The Freudian Model in the Heart of Darkness In my essay, I intend to prove Joseph Conrad's use of the Freudian model of the human mind, as he is described in his characterization of Marlowe, Kurtz and the "desert". Additionally, using this model, I will explain Conrad's ambiguous tone in Heart of Darkness. First, I must define each character in Conrad's novel with their appropriate Freudian psyche. These psyches are defined in an essay by Ross C. Murfin, "Psychoanalytic Criticism in The Awakening": "the human mind is essentially dual in nature. He called the predominantly passionate, irrational, unknown, unconscious part of the psyche the it, or "it". The ego, or "I", was his term for the primarily rational, logical, orderly and conscious part of the psyche, which he called the superego. reality a projection of the ego The superego almost seems to be outside of the self, making moral judgments, telling us to make sacrifices for good causes, even though the self-sacrifice may not quite be. logical or rational. descriptions of Kurtz's wild actions as well as Marlowe's analysis of why he acted in this way: "I want you to understand clearly that there was nothing really profitable about it. that these heads were there They only showed that Mr. Kurtz lacked restraint in the gratification of his various lusts, that he lacked something - a small matter which, when the pressing need arose, could not. be found beneath his magnificent eloquence. I cannot say whether he himself was aware of this deficiency. I think the knowledge finally came to him, but only at the very end. But the desert had discovered him early and had seized him... a middle of paper... the memory of satisfied and monstrous passions. " (Conrad 132) It is the connection between Kurtz, Marlowe, and their inability to understand the "desert" that leaves us with Kurtz's chilling final words: "The horror. The horror." This quote is significant because of its ambiguity. Conrad keeps readers curious by making us look for “meaning” in what the heart of darkness is. The strange sense of confusion we get from Kurtz and Marlowe's fear and bewilderment in the face of darkness. Wild nature symbolizes the inability of the human mind to realize the unconscious. Conrad uses the “desert” as a symbol of Marlowe’s unconscious. Works Cited Murfin, Ross C.. “Feminist Criticism and The Awakening.” : Bedford Books, 1993. Conrad, Joseph Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer New York: Signet Classic., 1997.