THE SINISTER ORACLE. JOSEPH CONRAD’S HEART OF DARKNESS AND VIRGIL’S AENEID
THE SINISTER ORACLE. JOSEPH CONRAD’S HEART OF DARKNESS AND VIRGIL’S AENEID
Author(s): Joanna PypłaczSubject(s): Comparative Study of Literature, Polish Literature, Other Language Literature, Theory of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: Heart of Darkness; Aeneid; Conrad; Virgil; oracle; Sibyl; Kurtz; katabasis; death; night;
Summary/Abstract: The aim of this article is to re-examine the links between Heart of Darkness and the Aeneid—the Latin epic which is already known to have served as the main hypotext for Joseph Conrad’s novella. The transformation of several important motifs—such as those of the sacrifice, white worsted, the ivory gate and, finally, that of the prophetic voice—reveals that Conrad has shifted the focal point of Virgil’s dark tale, placing the figure of the Oracle—who has been disguised and transformed in a highly sophisticated manner—to its very centre.
Journal: Yearbook of Conrad Studies (Poland)
- Issue Year: 2017
- Issue No: XII
- Page Range: 47-58
- Page Count: 12
- Language: English