The Concept of ‘Exile’ in the Fiction of Conrad

Contents: Introduction. 1. Heart of Darkness. 2. Lord Jim. 3. Nostromo. Conclusion. A Selected Bibliography.

Joseph Conrad, in his novels, deals with the plight of the man on whom life closes down inexorably divesting him of the support and illusory protection of friendship, social privilege and love. Conrad knew that a great deal of our conduct depends on the reassuring sights and sounds of a concrete world and the presence of other eyes and other voices. It is when the lights are out, that when there is nobody to pass an opinion, it is then that Conrad wants to know how a man behaves, since then he must act according to his deepest inward impulses.

Therefore Exile becomes a means of investigation into man's motives and ideology. What are the connotations of 'Exile'? What are the different types of displacement? What inner truth is revealed in these extreme situations?  - These are some of the questions.