"Going Mad" vs. "Going Fantee" : Joseph Conrad と Grant Allen のアフリカ小説の比較

DOI IR Web Site

Bibliographic Information

Other Title
  • Going Mad vs Going Fantee Joseph Conrad ト Grant Allen ノ アフリカ ショウセツ ノ ヒカク

Search this article

Abstract

type:Article

Joseph Conrad の "Heart of Darkness" (1899) が発表された当時, Hugh Cliffordは「Grant Allenの "The Reverend John Creedy" の流れを汲む作品だ」と評した。Allen の小説は, アフリカに伝道に行った宣教師が現地の習俗に染まる話で, 確かに表面的には "Heart of Darkness" と似ている面もある。しかし "Heart of Darkness" における Kurtz の「変身」が帝国主義の暗部を体現するものとして描かれ, "go mad" という表現で表されるのに対し, Allen の小説においては宣教師の「変身」は (元々アフリカ人である) 彼の人種的本能によるものとされ, アフリカの習俗に染まることを表す"go Fantee" という表現で表される。つまり Allen が人種差別的な見方を喧伝したのに対し, Conrad は帝国主義の暗部を見詰めたのであり, そこに Clifford にすら分からなかった Conrad の先駆的な洞察力が認められるのである。

Hugh Clifford in his review compared Joseph Conrad's novella "Heart of Darkness" (1899) with Grant Allen's short story "The Reverend John Creedy" (1899), and concluded that these two stories were written in a similar vein. Allen's story tells of a clergyman who goes to Africa for the propagation of Christianity and, influenced by African tribal customs, gradually "goes native." It is true that "Heart of Darkness" and "The Reverend John Creedy" at first sight appear to be similar, but there is a significant difference between them. In "Heart of Darkness," Kurtz is portrayed as a person who has "gone mad," led by his imperialist megalomaniac ideas. On the other hand, in "The Reverend John' Creedy," the clergyman is depicted as a person who has "gone Fantee" (gone native), led by his own racial instinct (the clergyman is an African who has been educated in Britain). While Conrad criticizes imperialist ideas, Allen maintains that there are "racial" and "biological" differences between Europeans and Africans. We can see that Conrad had a keener insight into imperialism and racism than Allen and Clifford, who were tinged with contemporary racial prejudices.

Journal

Related Projects

See more

Keywords

Details 詳細情報について

Report a problem

Back to top