Gender roles in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

The two women Marlow encounters at the company offices are dually vivid

Men in HOD are expected to be the breadwinners. A families financial failure/well-being depends on them being ablr to support them. The differences of masculinity from feminity in the text are portrayed through the characters and it is obvious that men hold all the power in respect to the social, economic and political spheres of society. Women were dependent on males, it was the male role to support and protect them. The novella itself follows a traditional stereotypical story of a man going out on an adventure, overcoming obstacles and returning a better, stronger person.

and unsettling. They seemed uncanny and fateful (p26) evoking an eerie feeling (p26) in Marlow. The women did not seem real, they were more like the fates of Greek mythology who determine the destinies of humans, knitting ones life and cutting it off at the end. They symbolically knit black wool, like the black hair of the Africans who have died as a result of the companies actions. It is important to realise that these womn were not true representations of female characters, for they were not real. Their function in HOD was merely symbolic guarding the door of darkness One may percieve that they actually have power, since that seemingly determine the lives of men. But this is not true, the fact that they are symbolic actually highlights how women were not thaought of importantly but merely as a presence in a mans world.

Some topics in this essay:
Africa Marlow, Marlow Kurtz, Charlie Marlow, Josef Conrad, Mistress Intended, , patriarchal society, female characters, male characters, differences masculinity feminity, characters hod, society women, real world, 19th century, women help, masculinity feminity, feminity text,