Compare and Contrast

In Heart of Darkness and Waiting for the Barbarians both Kurtz and the Magistrate have left their “people” behind. They have strayed away from the dogma of their cultures, daring to think and act differently than the norm. Kurtz and the Magistrate do this each in their own forms of madness. Kurtz literally loses his mind. He is leaves his men and travels back in the wilderness by himself and proceeds to go mad. He continues to collect ivory for the empire but in unorthodox, unapproved ways. Kurtz also takes on a leadership role over the “savages” and abuses the power they bestows upon him. The Magistrate falls in love with the girl and I think this shows the Magistrate the receiving end of the Imperial whip. This realization of the horror of the Empire is what causes him to go against the ways of the Empire and “his people”. However, Kurtz and the Magistrate are also abandoned by their people. It was not a conscious choice for them to alienate themselves but instead the ways they changed their thinking caused “their people” to think they were mad and in some ways contaminated or unclean. 

As Kerr says, Conrad and Kurtz are both “liberal imperialists.” They are part of the Empire but represent a humanity not present in many of the power-hungry imperialists, however, they both use this humanizing quality differently. The humanizing quality gives the Magistrate and Kurtz a sort of power over the savages and barbarians. The savages and barbarians see the Magistrate and Kurtz as less threatening and therefore listen to them before the rest of the imperials. Kurtz takes advantage of this power by imagining himself omnipotent. He makes the savages worship him and treat him somewhat like a god. On the other hand, the Magistrate uses this humanizing quality correctly. He tries to alleviate the suffering brought on to the barbarians by the harsh Colonel. The Magistrate speaks out against the Colonel publicly and attempts to defy him.

Convenience and Companionship vs. Affection: Waiting for the Barbarians

One of the most intriguing aspects of Waiting for the Barbarians I found was the relationship between the Magistrate and the barbarian girl. It seems to evolve out of habit and desire for some sort of convenient companionship rather than affection except when the Magistrate returns her to the barbarians he openly shows that he cares for the girl when he tells her he would like her to stay. Throughout their whole affair the Magistrate seems more annoyed and angry with the girl instead of being interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with her but when it is time to say goodbye he shows there is more to it. I think that the Magistrate is drawn to the fact that the girl is damaged, she is complicated and therefore holds intrigue for him. The girl is a mystery that he wants to solve and then fix, he hopes and wants to be her white knight. I think he expects the girl to become dependent on him and to need his help to heal, however, although the girl seems to improve when she is with the Magistrate she still has not opened up to him and let him in on the secret of what happened to her with the colonel. I think that because she does not open up, he sees that as a failure on his part. The Magistrate feels he was unable to help her or maybe she did not really need his help as much as he expected and that is what contributes to a lot of the anger and frustration he puts on himself over her.

 

On the girl's part she also doesn't really show any interest in the romantic aspect of the relationship (even in the end when he does) but rather that she is in a strange place left by her own people and the Magistrate is offering to help her and she realizes she must return the favor somewhat(although she does not seem ungrateful, just emotionally indifferent to him). It is rather odd though that the girl gets angry and confused and maybe even jealous when she realizes the Magistrate has been visiting the girl at the inn. Although that is one of the few times that the girl seems to question what there relationship is about, otherwise it seems to be mostly the Magistrate who is puzzling over it and trying to figure out what he sees in the girl and what he wants from her. I also found it interesting that although the girl becomes the "girl without a face" to the Magistrate he still always remembers her and the impression she left on him. Also, even though in essence she is the reason he lost his position and was imprisoned it does not seem like the Magistrate resents her or her roll in his humiliation and degradation.

 

*** Sorry I did not get this to you earlier, my sister does not have internet at her apartment in Paris. Also, the movie with the silkies in Ireland is called "The Secret of Ron Inish"