Heart Of Darkness Kurtz Homosexual Analysis

Homosexuality within queer discourse is also represented within Marlow’s seemingly homosexual emotions for Kurtz in Heart of Darkness. Marlow’s hidden queer emotions for Kurtz are vocalized frequently throughout the novel, particularly in the scene of Kurtz’s rumored death (Conrad 62). In this scene, Marlow expresses extreme distress at the thought of Kurtz’s death and announces his deep sorrows of losing the opportunity to meet Kurtz (Conrad 62). Marlow mentions that Kurtz “seduced [him] into something like admiration…all of his gifts the one that stood out preeminently…was his ability to talk, his words - the gift of expression…” (Conrad 62). In essence, Marlow expresses a deep infatuation with Kurtz that is queer and different from Marlow’s remaining
relationships. Moreover, Marlow’s homosexual desires for Kurtz are exposed when the Intended reveals that Marlow “admired [Kurtz]…loved [Kurtz]” (Conrad 91), thus leaving Marlow feeling “unsteady and silencing [him] into an appalled dumbness” (Conrad 91).
Marlow’s reaction symbolizes that the Intended was knowledgeable on Marlow’s homosexual emotions for Kurtz and that Marlow did not want these emotions revealed. These examples signal that Marlow embodies the idea of a strange relationship for a man, thus representing the difference from the normative behavior pushed onto men. Likewise, Bennett and Royle discuss that queerness was defined by homosexuality for men in the late 19th century, just prior to the publication of Heart of Darkness (Bennett and Royle 261). Heart of Darkness demonstrates an accurate discourse of homosexuality within men, as homosexuality was seen as outlawed, both legally and socially, and could not be practiced without consequences (Bristow 14). With this understanding, Marlow himself can be represented as queer in terms of homosexuality due to the shift in definition of queer to exclusively ostracize men for having “strange” emotions or relationships that were against the heteronormative
society. In conclusion, queer theory is demonstrated in Jane Eyre and Heart of Darkness in through both gender performance and homosexuality. The strange and odd that defined queer for most of the 19th century is accurately represented in both Jane’s lack of gender performance and the three women. Each woman in both texts does not succumb to the societal pressures of being calm, naive, and passive, as further explained by Judith Butler, thus reiterating the notion of odd behavior. After the definition queer progressed into identifying homosexuals as queer, queer theory’s homosexuality can be applied to both texts. Although neither Marlow or Jane perform sexual acts, both of their relationships with the same sex accurately illustrate forbidden homosexual behavior, as explained by Denise Riley and Joseph Bristow. Although, homosexuality within Jane Eyre is queer in both strangeness and homosexuality as her being a woman challenges what society expects a woman’s sexuality to embody. However, Jane Eyre and Heart of Darkness both accurately portray the historically progressed word “queer” that defines both strangeness and then later, homosexuality.