strong>the</strong> boat on which he's<br />
sailing to find Kurtz. As <strong>the</strong> <strong>dark</strong> and wild jungles <strong>of</strong> his own unconscious mind begin to take a deeper<br />
hold on his thoughts, his self-imagined idea <strong>of</strong> Kurtz also begins to take on a haunting appearance,<br />
encountered in visions where “<strong>the</strong> wilderness ... had taken him, loved him, embraced him, got <strong>into</strong> his<br />
veins, consumed his flesh, and sealed his soul to its own by <strong>the</strong> inconceivable ceremonies <strong>of</strong> some<br />
devilish initiation.” Soon Kurtz begins to take on an aspect within <strong>the</strong> thoughts <strong>of</strong> our ego-protagonist<br />
such that he has to “to account to [him]self for … <strong>the</strong> shade <strong>of</strong> Mr. Kurtz” that he had become<br />
preoccupied with.<br />
It is only at that point in <strong>the</strong> journey when Marlow encounters <strong>the</strong> Russian underling <strong>of</strong> Mr. Kurtz that<br />
he begins to realize <strong>the</strong> real extent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> disturbing state <strong>of</strong> his own ideal. After hearing about <strong>the</strong> tribal<br />
impulses that had taken hold <strong>of</strong> Kurtz, Marlow is driven to declare that Kurtz must have gone mad.<br />
Even before his actual encounter with Kurtz, Marlow had become aware <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> fact that Kurtz had lost<br />
all restraint and no longer had any restraint over his primal instincts or <strong>the</strong> “material” drives that had<br />
A <strong>psychoanalytic</strong> <strong>expedition</strong> <strong>into</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>dark</strong> <strong>core</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> enlightened mind,’ Asif Ali Akhtar<br />
<strong>JPCS</strong> Vol 3, No 1, 2012<br />
43
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