Charles Marlow

Charles Marlow

Charles Marlow is a recurring character in the work of Polish-born English novelist Joseph Conrad. Marlow is an alter ego of Conrad; both are sailors for the British Empire during the late-19th and early-20th century during the height of British imperialism.

Marlow narrates several of Conrad's best-known works. The character Marlow narrates Conrad's novels Lord Jim, Chance , as well as the framed narrative in "Heart of Darkness", and his short story "Youth". The stories are not told entirely from Marlow's perspective however. There is also an omniscient narrator who introduces Marlow and some of the other characters. Then, once introduced, Marlow proceeds to tell the actual tale, creating a story-within-a-story effect.

In Heart of Darkness the omniscient narrator observes that "yarns of seamen have a direct simplicity, the whole meaning of which lies within the shell of a cracked nut. But Marlow was not typical [...] and to him the meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel but outside, enveloping the tale which brought it out only as a glow brings out a haze."[1]

Inspiration

Marlow's name may be inspired by the Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe. Conrad's father was a translator of William Shakespeare who doubtless would have known of Marlowe's work as well. Some intertextual interpretations of Heart of Darkness have suggested that Marlowe's The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus may have influenced Conrad. Charles Marlow describes a character as a "papier-mache Mephistopheles", a reference to the Faust legend. Marlow's and Kurtz's journey up the Congo River in Heart of Darkness also has similarities to another work by Marlowe, Dido, Queen of Carthage, in which Aeneas is stranded on the shore of Libya and meets the African queen Dido.[2]

Notes

References

  • Orr, Leonard; Billy, Ted (1999), A Joseph Conrad Companion, Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, ISBN 0313292892 
  • Ray, Sid (June 2006), "Marlow(e)'s Africa: postcolonial queenship in Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Marlowe's Dido, Queen of Carthag", Conradiana 
  • Stape, John Henry (1996), The Cambridge Companion to Joseph Conrad, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521484847 

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Marlow — may refer to: Contents 1 Companies 2 Places 2.1 Australia 2.2 …   Wikipedia

  • Marlow Lock — Marlow Lock[1] Marlow Lock from downstream …   Wikipedia

  • Marlow Bridge — Marlow Bridge, from All Saints church Crosses River Thames Locale Marlow Designer …   Wikipedia

  • Marlow H. Colvin — Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 33rd district In office 2001 Personal details Born March 28, 1964 (1964 03 28) (age 47) Chicago, Illinois Political pa …   Wikipedia

  • Marlow By-pass Bridge — Carries A404 road Crosses River Thames Locale …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Henry Cooper — (20 March 1808 – 21 March 1866) was an English antiquarian. Contents 1 Life 2 Works 3 References 4 External links …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Frohman — Frohman in 1914 Born July 15, 1856(1856 07 15) Sandusky, Ohio, U.S. Died May 7, 1915 …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Page High School — Location 500 North Adams Road Sand Springs, Oklahoma, 74063 United States …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Lee Lewes — (1740 – 13 July 1803) was an English actor. Contents 1 Biography 2 Works 3 Family 4 References 5 …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Robson — Personal information Batting style Right hand batsman Bowling style Right arm slow International information National side English Career statistics Competition First cl …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”