The Freudian Psyche In The Heart of Darkness
In The Heart of Darkness, symbolism is used often to give deeper meaning. One piece of symbolism followed throughout the whole novella are the ideas that Sigmund Freud proposed about the human psyche. According to Freud there are three parts within the self: The ego (what others see), the super ego (who you are to yourself), and the id (who you truly are).
As Marlow begins his journey into the African Congo, all he knows is what he has been told. This acts as the ego because Marlow has a clear picture of what people have told him about the Congo, but has not found anything for himself. Marlow even says, “There’s no intonation either into such mysteries. He has to live in the midst of the incomprehensible which is also detestable. And it has a fascination, too…” (Conrad, 4) This tells us that when Marlow first receives the job in the Congo, he begins to wonder if the things people tell him are true.
Before Marlow leaves for the heart of the Congo, he reaches the main office to get a physical, and there he begins to question what is going on. When Marlow asks his doctor if he will do the same physical when he returns, the doctor says, “Oh, I never see them; and moreover, the changes take place on the inside, you know.” (Conrad, 9) This is where Marlow begins to wonder if what he is told is true, instead of simply believing what he is told. This is when Marlow enters the super ego. Marlow exists in the super ego from the time he is in the main office up until he reaches the outer station. In this stretch of the story, Marlow questions but receives no answers. When Marlow reaches the outer station, he hears of the man he must go and meet, Kurtz. Kurtz is painted as a god-like myth. This opens Marlow to think more about what truly goes on in the heart of the Congo.
When Marlow leaves the outer station, he journeys to the inner station and Kurtz. This is the most difficult part of the journey, partly because of physical challenges Marlow and his boat crew must face. The deeper into the Congo Marlow goes, the more he sees what is truly going on. When Marlow first sees Kurtz, he is disappointed and confused because he “could see the cage of his ribs astir, the bones of his arm waving. It was as though an animated image of death carved out of old ivory had been shaking its hand with menaces at a motionless crowd of men made of dark and glittering bronze.” (Conrad, 55) This is when everything becomes clear for Marlow. He has reached the id and knows what goes on in the Congo. Kurtz is not a god, but a weak, old man.
When Marlow returns to Brussels and knows the id, he sees that people around him see only the ego. They look at the surface and nothing more. Because of this, Marlow begins to have a pessimistic view and sees things more deeply than those around him.
