Literature
One of the debated topics regarding early literature is the representation of the female gender. At that time, women were discriminated against in society, and since literature described the way of living of the people, the topic develops. The ‘heart of darkness’ play by Joseph Conrad is one of the discussed where some writers like Chinua Achebe claim it to uphold racism and should, therefore, get eliminated. Others view the piece on whether women are present or absent and the manner they are portrayed. Most agree that men are treated differently from the women making it a sexist novella. The paper analyses the theme of women in the play as well as in the ‘wrath of God’ and ‘apocalypse now’ films.
The narrative voice at the beginning of the novel sets the pace of how women would be handled throughout the story. It is said. ‘It is queer how out of touch with truth women are’ (Conrad 10). The words were spoken by Marlow, who grew during the time taking women as humans were an issue. When the book was written, women fought for their position in society; for example, the granting of human rights. The other reason for the claim by Marlow is because he rarely interacted with women and therefore had little understanding about them. The character was only close to the aunt, whom he despised concerning intelligence, but this does not show feminine attitude. Nevertheless, the lack of association with females makes the character conform to the societal prejudice against women. The notable thing here is that women were discriminated in the community which motivated Marlow to insist women were far from truths.
The disrespect for women is also evident in the interaction between Marlow and Kurtz’s Intended. She asked Marlow what the last words were from Kurtz during the death. Marlow lied, saying the deceased only said her words, which would be viewed as words meant to comfort her. On the other hand, the character prevents her from taking the legacy left by the deceased. In the response of the play, Susan Hagen says that Marlow is not very harsh to women because he believes they are useful in making the men great. For example, if women are not there, men would not find people to misuse to achieve greatness. Marlow also claims it is easy to manipulate females to idealism, making it easy for him and the peers to do unjust actions during the travel and face no punishments after the return. For example, the people going to Congo can consider their need for ivory and Kurtz buried with his violent activities while the Intended calls him ‘noble heart’ (Conrad 70). The words imply the Intended was useful to motivate Kurtz to take part in violent actions unknowingly.
The female characters in the play lack a narrative voice, a sign of a sexist attitude. Marlow says, ‘they, the women, I mean, are out of it, should be out of it’ (Conrad 44). Throughout the story, the character’s words are evident where women are taken to be an additional piece to the narration despite their contributions. Marlow’s aunt assisted in the attainment of a job to travel to Congo, and the Intended helped Kurtz’s actions showing significant implications in the novel. On the other hand, the men are described vividly, making the readers understand their roles in the development of the story. The difference implies that women played a significant role but were considered less helpful. Besides, the women in the play lack actual names, unlike men. The writer uses words like Kurtz’s Intended, Marlow’s aunt, among others, where females are described either by their locations or their association with males. It is not the case with the male figures as they have specific identifications, a feature of sexist mind in the play.
‘Wrath of God’ film also depicts a similar perception of women’s role in society. The film describes Gonzalo Pizarro, who led a group of men to the rain forest. Roger Ebert, one of the scholars, reviewed the movie says ‘these men wear steel helmets and breastplates, and carry their women in enclosed sedan-chairs’ (Ebert). The words imply the men were armed even though the destination was a court pageant while the women were enclosed. It means the women lacked freedom and depended on the men for their movements and decisions. Moreover, Pizarro claims the expedition could be folly leading to the organization of a party to spend the week. Inez Aguirre’s daughter attends the party where an Okello, one of the black slaves, tells her, ‘I was born a prince, and men were forbidden to look on me. Now I am chains’ (Ebert). The writer uses the word sad while explaining the slave’s statement, showing the women’s lack of freedom
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The absence of women’s theme is also evident in the ‘Apocalypse Now’ movie directed by Francis Coppola. The film is about a war where the male domination theme is expected, but the women’s handling indicates prejudice as they are considered both ignorant and uneducated. When the movie starts, Captain Willard reads a letter sent by the wife while burning a hole with a cigarette (Coppola). Here, the words and voices indicate the two would divorce, and the wife is not mentioned again in the movie. Considering this happens at the beginning of the film, it’s evident the woman is not useful to Willard but the characters in the movie as a whole. A similar attitude is communicated later in the film when women entertain the American army. They are seen as sexual objects which can only entertain men. Moreover, the belief that war is not ideal for women is noted as they are dependent on men, yet battles need thinking people. The thought is indicated when the woman attacked by Colonel Kilgrade and sends a grenade in self-defense. After the incident, the woman is searched and killed as she poses a threat to the male gender.
In conclusion, the past literature discriminates against the female gender communicating how women were handled in society. The ‘heart of darkness’ piece describes the interaction between Marlow and women in the book. They are not only disrespected but also as tools for men to conduct violent actions without being punished. As explained in the paper, the ‘wrath of God’ and ‘apocalypse now’ films depict a similar perception about females. Here, females lack freedom as they depend on men while traveling and lack the right to movement. Besides, they are seen as ignorant beings and sexual objects whose sole contribution is to be entertainers after the American soldiers return from war. Therefore, the pieces are useful in understanding how disrespected women were in the past years, as evident in the literature written then.
Works cited
Ebert Roger. April 4th (1999). Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972).
Conrad, Joseph. “Heart of darkness.” Heart of Darkness. Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 1996. 17-95.
Coppola, Francis Ford, et al. Apocalypse now. USA: United Artists, 1979.