Fear of Defiance: Connections between Waiting for the Barbarians and Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad explores the inherent racism and corruption of colonialism through the character Marlow’s portrayal of the Belgian Congo and especially the main focus of the story, Mr. Kurtz. Waiting for the Barbarians follows a similar trend of criticism by commenting on not only the corruption of the Empire, but also the Empire’s the necessary formation of a common enemy as a source of unification. Through the use of Kurtz and Marlow in Heart of Darkness and Colonel Joll and the Magistrate in Waiting for the Barbarian, the two authors are able to make their respective criticisms and also provide a commentary on the implications of “being different” on society’s so based on conformity.

In both novels, the superior forces, the Empire in Waiting for the Barbarians and the Belgian Congo in Heart of Darkness, use racism or simple superiority to assert power and also create a unifying force. In Waiting for the Barbarians, the accepted superiority over the barbarians creates a mutual understanding among the people; even when this superiority if challenged, the thought of the inferior creatures as an enemy creates enough fear to continue the unity among the population. In Heart of Darkness, racism against the Africans gives the Europeans, the Belgian employees, the ability of exploit the land’s resources and focus on wealth without regard to the inferior natives. In both cases, the superiority complex created gives way to corruption of power. By placing themselves above a population, the guilty parties, especially the leaders Joll and Kurtz, begin to see themselves as “Gods,” capable of doing whatever they please without regard to inferior beings or the evil of their deeds. Though Kurtz’s corruption is more innocently based on insanity caused by solitude and the affects of the “darkness” or the wilderness, Joll, in my opinion, has no justification for his assertion of over-reaching power. “Three Ways of Going Wrong,” an article by Douglas Kerr, examines the options of colonists towards the native, or “other”, population. Kerr sees only two options: complete isolation from the primitive strangers or assimilation based on “degeneracy and demoralization.” Both novels explore both these options, but also the option of assimilation without the implied degradation. Such a flight from the accepted norm however results in consequences unworthy of the “crime,” if it can even be called so.

Kurtz, in Heart of Darkness, and the Magistrate, in Waiting for the Barbarians, both defy their society’s norms by assimilating with the “enemy”. Though Kurtz still maintains his sense of superiority by abusing the natives in the some sense, the Magistrate completely abandons social lines in favor of exploring the native culture and standing up for his defiant beliefs, in essence he “goes native.” As consequence of losing their social identities to their acceptance of native culture, both become social outcasts, enigmas because of their decisions to “be different.” Kerr in “Three Ways of Going Wrong” indentifies both Kurtz and the Magistrate as “torchbearer[s] of modernity and process.” Such a role implies their respective civilizations’ fears of progress and tendency to savor the past, punishing those who introduce new conventions or ideas. Both novels use their respective main characters as a form of social commentary on the failure of colonialism to accept modernity or progress because of fear of their people’s flight from the conformity that unites them and therefore serves as the base of strength and power for the ruling force. (571)