Shadow Selves In Mod Fiction Essay Research

Shadow Selves In Mod Fiction Essay, Research Paper

A common theme in both Mrs. Dalloway and Heart of Darkness is the shadowing of characters. In Heart of Darkness, Kurtz acts as Marlow s shadow self, and as a catalyst, that brings Marlow to a realization about himself. In Mrs. Dalloway, Septimus acts as Clarissa’s shadow self, and as well, the catalyst that brings her to an understanding of herself. In both novels, the shadow characters are viewed by their society as being insane, and in some ways dangerous, either to themselves or to others. Both shadow characters die in the end leaving the main characters changed and with a new outlook on life and death. A contrast between how the authors use this theme is that in Heart of Darkness the two characters are involved in a very intimate and intense relationship, but in Mrs. Dalloway the two characters never meet, and the parallels are mainly for the reader to connect, even though Septimus has a significant impact on Clarissa in the end.

In Heart of Darkness, Marlow is on a journey to the unknown in two ways. He is on his way to Africa, uncivilized land unknown to many civilized Europeans, as well as a journey into the unknown parts of himself. This is where Kurtz comes in as the necessary shadow of Marlow. Kurtz represents the uncivilized, and parts of Marlow that are hidden, or that Marlow is fearful of exploring. Kurtz, having given in to his animal instincts, disgusts Marlow. Mr. Kurtz lacked restraint in the gratification of his various lusts. (Darkness 97). Marlow feels that the inability to control or restrain that part of human nature is appalling. Marlow knows Kurtz is an overwhelmingly powerful man, but Marlow also believes that any power Kurtz has is only due to the darkness that he allowed to take over and control his soul. But his soul was mad. Being alone in the wilderness, it had looked within itself, and, by heavens! I tell you, it had gone mad. I had for my own sins, I suppose to go through the ordeal of looking into it myself. (Darkness 113). Marlow fears this part of himself, the part that could easily be conquered by darkness and insatiable appetites, and therefore must confront this part of himself in order to move forward and complete his personal journey.

In Mrs. Dalloway, Clarissa is suffering from her own issues with choices she made in the past, from her shallow party throwing image, and the issues she has in relation to herself as a woman, and a wife. She is constantly examining her internal worlds and trying desperately to control her thoughts. Septimus does not even see the difference between reality and imagination, and in that way is in a constant struggle with the people around him who are attempting to bring him some sort of clarity. He works as Clarissa s shadow self in that he believes that a lack of feeling is a crime. He had gone through the whole show, friendship, European war, death, had won promotion, was still under thirty and was bound to survive. He was right there. The last shells missed him. He watched them explode with indifference and to Lucrezia, the younger daughter he became engaged one evening when the panic was on him that he could not feel. (Dalloway 93). Clarissa is constantly attempting to control and hide her feelings, while Septimus is very expressive. Internally, Clarissa is very expressive and analytical, yet she hides this and represses it in an attempt to remain sane. She instead busies herself with throwing parties in an attempt to bring people together. She wants people to come together because of her, and because she has an intense desire to connect with people and to really feel something, though she is fearful of emotions. She felt quite continuously a sense of their existence; and she felt what a waste; and she felt what a pity; and she felt if only they could be brought together; so she did it. And it was an offering; to combine, to create; but to whom. (Dalloway 132). The parallels between Septimus’s suicide and Clarissa’s choice to marry Richard are also apparent. Septimus actually commits suicide in order to keep others from taking away and destroying his soul, and Clarissa committed a metaphorical suicide when she decided to marry Richard instead of Peter. Septimus s choice is one of freedom, whereas Clarissa s choice leads her to a shallow life of unhappiness and repression.

Marlow comes very close to submitting to the darkness. He becomes so obsessed with Kurtz that he begins to emulate his worst attributes. Kurtz s death is very significant, and leads to Marlow s knowledge of himself. Droll thing life is that mysterious arrangement of merciless logic for a futile purpose. The most you can hope from it is some knowledge of yourself that comes too late a crop of unextinguishable regrets It is his extremity that I seem to have lived though. True, he had made that last stride, he had stepped over the edge, while I had been permitted to draw back my hesitating foot. And perhaps in this is the whole difference; perhaps all the wisdom and all truth, and all sincerity, are just compressed into that inappreciable moment of time in which we step over the threshold of the invisible. (Darkness 119-120). In this passage, Marlow realizes that he was so close falling into the darkness that consumed Kurtz. Marlow begins to analyze his life and takes a much more cynical view of human nature than he did at the beginning of the novel. Marlow was permitte