Abstract

This work undertakes an analysis of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1902), from one of the three forms or principles of psychological (psychoanalytic) criticism, that is Freudian principles, using especially the Unconscious and the Tripartite Psyche – the id, ego and superego. The id, according to Ann B. Dobie (2009:53) is the repository of the libido, the source of one’s psychic energy and psychosexual desires, which can be a socially destructive force. The id appears in the form of the author, himself, Africa as a continent and black slaves who undergo a lot of torture as a result of racism. The ego operates according to the reality principle and serves as a regulating agency for the id. Dobie (2009:53) explains that it makes “the id’s energies nondestructive by postponing them or diverting them into socially acceptable actions, sometimes by finding an appropriate time for gratifying them. Here, in this study, the white which Charlie Marlow and Mr. Kurtz represent can be seen as the ego, while the superego, which is the vehicle phenomenon of what we call conscience, are the Queen and Europe. It studies the life of the author and thus, showing how the author’s childhood dreams and experiences affect his work – conflicts, images, symbols, and themes, and influence his main characters, Charlie Marlow and Mr. Kurtz. Psychoanalytic theory with its accompanying practical applications is unique, for it can be used with a variety of other literary theories when analyzing a literary text. Although its approach to textual analysis has been criticized for its lack of attention towards the aesthetic elements of a work, a psychoanalytic approach can reveal intriguing details not only about the text but also about the author and the reader elements of the interpretative process that other literary techniques often overlook.