Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Today Samara Learned... [Day 14]

that Heart of Darkness is even more intertextual than she had previously imagined.  Whether intentional or not, Conrad includes some references that heightens his own brilliant writing.  His famous novella - seriously, he packs the punch in just 77 pages - is a frame narrative, with the life of one central character relayed by a sailor named Marlowe to a group, including an unnamed narrator who is relaying it all to the audience.  This layered narrative creates a powerful sense of uncertainty and ambiguity that is as central to this book as its plot - perhaps even more so.
Anyway, that's not what she learned, what she discovered today is the book's possible connection to another famed, framed-narrative.  The first line, the first two words of the novella, indicate the ship on which the story is being relayed is called "[t]he Nellie."  Nelly just happens to be the name of one of the main narrators in Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, and, infamously, one of the most unreliable narrators in pre-1900 English literature.  Coincidence? She likes to think in literature, there is no such thing.*


* See "Tradition and the Individual Talent" by TS Eliot.  [I think, to an extant, the literary tradition bleeds into each new generation of authors.]

1 comment:

  1. You're brilliant; this is brilliant! And this is so true!: "This layered narrative creates a powerful sense of uncertainty and ambiguity that is as central to this book as its plot."
    Also, the whole "Nellie" thing, really?! Crazy! *mind blown*
    AND speaking of Heart of Darkness, if you haven't already, you really should watch Apocalypse Now. I would love to watch it with you and see what you think. So far, I think it is one of my favorite adaptations ever (which is why I would love to see what you think). :)

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