"Implacable force...inscrutable intentions...incomprehensible frenzy": Ambition, Obsession and Madness in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness

This paper explores the intricate and intertwined themes of ambition, obsession, andmadness in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Through a comprehensive analysis of the psyche ofthe characters, especially that of Kurtz and Marlow, this study highlights the transformative power ofambition and its potential to lead to moral degeneration. By engaging with concepts of civilizationversus savagery, restraint versus unruliness, and the existential plight of both colonizers and thecolonized, the thesis underscores the pervasive moral ambiguity that defines human ambition and itscatastrophic consequences. Certain artistic depictions of these psychological aspects present in thenovella, have been included in this paper to visually interpret the intangible, inexplicable and inhumandepths of the human mind.