by Saint Fang

Created on: October 06, 2009

"Did I mention a girl? Oh, she is out of it-completely. They-the women I mean-are out of it-should be out of it" (Conrad 88). This quote is just one example of how women are thought of in Heart of Darkness. They are viewed as a weaker, gentler kind that live in a "beautiful world of their own" (Conrad 88). It is the idea of Marlow that it is the job of man to make sure women stay in this "beautiful world." Marlow encounters very few women in Heart of Darkness but the few he does encounter usually either have an interesting story behind them or Marlow has some interesting thoughts on them. However, most of all, women are always shown as being something very different from men. As if they really belong in another world. Women such as the aunt of Marlow, the three women in the office, and the African mistress of Kurtz are examples of how women in Heart of Darkness are viewed as different, weaker, gentler, and sometimes, as a different breed of human.

"I, Charlie Marlow, set the women to work - to get a job. Heavens" (Conrad 11)! In this quote, Marlow is speaking of an aunt he had who was more than eager to help him get a job on a boat in Africa. A reader can see from the quote that Marlow cannot believe he has asked a woman to do work for him. Marlow is someone who believes that women do not belong doing any kind of work. They are gentle people, and should not be drawn into the more violent world of man. In the end, of course, the aunt succeeded in getting him the job. He went to thank her, and "found her triumphant" (Conrad 18). She was all worked up, excited about "weaning those ignorant millions from their horrid ways," meaning to civilize the natives of Africa (Conrad 19).

Though some people may believe that the aunt is speaking quite intelligently, Marlow finds her talk to be a bit foolish. He says, "It's queer how out of touch with truth women are. They live in a world of their own, and there had never been anything like it, and never can be. Some confounded fact we men have been living contentedly with ever since the day of creation would start up and knock the whole thing over" (Conrad 19). Of course, most people now may not find the aunt to be "out of touch with the truth", since she is speaking of a well-known issue of the time, but Marlow automatically believes that, because she is a women, she has no sense of reality.

"Two women, one fat and the other slim, sat on straw-bottomed chairs, knitting black wool" (Conrad 14). Here, Marlow describes the two

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