“...No, it is impossible; it is impossible to convey the life-sensation of any given epoch of one’s existence, - that which makes its truth, its meaning - its subtle and penetrating essence. It is impossible. We live, as we dream - alone...”
~ Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness
We are what we have met. Every experience, every person leaves an imprint upon our heart that once left can never be removed. A child is pure, innocent, unmarked; however, with age comes pain and joy, memories that once etched can never be erased. Unfortunately, the unruly hand of fate plays a part in how we are shaped. A person has the ability to either enrich a life or slowly and painfully tear the pieces of life slowly away until the victim is left with a shell - an exterior self.
It is these people that have molded my perception of the world. The world, although a place of light, is also filled with impenetrable darkness that once seen can never be truly shaken. Because of this, when reading Conrad’s novella, I narrowed in on the utter darkness that Marlow repeatedly relays to his audience.
The passage I chose is spoken by Marlow in his frustration that no matter how passionate one retells their story, their life, it can never fully be grasped by the listener. A dream once retold loses much of the whimsical qualities experienced by the dreamer - a dream is never fully experienced with anyone but the dreamer. Much like this, life is lived with others, but is only truly experienced alone.
I don’t think that the interpretation of this passage has changed much since 1910. Although different eras, life’s interactions have not evolved exponentially. People are still impressionable, pain is still pain, and experiences once lived can never fully be recounted outside the prison that is the human mind, incessantly struggling to attain light in darkness.
That is probably the best quote from this entire book, but it is actually really uncomfortable to think about. It implies two things that very few humans actually let themselves believe: 1. Living is nothing more than dreaming; It has a beginning and an end. 2. We are alone in our living. We experience everything alone. And to quote the cult classic Donnie Darko, "Every living thing dies alone."... Kind of dismal to think about ,but optimism never makes anything true.
ReplyDeleteExpanding on Robert's comment, the quote does in fact imply that "living is no more than dreaming" and that "we are alone in our living." Firstly, the quote is saying that most lives are consumed by some intense longing or yearning. The longing is never really manifested, the yearning is never really fulfilled therefore we spend our lives forever dreaming. Second, although we humans go through similar phases in life, the way in which our perceptions mold our experiences will always be different. We can never fully know the exact experience another person endures, thus we live alone.
ReplyDelete