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"This Masterpiece of Nature:" an Ecocritical Study of Joseph Conrad's Fiction

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The University of Southern Mississippi The Aquila Digital Community Dissertations Fall 12-2014 "This Masterpiece of Nature:" An Ecocritical Study of Joseph Conrad's Fiction Sonja Luther University of Southern Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Luther, Sonja, ""This Masterpiece of Nature:" An Ecocritical Study of Joseph Conrad's Fiction" (2014). Dissertations. 774. https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/774 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by The Aquila Digital Community. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of The Aquila Digital Community. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The University of Southern Mississippi “THIS MASTERPIECE OF NATURE” AN ECOCRITICAL STUDY OF JOSEPH CONRAD’S FICTION by Sonja Luther Abstract of a Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School of The University of Southern Mississippi in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2014 ABSTRACT “THIS MASTERPIECE OF NATURE” AN ECOCRITICAL STUDY OF JOSEPH CONRAD’S FICTION by Sonja Luther December 2014 This dissertation employs an ecocritical approach to explore the relationship between humans and nature in the works of Joseph Conrad. In his fiction, Conrad draws an impression of nature that was unusual for its time because of its complexity. Nature is not just simple scenery or a stage set in Conrad’s fiction; it plays a major role in his characters’ regression, which develops parallel to their alienation from nature. This dissertation explores the origins of man’s alienation from nature in Conrad’s work, particularly his early fiction, and the implications for society if such alienation continues. Chapter I serves as an introduction. Chapter II examines two aspects of Conrad’s maritime fiction: the sailor’s spiritual advancement through his confrontation with the sublime, and the sailor’s alienation from nature because of new technologies. While Chapter II explores Conrad’s depiction of the sea as a symbol of life and transcendence, Chapter III examines Conrad’s depiction of the forest as a place of murder, disease, and agency for furthering man’s regression. I claim that in his jungle fiction, Conrad dismantles anthropocentrism and shows that the division between man and nature is a problem that will eventually lead to man’s decay. While Chapter III addresses the personification of the forest (anthropomorphism), Chapter IV focuses on the animalization of humans (theriomorphism) in Lord Jim. In this chapter, I take a deep ecological approach to Stein’s theory of nature and claim that without Stein’s comment ii on the “masterpiece of Nature,” the animalization of humans in the novel would suggest a form of human degeneracy; however, because of Stein’s theory, comparisons of humans to animals are more valorizing than derogatory. Chapter V focuses on Nostromo and Conrad’s criticism of Western society’s idea of “progress.” In this chapter, I take a more focused approach by using ideas of ecopsychology and eco-Marxism. My analysis of Nostromo offers the final piece in man’s process of alienation. What started with man’s alienation from nature is now ending with man’s alienation from his own self, which results in the untimely death of the characters. Chapter VI serves as a conclusion. iii COPYRIGHT BY SONJA LUTHER 2014 The University of Southern Mississippi “THIS MASTERPIECE OF NATURE” AN ECOCRITICAL STUDY OF JOSEPH CONRAD’S FICTION by Sonja Luther A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School of The University of Southern Mississippi in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Approved: __Dr. Damon Franke__________________ Committee Chair __Dr. Jonathan Barron_________________ __Dr. Phillip Gentile___________________ __Dr. Charles Sumner__________________ __Dr. Karen Coats____________________ Dean of the Graduate School December 2014 DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my parents, Hans Peter and Ursula Luther, and to my grandmothers, Elli Steidel and Helene Luther. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my committee director, Dr. Damon Franke, for his guidance and encouragement throughout the duration of this project. I would also like to thank my other committee members, Dr. Jonathan Barron, Dr. Phillip Gentile, and Dr. Charles Sumner for their advice and support. I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Ken Watson—cherished professor, committee member, and friend—who could not be here to see the completion of this project. Last but not least, I would like to thank Dr. Michael Mays, who guided me in my research for many years during my time at The University of Southern Mississippi. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………………...ii DEDICATION …………………………………………………………………………...iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ………………………………….…………………………….v CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………..1 II. THE SAILOR’S SOLIDARITY WITH THE SEA IN CONRAD’S MARITIME FICTION …………………………………………………..15 The Experience of Ultimate Freedom at Sea Sailing Ships, Steamships, and the Sailor’s Disconnection from Nature Sustaining a Close Relationship with Nature III. “THROUGH THE TREE”: CONRAD’S IMPRESSIONS OF NATURE IN HIS JUNGLE FICTION ……………………………………………..55 Conrad’s Symbolism of Trees and Parasites The Forest: An Observing Host Kurtz and Other Transplanted Parasites IV. THERIOMORPHISM AND THE STATE OF BEING IN CONRAD’S LORD JIM …………………………………………………………….…92 The Designation of Animal Characteristics to Humans Stein: The Ecocentric Hunter and Gatherer Theriomorphism in Lord Jim V. “MOTIONLESS CLOUDS”: SOCIETY AT A STANDSTILL IN CONRAD’S NOSTROMO ……………………………………………..124 Ecopsychology Meets Eco-Marxism Azuera and the Forbidden Treasure Decoud’s and Nostromo’s Alienation from Nature and Society The Isolated Dr. Monygham Material Interests and the Death of Man VI. CONCLUSION ………………………………………………...………158 NOTES …………………………………………………………………………163 vi WORKS CITED ……………………………………………………………….176 vii 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Joseph Conrad’s fourth novel, Lord Jim (1900), situates itself in a world of dichotomies, particularly the dichotomy of “us” and “them.” Difficult, life-changing situations raise questions of identity for the characters. Who is “the other” and who is “one of us”? Marlow and other protagonists repeatedly refer to Jim as “one of us,” but Jim keeps running away from “us.”1 Marlow tries to create opportunities for Jim to recuperate his self-esteem, but he finds himself at a dead end when Jim is not able to come to terms with his past and keeps running away. The only person, Marlow believes, that might be able to help him understand Jim is the merchant Stein, who is also an “adventurer,” “naturalist,” and “learned collector” of beetles and butterflies (122). At his cave-like home, Marlow finds a mesmerized Stein who tells him of the beauty and perfection of nature. Stein exclaims: Look! The beauty—but that is nothing—look at the accuracy, the harmony. And so fragile! And so strong! And so exact! This is Nature— the balance of colossal forces. Every star is so—and every blade of grass stands so—and the mighty Kosmos in perfect equilibrium produces—this. This wonder; this masterpiece of Nature. (125) Marlow is astounded by Stein’s words and asks, “Masterpiece! And what of man?” (125). “Man is amazing, but he is not a masterpiece,” Stein responds (125). With this statement, Stein sets the tone for the relationship between man and nature that we find throughout Conrad’s oeuvre.2 Conrad continuously portrays nature as superior to man and shows that man will not evolve to the state of nature as long as he follows his dualistic worldview. 2 Cartesian dualism, named after René Descartes, favors the human mind over matter, which causes man to alienate himself from the natural environment, and this alienation, Conrad demonstrates in his fiction, will lead to man’s decay. The problem of dualisms is not that one is the opposite of the other but that with the opposition most often comes judgment—a judgment of one being better than the other. Stein’s beliefs are very much in tune with the theories of nineteenth-century evolutionists like the German zoologist Ernst Haeckel who was an opponent of dualism and believed in “the unity of nature” (The Riddle of the Universe 255). In Monism as Connecting Religion and Science, Haeckel argues for a “unifying conception of nature as a whole” that believes in “the essential unity of organic and inorganic matter,” which Haeckel calls “Monism” (n.p.). Haeckel declares, “We cannot draw a sharp line of distinction between these two great divisions of nature, any more than we can recognise an absolute distinction between the animal and the vegetable kingdom, or between the lower animals and man” (n.p.). According to Mario A. Di Gregorio, Haeckel’s “hostility to dualism” was so strong “that over time he would come to label anything he disliked as dualist” (198). Friedrich Nietzsche, who also discusses the complex of problems with binary thinking in Beyond Good and Evil (1886), criticizes “THE BELIEF IN ANTITHESES OF VALUES” and suggests that opposites might actually be “insidiously related” or even “essentially identical” (n.p.). Jacques Derrida later elaborates on Nietzsche’s critique of the logic of either/or and argues in favor of both/and as well. In Dissemination (1972), Derrida uses the Greek word “pharmakon” as an example of his ideas of indeterminacy. According to Derrida, the word “already harbor[s] within itself that complicity of contrary values”; pharmakon is both a remedy and a poison (128). 3 While philosophers like Nietzsche and Derrida have already deconstructed ideas of binary thinking, Western society, nonetheless, has not been able to overcome its dependence on dualisms; thus, Stein’s belief in the possibility of holding opposites in “perfect equilibrium” is still as relevant and challenging today as it was over a century ago. Stein sees the perfection of nature in its ability to hold opposites in “perfect equilibrium” and thereby dismantles society’s belief in a dualistic world (Lord Jim 125).
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