Hello and welcome lecture to the final lecture
on heart of darkness in this course from gender
and literature so in the previous two lectures
we had touched upon some of the salient preachers
without a darkness someone any fundamental
characteristic for a novel and why it is important
for the purpose of this particular course
we talked about the background out of which
this novel was released because of political
background the hidden logical background out
of which this novel was produced.
And unseen we talked about what happens inside
the novel in terms of the content of a novel
the Loret to structure the story the themes
how does important in terms of looking at
the novel from the lenses of Gender Studies
you know what we'll do in this lecture the
final lecture of our darkness is we look at
the location of the woman in the novel the
location of the female in the novel we really
talked about a little bit on the various female
figures who appear in the novel who very seldom
speak who are like who were misinformed to
etc.
We had already talked about a very gendered
nature of knowledge manipulatable knowledge
certain knowledge which is great you know
deeply masculinity which must not be given
to the woman I don't see me too awks talked
about how the women never speak in the novel
so they either are very intimidating presence
of fearful presence a fearful figure or they
are very subtle figure a very passive consumer
of male life a very passive consumer of male
manipulation as in the case of Christmas intended
to the white woman in Brussels her mother
goes by.
And life in terms of what happens in Congo
now in this lecture with the Q's we've already
touched upon through the basic ideas in the
novel some of the fundamental features of
novels we will talk about it a bit in details
in terms of the naked movie as well in terms
of looking in gender and imperialism and then
of course we book light into the novel in
terms of looking at the different figures
who appear in the novel and how they are masculinized
and feminine you know depending on their location
in power now to begin at the beginning the
relationship between gender.
And apparently is quite straightforward it
was quite complex intelligence as you know
was essentially a male Enterprise it was something
which was completely driven by the profit
principle of capitalism the profit principle
of mercantile economy were in a different
company the different merchants the branch
out of the European Shone's in order to make
more profit in elsewhere and obviously by
Oakes where the other places included but
we're not limited to in Asia and parts of
Asia and of course Africa in the case of how
the button is we see the Belgium you go to
Congo within a very naked profit principle
of making money out of the different resources
of the Congo.
The chief of which was ivory indicates of
how the darkness hits ivory which is the principle
capitalist commodity the Imperial commodities
which is shipped back into the white space
from Africa I don't say I want to come back
the whitespace once it comes back to Belgium
and the heartland of Europe it transforms
into a commodity it transforms into a domestic
commodity it transforms into some kind of
a nun banishment for the white people now
to what's important to see even at a structural
economic level we find a transportation of
a code of good African product in do the widely
open space now interestingly.
And many people have studied this and in terms
of looking at the imaginary in how the darkness
how it is the white ivory which is found out
in the black continent quote-unquote dark
black continent which is raised to the typical
racist way to look at Africa but interestingly
and ironically how this white commodity of
ivory is found in this dark wire adult black
continent in the chip back into the white
European space and interesting how this wild
objects ivory and the trunk obviously of the
disability to us that is domesticated when
it comes back into the European space.
So the wild untamable exotic other is domesticated
when it comes back into the you know heart
now materials with white space where it transforms
into a commodity in the domestic commodities
which is used as an object of embellishment
okay so even the structural superficial economic
level we find how this entire discourse of
taming is prevalent in the approach of intelligence
or taming an exotic object taming a wild object
shaming something which is outside elsewhere
and bringing it back into the heartland of
the white space in the heartland of Europe.
And making that in turn object of consumption
okay so this entire scheming of the wildness
in the taming of the wildness which is basically
in looking at it from a cultural perspective
so this exotic other is not brought back Annuli
in the European space as we object of display
and onto the consumption etc and if you remember
this kind of discourse was prevalent in our
metrology here excuse intelligence if you
remember your Shakespeare remember your template
it finds that little scene a little bit of
a digression but will help us understand the
point I’m trying to make a way up if you
remember your tempest you'd understand that
when the two of you know Naples courtiers
Tricolor.
And Stephano the look at Caliban they think
of an example an exotic object with four legs
you know obviously a monster but the primary
impulses that immediate impulse to bring him
back in England and other parts of Europe
the display of the commodity and which way
should've earned money they would make a profit
but with this visual display so again we find
that I oppose the comparison was to sort of
tame the exotic other domesticated to modify
it bring it back and continue it as a commodity
and that was obviously the dragon principles
which also influence.
And inform the proper principles of materialism.
Okay so ivory in heart of darkness becomes
very symbolic object right and if you look
at it from the lenses of Gender Studies it's
not difficult to see how that the world so
ivory becomes the metaphor for the other exotic
female right the female other because our
usual females who am in conjunction to these
episodes of imperatives were male female civilized
uncivilized black white.
And non-white where the great means and blunt
binary which informed the ideology of intelligences
so the moment that a female is not a female
the wild female in on location that if I'm
looking from the prism of imperialism I'm
locating that as outside of civilization as
outside of the rational male logic right now
the one point is to transform that into an
object of consumption right to transform that
in the commodity of consumption.
So ivory which is exotic African other which
can be easily feminized is now domesticated
and brought back for the consumption of the
European male the consumption of the European
civilized rational self okay so even the object
and this is the interesting thing if we and
if you're really dealing with gender studies
you know the entire location of gender the
entire division of gendered entire politics
agenda it's not just dependent on human beings
it's not just dependent on in a person's ourselves
easily spoonful of and translate to do an
understanding of objects.
So certain objects of masculine eyes and objects
are feminized okay in this particular case
ivory is all see the Female object an object
which is out there to be possessed out there
to be consumed by the white rational male
and obviously the entire Belgian occupation
of Congo the entire Belgian locations in Congo
that capitalization of Congo by the Belgians
was entirely driven by the profit principles
of deriving ivory out of that particular space
and shipping it back into the white continent
for the consumption of the European mail the
European rational self.
So I ivory is a very important metaphor consumption
over here and equally it's a very important
metaphor either way an agenda plays out even
in objects even in commodities even a non
living entity okay so this is the interesting
thing and I still want you to pay attention
to it as we read the novel at your leisure
up looking at ivory not just as an object
but also as some kind of box in the politics
of a drink which is now domesticated and sit
back and once it should buy it becomes the
domestic commodities which is obviously available
for endless consumption visual or otherwise
okay.
So this is a very good example of how ideology
and economy emerge imperialism how equals
an economy merge and imperialism and that's
what this particular merge had always happened
historically right so on one hand obviously
the entire episodes then tie up politics of
gauge the entire politics of consumption is
based on the ideology of uttering where as
it were by the European becomes a stealthy
rational civilized cells and anything outside
that territory becomes the non-rational uncivilized
other and that's one.
And B this entire ideology of this entire
episodes of utterance is informed directly
but the profit principle the economy we're
buying the other is not shipped back transformed
conversions or commodity and instead of the
products as the commodity and then convinced
endlessly and obviously that drawing the proper
term storage government interest okay.
So it's a nice loop it's the rate of either
what nice could ironically but it's a very
various groups it's an easily look at initial
loop whereby ideology and economy that sort
of feed each other inform each other feed
off each other in a great interesting kind
of a dynamic and that has historically been
the history of imperialism so if you look
at any history imperative we find ideology
and economy at a rate you know interesting
and sinister along the time.
And I talked about in one lecture seriously
how the history of imperialism the genealogy
of imperialism sort of proceeds through three
Emmys remember the first M is in the merchant
the most entire occupation the most enjoyed
presence the second end is a military presence
which is Alberta to protect the profit and
the third M is a missionary presence which
is Alberta's inverts and you know make the
subject of you sort of willing subjects make
the people in HSM actually in consensual subjects
who not question the authority of the white
occupation will not question the opening supremacy
supposed to permanently of the white occupation.
And imperialism so three Emmys and imperialism
are very important but in the case of heart
of darkness refined is just the first M which
is out there and obviously with some backings
in the second hand so and I mentioned this
in our previous lecture the Belgian occupation
of Congo is a very interesting example it's
very rare example where no effort was made
no attempt was made to masquerade as civilizing
mission there is no not even an effort made
part of the white imperative to make them
feel a bit better about what they're doing
with a nakedly economic exploitation right.
So it was out there for everyone to see and
it was just there for the profit principle
to make is called the principles of imperialism
it didn't even in a pretend to be anything
else and intimate pretend to be a civilizing
mission and intimate pretends to be some kind
of a missionary mission you know where by
you know we tell people that we went there
to rescue DNA Kings who are barbarians no
such a geology no territory was required in
the case of a Belgian operation of Congo so
as I mentioned this is a natively economic
enterprise.
And Marlowe obviously the narrator in heart
of darkness is an agent an imperial agent
in some in the world for a Belgian company
and equally someone who sent out that you
know and his job to get goods back and cooked
obviously an imperial Asians were gone so
I talked about Foods in the previous lecture
how he becomes Avengers in case of mass community
is a product of this European and of metropolitan
masculinity who goes who sent them to be to
be Imperial adopt the other space the terrain
cognitive.
And over there he cracks up over there he
becomes a rogue masculine self returns back
to the entitled project and becomes a problem
to the project so much soon another imperial
project has to send someone to get him back
to retrieve him okay.
So the location of gender in how to document
is very important the location of the male
the men's and the female presidents and how
the doctors is very important and equally
we're not just talking about human beings
the way we're talking about the commodity
to talking about the landscape we talk about
the natural presence we talk about the objects
so all these things are mapped and feminized
and the course of the novel to talk about
how Congo there is a Congo if you read the
descriptions that their uses.
And River Congo it obviously becomes the symbol
a metaphor for the other female you know so
you saw flowing into Congo endlessly it is
surrounded by a wilderness they don't recognize
it's completely unfamiliar to you and so exotic
other the other space the Congo becomes in
the novel is a very good example of a feminization
of the exotic other space and you know you
know we don't know you don't know the logical
coordinate you don't know the rational coordinate
you don't know the geographical coordinate.
So in entire Eurocentric understanding of
geography the entire Eurocentric understanding
of nature the entire assembly understanding
of a landscape and presence so all that collapses
as model clothes into Congo and obviously
the entire presence of Congo becomes different
amniotic presents an amniotic decrees of the
female other than itself and it become excessive
amniotic it's wild so in other words if you
look at it from the medicines of Gender Studies
it's something that a white man doesn't understand
that something that a white rational man will
failed to understand.
And an entire novel you can equal reason time
novels as a failure of understanding and all
obviously when I usually of understanding
I use what understanding as a located category
it's not a universal category so you know
when I say that Marlow's logic fails and how
the documents models read them or the entire
rationality and models fail somehow the documents
are not talking about rationality or reason
or logic as universal categories I'm looking
at these things as Eurocentric mail phalogo
centric categories and usual palago century
cream asleep remember it's a combination of
phallocentric and mobile centric it's the
male logical principles.
And when I say male logical principle what
I obviously mean is at the white European
male logical principle and this entire white
constructors construct and whiteness of constructive
white nationality disconcerted white logic
it fails collapses in outer darkness of course
spectacularly an entire novel is about this
particular collapse right so up if you're
looking at the novel from the lenses of Gender
Studies it's important that in along with
looking at the human figures who appear in
how the governors who don't speak we do speak.
And how they're embodied in the novel is equally
important for us too we want a certain intervals
of length of the gender studies to look at
these are categories acknowledged and landscape
nature this non given categories in other
words and on how these are you know and divided
and subdivided into males and female categories
of understanding okay so with this kind of
our overview let's dive into the novel let's
look at the novel let's see what happens or
novel in terms of inner and if you can take
up more interesting readings other darkness
in terms of looking at it from the lens General
studies.
Okay now open season novel is about a man
called Marlo I know who is so send as an imperil
agent a walk through a Belgian company and
intends to work for the company in Congo and
you know it goes at your job and then the
entire novel is about how they gets more definition
I'll get more confused I will get more and
more unsettled by Imperial experience and
in that sense it's quite relatable you can
connected instantly to George always shooting.
An elephant because ask you is about the unsettling
on the white European male white male goes
to this non white space. And looks at imperialism
has the dirty things and he recognizes an
intelligent really is a dirty job it's something
glorious about including romantic about it
at all okay and this entire knowledge of the
evil of imperialism generates the prism generates
dissolution generous despair and most importantly
it generates guilt they're both harder documents
and shooting elephant is about the Whiteman’s
guilt to a certain extent it's about the white
man getting too close to intelligence and
looking at intelligence from too close ways.
And once you see it as what it really is you
cannot unseen it anymore you've seen it through
well you've seen it too close to see it to
forget about it we can't remember it anymore
okay I'm Marlon’s and I have crisis in Marlon
it almost becomes a neurotic crisis and existential
crisis is about you know his inability to
forget what he had seen his inability to unseen
what he had seen and at some point in a novel
he actually tells his audience do you see.
The story right and it's important do you
see the story is not saying they listen to
the stories I listen to the story it's almost
trying to making the field that it's a visual
thing I'm trying to tell you I'm going to
show you what had happened in to me in Congo
I'm going to tell you what it happens to me
in Congo but in a way that should appear to
you as a theme so there's entire questioners
do you see the story right I don't see the
audience cannot see the story.
And that's the world crisis generations and
how the government he cannot manage to be
audience what had happened to Congo and that's
informed with masculinity crisis to a certain
extent because remember as I mentioned in
my previous lecture and I saw winding up that
lecture in this note how to document is also
allowing many other things of failure of the
classic realist tradition of narration again
so if you look at how to draw people at the
classic real Islam because the kind of narration
the mother wants to generate mother wants
to use to convey his experience.
And Congo is a classic realist simulation
with the classic realist tradition of narrating
Nazi that's classic realist tradition of narration
a very Eurocentric.
It depends it has it has a presupposition
that in retinols everything and on the narrator
has entire knowledge of before present before
now and after is only sin generationally the
narrator knows everything in terms of what's
happening in other people's minds when there
tinoids everything in terms of words what
are the intentions of each carousels.
And obviously it is admit you can never know
it you can never know what happens in other
person's mind you can never know in an entirely
what happened to you in the past we can never
know what is happening to you at the moment
and in a most important you can never know
what will happen to you in the future this
entire this entire idea of classical degeneration
is basically a fantastic construct is a construct
of fantasy.
And into a sense of take quite literally aware
right now what part of darkness does among
many things I mean as I mentioned in the previous
lecture it shows the constructed nature of
logic the chosen constructed nature of your
eccentric understanding and show their constructive
logic of imperialism and the supremacy of
the white man supremacy in a non white space
but equally from a literary level and it's
important because we at the end of the day
we're literary students.
And it's important to replicate the novel
as a literary work equally heart of darkness
is about the constructed quality of the classic
realist narration right.
It's about instead of killing you showing
what spectacularly but a classic realist tradition
of narration is a construct which will fail
if I'm using it to narrate an experience with
outside European space right so the entire
story of how the darkness is the story that
happens in Congo in outside Belgium outside
Europe outside a wide civilized space and
obviously using the white rationale instrumental
duration to talk about non-white experience
is going to completely incommensurate it's
going to completely incongruous because he
uses a tool that the narrative tool which
is informed by European treaty open logically
return rationality of the reasons but in using
that tool to talk about our non-European experience.
And non-European space and non European landscape
and that's not going to work is completed
in congregate and among many things other
documents about the incongruity an incongruity
between be the medium and the matter the form
and the content right the content is non-
European the content is outside of Europe
by the form the mother is trying to use the
manner that mothers trying to use in deployed
and how the darkness is a traffic Lila tradition
which is failing right so that's one of the
many reasons why heart of darkness is such
an ontological dense novel.
And it tasted such a lot of time to read it
despite the brevity it's a 90 page novel some
people call them develop but it takes enormous
amount of time to read it and it's precisely
because it's about the failure of narration
the exhilaration which is constantly deconstructing
itself so it's not a linear narration it's
not something which you can passively convene
because it has a beginning middle and end
is the narration it's a kind of narrative
structure which is basically about breaking
itself or the narrative structure.
So in that sense it's got a self-destructive
such deconstructed quality but obviously as
I mentioned in the previous lecture we mark
the heart of darkness or Joseph Conrad does
not celebrate the deconstruction Ethan Allen's
English reconstruction is mourning his reconstruction
because he is a very conservative writer remember
is there a conservative his position politically
was very conservative so he's lamenting the
loss of the European big structure operation
right so he wishes.
And there is almost is nostalgic and understanding
in Marlowe that if only this at work if only
this practical solution has worked and he
realizes that it's not working you realize
that it's tile operation is failing it's collapsing
and also if you look at the command gendered
perspective the jay classic realist collaboration
is very salable centric right it's very male
centric three white European male centric
side liberation and that is failing right.
So like main reason like main logic like male
rationality like males in a way of understanding
the white male understanding of nature the
white male understanding the white male manner
all narrations do explaining in how the darkness
certainly like ivory -just a touch talk about
ivory and how ivory 29th in the novel how
then appropriated by the master line profit
principle.
And consumed by the maximum profit principles
the directors in how the Dartmouth cube is
basically a hysterical narrative right so
it starts off you know it's supposed to be
a male rational control narrative but it becomes
more and more as Jericho's it becomes more
historical it becomes more and more nervous
so it's entirely a nervous neural degeneration
in heart of darkness right and in that sense
it's a very interesting study of gender this
is a very directive of heart of darkness is
engender and then regendered intervene historical
man and historical the norm was traditionally
at that point of time at least was ratified
as a female Model T.
And Adam Showalter eyes were magnificent book
honors it's just called a female model be
it want to know more about the history of
this area that the book I would recommend
by Adam show also the female model D we talk
about a series and how that was intersected
kind of a wave is medical sexism how that
was still classified as a female disease.
And men never added a nice area presumably
but outer darkness is about males Asteria
how the darkness is about the how the male
directed structure fails it's a deconstructed
self you know neurotically in attempt to tell
the story about what happened to the man outside
of Europe and obviously it's a fail again
it's a nervous neurotic attempt and so the
very inner enchilada darkness they are nervous
and stationary active and actions that can
emasculated imagine the entire idea of classical
iteration which has its marvelous overarching
logic you know where the unrest in knows exactly
what happens before now.
And after you know in the presence of other
people's characters independence of the mind
the characters mind everything is known everything
is under stood against absolute knowledge
of everyone that entire hubris that entire
arrogance our main understanding fails in
how the darkness the model is very different
kind of a narrator in how to document he's
a nervous hysterical male narrator so that
since generations and how the darkness like
ivory is a very gendered kind of an entity
yes.
So we talk about the ivory in how the darkness
to talk about Congo and how the darkness and
if you contrast Congo with James the River
Thames in London you find the very two different
kind of rivers so but innocently make the
connection at the beginning and how the darkness
that you know this juice was one enemy before
civilization where it's in reference to the
point in history where London was uncivilized
Congo could uncivilized before the entire
you know Enlightenment before the European
movement entire Europe an understanding of
civilization happened London Jim was just
another dark space right.
And this is interesting because it begins
the entire novel by talking about London as
saying you know this too was once one the
dark places and this view was one what Africa
is now so what does interesting how the darkness
is the mutability of what we call civilized
and uncivilized is the historical mutability
is a changeability and what is civilized today
then become uncivilized tomorrow and equally
what is uncivilized today can become civilized
tomorrow.
So again the point is to move away from the
absent understanding of civilization to move
away from the absolute understanding of reason
of supremacy of logic of rationality and to
have more relativistic understanding of those
categories a more relativity understanding
of civilization the weather civilization now
can become uncivilized ration tomorrow and
equally what it's not the right today can
become civilized tomorrow it's all about the
historical genealogies about a movement in
history right.
So how do documents in many ways becomes a
very interesting commentary as where the critiques
of an understanding of civilization right
and one of the many things that are novel
does industry it looks at these kind of categories
as non universal category as I mentioned where
logic reason the record structure knowledge
civilization supremacy racial supremacy the
only things which you know imperialism was
trying that to promote as really rotten categories
and honestly it did it through an institute
mediated enlightenment.
And intelligent were in a range between bedfellows
they basically informed each other as I mentioned
the ideology and economy inform each other
they fed off each other they in on influenced
each other they created a consorted each other
in the Magnificent and the price look at imperialism
as some good above civilizing mission comes
of a good mission which is not natively profit-making
profit- making right but obviously without
a government does it cracked open this nexus
it cracks open this very nefarious nexus between
ecology.
And economy and it shows you know the economy
principles and how to darkness the Congo and
other documents is a naked economist exploitation
you know is basically instructive space where
the white imperative set rules with a store
motive of making process there's no other
motive at all as I mentioned there's only
going to guide there's only been an attempt
to masquerade as missionary to masquerade
as some kind of a civilizing presence it's
just that to make thought it's just that exploit
economically today the resources.
And the commodity the ship goes back to the
European metropolis where those have be consumed
endlessly by the European consumers okay so
the river of Congo is how the doctrines of
gender you know the narration of how the doctrines
of gendered the ivory had a documentary of
gender and obviously marlawynne is ungenedered
in some ways and this is a the next point
that I'm going to make now life could Marlowe
to is an imperial agent.
And when I say what I used was in federal
agent I obviate the automatic expectations
automatic assumption is that the internal
agent must be quite masculine it because imperialism
is immaculate principle it was entirely based
on the profit principle of logic rationality
sort of making expansion dissolvable economic
expansion in authors about economic innovation
is all about concrete characterization so
all these are very valid eccentric principles
very valuable centric performance is very
eccentric categories not invading and other
space you know making profit this expansionist
principle of the economic in the profit so
these are very phallic male masculine is kind
of understanding of life of economy of civilization
etc…
Right so up when I use what Imperial Agent
that the automatic assumption would be a man
who is basically in conformity with this kind
of logic with this kind of uncommon system
of this kind of an exploitative system this
kind of a logical system and heart of darkness
of gives you to men when there are many men
in heart of darkness but then the two principal
men heart of darkness are obviously could
Can involve kids and I will say model than
Doretta now both are in federal agents and
but both are basically they both crack up
in different degrees.
Now could cracks up in a way which becomes
the trek to imperialism which becomes a trek
the system of imperialism had created a historically
right so here I know if you look description
for kids and how to document we almost know
nothing about goods we almost know nothing
about how it looks what he is you know what
it does but we do know and at the moment explicitly
clear for the entire Europe went into the
making of goods.
Now when I say the entire Europe went into
the making of goods it is very tempting to
look at goods less as a human figure and more
as a symptom more as an extension more as
an extreme extension and extreme embodiment
of intelligence right so he is less of a human
being and more of an extreme embodiment more
of a symptom which becomes a pathological
symptom because then I had to comes a disease
presences in heart of darkness a disease persons
who died in the end with by uttering the horror
the horror.
It is something which consumes itself it is
a self consuming kind of a quality about it
okay now when you look at goods as some kind
of an extreme extension and extreme embodiment
of imperialism it properly falls in place
because you know then what we are doing essentially
that is looking at goods as an extreme example
extreme extension of the masculine as principle
of imperil sum the profit principles the expansion
is principle the economy principle the agreed
principle its control agreed the principle
of lost for power of characterization etc…
So becomes an extreme extension of all these
principles right and this extreme embodiment
is so natively present and heart of darkness
that he almost becomes he almost generates
a sense of guilt a sense of shame a sense
of unease to the European terrorists they
really open imperialism center it is not uneasy
with them because now is very nakedly evident
that he is an extreme embodiment of all the
naked profit principles of this evil principles
of imperialism and now it become uneasy for
imperialism now it becomes uneasy for imperialism
in terms of you know dealing with them.
Right because he is now becoming a nakedly
rag log right so goods one reading of goods
could be with less of a human being and more
of a symptom and more o a condition a European
condition during the times of imperialism
a condition just informed by an overdrive
of agreed and overdrive a Protestant principle
and overdrive of expansion principles and
overdrive of this entire rationality principle.
So the point is if it push all these too far
if it push this entire intent of greed imperialism
rationality imperialism is you know profit
making principle too far the entire masculine
as project if you push it too far what you
get is common entrance what you get is a crack
top and entities someone who cracks up someone
who completely breaks off and then becomes
the problem right.
So he becomes the very quickly transformed
from perfection the problem and this is the
entire idea of looking at goods, so it starts
some of the perfection he is the best that
Europe in half he is the best of European
made the entire Europe and went into the making
of goods as the narrator keeps telling him
in the course of the novel so he is a example
of perfection in the novel is a perfect agent
the perfect imperial agent but what if you
push perfection too far.
What if he push perfection is extended it
becomes the problem and it is exactly what
happens to kids from very quickly he converts
from the masculine perfection to an hysterical
problem, so it becomes a hysterical problem
with certain extend that I know now the European
Parenthood Center had to send someone to get
rid of them right.
So he is turning into a monster he is turning
on the rough he is into a problem very similar
and again he can make connections with a novel
that is Frankenstein where to whom the entire
ambition the entire drive the entire lust
is to create a male created male progeny which
is absolutely perfect, so know I am just making
a digression over here but it will help you
to understand what the point I am trying to
make.
So Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley's novel
in his desire is to make a trans human progeny
you know which would be perfect which would
embody the perfection of the human species
to such an extent that you know it will do
away with a female presence to the do I will
female requirement during procreation so the
entire project is a main project at the bio
scientific male project and the idea is to
make a four phase progeny the portrait offspring
now see the course have been wrong.
And reason why it goes to arm because you
know it goes too far so you know the profession
goes too far and Mary Shelley's novel and
Richard ficus experiment is extend that you
know it very quickly converts from perfection
to a problem it becomes the monster and then
what monster obviously is a metaphor for excess
it is a metaphor for aberration it is a metaphor
for departure from the normative principles
it is a metaphor for departure from Debian's
from the norm etc…
So the monster in Viktor Frankl science experiment
is a departure from the norm so it is too
much of a perfection it is too much of an
extension too much of an extreme extension
now its own screen as an extension that becomes
a departure the same happens with goods in
Halliburton is he such an extreme embodiment
of the impale project it is an extreme embodiment
of the imperial mission of problem-making
of centralization of expansion etc…
Now it becomes a departure the extent that
Mary Shelley's monster in the very same way
as Victor Frankenstein's progeny becomes the
monster so you can make this connections very
well and obviously Mary Shelley's novel is
very strong it is a magnificent feminist critique
of an entire bio scientific salable centric
experiment again it is very fallible sense
is what a male white scientist trying to control
the world trying to create a progeny in a
trying to create a system which will not require
the female biological presence anymore the
entire lives giving process can be done in
a scientific lab which again is the rain white
male space of Reason logic scientific understanding.
And that is the whole project and inventor
Frankenstein effort and he wants to make any
human being out of a lab which is not require
our females anymore which not require the
mother figure anymore which is not require
any kind of prima intervention anymore, so
the entire idea was to do away with the female
identify idea is to extend the European in
a male understanding of rationality and scientific
logic to the point that you know it becomes
perpetuating systems of course that experimental
course that will be said be wrong he creates
what is a monster because this is a radical
departure from the norm.
And then it becomes the problem and then he
wants an angulated we want to kill it great
same way and listen the periodical draw on
is the peril that he could write on probably
as positive assignment as possible filled
in a written project and if you want to make
that into something more in written projects
and want to make the anti something more elegant
you can also consider writing a paper on this
comparison between the male desire and Viktor
Frankenstein medicine is novel and that of
the impearl desire in how the darkness.
And how both desires will be wrong both desires
get disrupted get unsettled by what the produce
so goods is the product goods is a producer
of incredible mission, so he is extension
the supreme extension of the Frankenstein
impaled principle and then it is such a some
example in extension but it becomes a rogue
presences it becomes a disease presence it
becomes a pathological presence to the extend
another agent has now been sent to get rid
of the retrieve and to bring back as possible.
Again if you watch the film based on heart
of darkness Apple calyx nom which is magnetism
directed by Frankenstein Coppola you know
it is called really a very interesting setting
so the setting is Vietnam War the US Vietnam
War you know this notorious war the US had
in Vietnam and how in the Colin how goods
in that kind of a setting is a perfect soldier
he is a prophet embodiment of the military
the US military.
Now he is so perfect now it is such an extreme
extension of that perfection that becomes
very quickly a problem it turns against the
system which had historically created it him
and now it becomes a renegade soldiers they
becomes the rebel why because he such a perfect
example of an extension of that kind of a
system okay so I do recommend that the watch
the film Apocalypse Now by Francis Ford Coppola
because you know it is a different setting
though it is not combo it is contextualized
and modern setting.
So setting is the Vietnam wrong but the principles
are the same it is white European it is all
European any more it is American but again
it is white characterization it is white imperialism
is white in patient with the sole motive of
making profit of controlling a non-white population
or making them into willing subjects and obviously
this is about greed this is about the over
drive of ambition centralization the male
desire etc…
So it is properly connectable the combo of
condition in how to document and the Vietnam
War condition in Apocalypse Now is perfectly
relatable it is evolved structures and very
clear also thematic similarities and works
the well as a film which invalidation of the
novel okay so now to come back to the main
points that really took talking about we dealing
with in this particular lecture the gendering
of objects and how the document the gendering
of entities of figures and how the darkness.
And how one figure and this is interesting
now one figure you know is neutral in terms
of the gender politics so for example could
heart of darkness and it starts off with and
being as perfectly European may in the figure
it is perfectly European follow the eccentric
self you know and constructed by Europe constructed
by European terrarium etc…
But now once field in congo he becomes a problem
in the sense that he becomes the other obviously
as I mentioned in the weather gone the other
is always female in a community in the prism
of intelligence any politician interrogate
done with audience feminized so in a very
conscience goods that also feminine it becomes
the other of intelligence, so from an insider
he transforms into another.
So you know he quickly converts from our values
of we can slide up to an exotic other and
he is exotic as well by the way in heart of
darkness so we never get to know how it looks
like it when the builders shadowy kind of
a presence in heart of darkness we never get
to know his physical details as know his details
you know we just get to know and he spectral
presence so shall we spectral presence in
the specter which harms in terrorism it is
called literally and this is in connection
in the meeting we just did or looking at groups
of the symptoms.
As a condition of pathological you know extension
so it becomes less of a human being and more
for spectral shadowy pathological presence
in heart of darkness okay so this is in interesting
condition in how the documents that we need
to look at and also module the narrator on
heart of darkness so he starts off with being
this fallible century in a male white European
males in heart of darkness but notice how
observe hard the novels he is very quickly
emasculated it is very quickly be sterilized
right.
So it becomes hysterical is the hysterical
neurotic narrator in heart of darkness cannot
quite understand does not quite know how to
go about this innovative how to produce affirmative
and a logical rational way which will make
sense which will not be available as a commodity
to it is listeners so an entire heart of darkness
you know is about the failure of converting
your story into commodity the failure of converting
your experience into commodity.
And this is interesting because in this in
the sense in this tradition in this reading
hear of darkness completed deconstruct or
goes against the contemporary of novels which
are written at a time the contemporary advantage
novels which are written at the time which
basically relied entirely on converting the
exalted story into a consumable commodity
right.
So if we read where the haggles novel written
at the time which are basically real adventure
tales about imperialism about this exotic
other and how everything is ready need to
define a neatly binarize of civilized uncivilized
black-white in a logical illogical etc and
that becomes very consumable commodity with
that kind of storytelling that kind of story
tradition that convertible
Perdition is very quickly consumable as very
quickly consumed as a commodity by the European
listeners.
And that does not happen in heart of darkness
you know it is true largely is the greatest
extend it is about the inability to convert
experience into a narration to convert it
experience into an directive so the sense
is a failure of the value eccentric project
it is a failure of the masculine’s project
right so in that sense heart of darkness is
a very interesting novel to look at how the
entire project of intended an entire Flanagan
centric understanding of intended and fails
in the structure.
And if you look at a woman in heart of darkness
we look at the female presence in heart of
darkness as a never speak the African woman
never speaks no African speaks and heart of
darkness which is one reason swipe those corners
critics to this Chinua Achebe have had great
reservations about this novel their creativeness
novelist as similar base novel because Conrad
it does not make any African speak but you
know.
Let us not take any side away up because that
is not we are doing we are not doing this
is a forthcoming reading but the situation
is important. An example that this novel was
written at a time when you know most of the
stories about Africa most of stories about
Asia most of stories about non- European spaces
were exotic stories where stories about the
exotic Orient or the exotic Africa other or
the importing dark other etc…
Now in that sense heart of darkness is a very
recent departure because it is not about eroticization
at all but it does an exotic size Africa is
basically looked at Africa as an understandable
entity he cannot understand it and this our
failure of understanding it is also to a great
extent the failure of European logic the failure
of Europe and rationality the failure of European
reason so more than anything else is not really.
So concerned about Africa and as is concerned
about Europe heart of darkness is about it
is very spectacular novel which basically
tells you that entire system rationality logic
reasoning with the constructor systems in
a very tropical local systems it is not work
once you get it out of the context okay.
So that is since very interesting novel and
obviously a Conrad does not make any African
speak obviously the entire game in heart of
darkness is a white sphere open gates right
it is a white European looking at the dark
continent looking at the dark, so-coded uncoded
black continent of heart of darkness except
for so that is all true that all that but
equally it is a gaze which also looks back
at Europe at the gaze which also looks back
at the entire construct of European.
European civilization Europe and rationality
and then reveals all these things as hollow
things as you know the entire idea dollar
intelligent idea of civilization the entire
idea of enlightenment are revealed to be hollow
categories and in that sense this is the reason
this is a very good way of understanding Christmas
dying words the horror the horror we give
so that that is something you can think about
that is something you can explore further
what does Chris means when he says the horror
and the horror of when he dies.
These are just two things which says with
entire novel the horror the horror now one
reading of this the horror and the horror
is an understanding the knowledge of nothingness
which goes right with my new could is very
much a work very much as inside out in intelligence
and inside out in a man logic and insider
and European system of reason and logic and
rationality etc…
Now once it becomes once we convert from being
inside the into an s outside of that conversion
that transition that movement is also accompanied
for the knowledge of nothingness but the knowledge
that he does not know he knows now that all
these entire and lovely ideas were intelligent
enough civilization logic rationality these
are hollow ideas right these ideas which they
constructive ideas be the ideas which is comedy
constructivist can be blown away in the phases
of other experiences.
And this realization this knowledge of nothingness
is what generates the horror the horror and
goods right so it is basically the European
means looking at as excels as a dying entities
okay now I use what male as a metaphor for
where the European male which is basically
a construct of reason rationality logic etc…
And that basically begins to be construct
and it is literally the dying words so you
know what I mean want I mean what is say the
dying words it is a dying words of European
fallible centric systems which are historically
informed imperialism so again we are looking
at goods not as an object not of the human
being but as a system as a symptom at the
condition right a condition which recognizes
it is own defect a condition which looked
back at its own system and recognizes and
reveals it to be a faulty system to be an
evil system to be a hollow system right.
So literally is a dying world the dying words
of a USM trick logical system the horror the
horror the so one and this is a very interesting
way to look at goods I would encourage you
to explore it further and look at goods as
examples as an embodiment of this parliament
as an embodiment of the knowledge of Holliman
as an embodiment of a condition which recognizes
civilization their open civilizations as Parliament
okay.
So in that sense is false imperfectly false
in place perfectly in terms of looking at
goods as a symptom as a pathological presence
as a condition right a condition which looks
back and comment on entire European dispose
of civilizations intelligence enlightenment
apologist courses as confronted categories
of knowledge right and that is why he command
that is why he says the horror of the horror
when he dies and these literal deign words
of an insider who now knows too much or now
knows to end the bees construct are in the
end con strictest okay.
So that is since again there view of emasculation
the degree of breaking away from the mail
mode breaking away from the eccentric mode
because that that kind of mold that system
is unrevealed to the afforded system is on
revealed to be evil systems not as faulty
and evil system is a deceptive system however
as we mentioned in the previous lecture when
Malu comes back because in our he to as a
glint of the hollowness is to have a glimpse
of the aura so he knows to him like goods
he know to that in a diets system of imperil
sum the entire system of the profit-making
in principle this expansion of principle of
economy etc….
Is a very evil system he know that- but when
it comes back increasingly to the European
space he cannot talk about it freely so he
can try we can make an attempt he can make
an effort to tell this seriously males in
the locators and again notice the very homo
social is very up male centric understand
mingle centric attempt to impart a story.
So what happened to Cohen Congo to Marlowe
can only be told to men that is the assumption
right so it can only be told to male interlocutors
to males listeners because another something
only the men would understand and that is
the assumption that the pre supposition the
Marlowe has so he floats in Andrew Borden
and pains in London and talked about experiences
in Congo the group of men who become care
less the both dead.
Molsteky I am go to sleep in the course of
history only the main retag the narrator who
is telling the story of model story Cisco
Chinese box structure as I mentioned and again
that is great close related to Frankenstein
because that too at the Chinese box structure
I did not know the Robert Walton total story
of Victor Frankenstein and then the story
of the monster exactly etc…
So you know all that you know is quite structurally
similar in heart of darkness as well but the
pointers the knowledge the model has nothing
at this talked about in the previous classics
well the knowledge of model has knowledge
and nothingness a model as from that is knowledge
which presumably can only be transferred can
only be conveyed to men who can consume it
and of course the men do not understand it
the European men who have not been to Congo
they do not understand at a seminary up who
makes an effort to understand community procedures
taka to presumably in that politic separation.
But the interesting thing is the Move goes
to the woman could this intended in Brussels
in Belgium there he has to die involved we
about co dies in worst because she is anarchism
directly categorically so what was diverged
she wants to know and the deign worth of her
panacea and Marlow has to lie to her Margaret
Ellis that enough he died with your name on
his lips, so he did not tell of die word for
the horrid.
So he would be diverting your name on lips
again by your name you know when I talk about
when I say when I look at the entire presence
of princesses gendered the she becomes again
a metaphor of this misinformed female of this
manipulated females in how the darkness someone
is manipulated by the men someone whose lies
to someone whose listen from someone who is
comforted in a race you know deceptively by
the man who wants her not you know.
So get a level of knowledge mister logically
speaking so we have example of epistemological
deception and a knowledge base perception
right so she does not get the knowledge what
happened to the men in Congo what happened
to her intended in the Congo would happen
to a fiancé in the Congo so she gets a very
romantic report and again the romantic report
that she gets in the end is a deceptive record
as we all know because we read a novel we
know what kids had gone through.
We know what he had wanted to say he we know
the what he meant by the horror the horror
we can speculate on it he definitely did not
mention how in the design world now having
said that there is an ironic truth in the
statement that mother is giving to courses
attended right so when Marlo tell courses
attended the heat eye with your name on his
lips so if you look at your name as a metaphor
by your name you know if you look at it as
the female the female presence the white female
in Europe right.
If you look at if you look at this reading
that way where could the dyeing with the names
of the European female the European white
female and his lips as a sign that becomes
ironically true because you European female
as you just realized as an example as ac metaphor
of a presence which is defeat right but it
is manipulated with a strict but she is tricked
into believing into something and again in
accent she becomes a hollow presence we are
seeing someone's large to in certain see someone's
received in certainly see someone put tricks
incessantly.
So in a way she becomes a metaphor of the
session or someone would repeat a metaphor
of a falls like a metaphor false life a metaphor
Parliament, so in a very ironic country inversion
this becomes almost ironically and paradoxically
true perversely troops some talk about paradoxically
as the perverse example is perversely true
that could did mention and when this exactly
what he meant he might be hollow ness of European
logic human the hollowness of European knowledge
he meant be hollowness of European reason
couthnessen genders becomes an embodiment
of the hardness because she is as helpless
passive female who is relied to by the European
male agent.
So you can see the binary over here the main
and the female the men have the knowledge
the woman do not have the knowledge Roman
are not given the knowledge the women are
denied the knowledge the woman had lied to
the woman I manipulated by the Imperial Agent
they become a passive consumers of the ground
in a reticule imperialism right the granularity
imperialism which is romantic which is Noble
which is civilizing I know which is out there
to do great things for the world etc…
So they become the helpless passive consumers
into this kind of a discourse and entire thing
becomes quite tragic when cycling becomes
quite sickly tragic because the men have to
come back and lie and that is obviously really
pathological and the woman are just receiving
it is falls romantic report and an entire
system and have become what could say the
hotter the hollowness of European intelligence.
So thus to complete so you know related imperatives
for different and points on an ideological
stand point from the political standpoint
and the colonial standpoint from an imperialist
and point and always be connected if you look
at it from a gendered standpoint right because
it impaired is very gendered enterprise it
relies entirely almost entirely on its masculinity
motive of profit-making expansion sterilization
etc…
Right so that is motive is on revealed to
be a sinister evil hollow motive because that
is what it exactly is you know it does not
have anything logical you know backing it
do not have any righteousness on each side
it do not have any kinds of nobility it does
not have any kind of goodness enhance it just
an evil enterprise the entire idea of the
European goodness nobility rationality logic
civilized civilization etc…
So only resources always construct a reveals
to be hollow construct entirely they are ontologically
Hollow they are philosophically hollow they
are completely Hollow categories of knowledge
and this knowledge of elements this knowledge
of nothingness is what could amend well instead
the horror the horror okay.
So the horror the horror this is very gender
is kind of a thing it is about this entire
deconstruction of the European masculinity
understanding of life right and obviously
this is something related for female as well
because they are like they are the listen
form and you know the presence of groups is
intended as a very passive consumer of falsehood
is very passive consumer of lies that comes
preterits so she becomes an example of the
European side of who is obliged to by the
Imperial agents who come back and lie to them
about what happened in the colonies about
what happened in imperial you know.
And then take a romantic report which help
them perpetrate the belief that an intelligent
is a grand civilizing mission but of course
we know better of course mother knows better
of course could new better an entire knowledge
that it is not a grand enterprise an entire
knowledge there is not a noble enterprise
this constitutes the horror in other government
right.
And it is a very gendered kind of understanding
it is a very gendered understand difficult
also example of ungenerous as I mentioned
is entire constructive knowledge nobility
are all on gender it all breaks down together
in heart of darkness and that scenes very
novel very dark novel is a very grim novels
about the collapse of integrity as a grand
narrative right hope we got some understanding
of heart of darkness how encourage you to
read the novel in more details and use I a
theory since an understanding that we discussed
from the menses or gender studies.
So hope you produce a good you know energy
write something on it hopefully a paper focus
on assignment the more importantly hopefully
this will give you an understanding of an
imperial novel looking at from a gender perspective
and can really generate a rich readings all
of it if you look at it that way okay thank
you for listening thank you for attending
this particular class I will just concludes
our reading of heart of darkness by Joseph
Conrad's we now move on to the next text in
this particular course which the short story
called the fly by Katherine Mansfield so I
will see you in the next lecture thank you
attention.
