Joseph Conrad as a Novelist

JOSEPH CONRAD (1857 - 1924)

Conrad's main pre-occupation remained with moral ordeal (severe test). He shows this moral ordeal in his treatment of characters. Conrad deals with style rather than the types, the style denoting the individual's behaviour in the face of moral ordeal.
Conrad was strongly was strongly in favour of the method of first person narration. In 'Lord Jim’ Conrad narrates the story the whole thing up to chapter three, and after that it is Marlow, who takes charge. Conrad felt that his fiction would gain realistic effect by the presence of the characters, which could show the effect of the ordeal on him, either by being himself, the person going under the ordeal or by his role as a close observer.
Women play a relatively smaller role in his novels. They are dominated by the role of man only. Next to Hardy, Conrad is the most pessimistic novelist in the English language but he doesn't undermine normal human aspirations and inspirations for living. He offers no recipe for the redemption of society. On the other hand, he strengthens our faith in the final and stern reality of human being as pre-eminently, as moral beings.
Conrad wrote the novel of adventure and he combined with it the objective spirit of French Naturalism. The movement and method of his psychology, the attention he pays to the various points of view which cross and re-cross one another around each being, owes something to famous novelist like Henry James.
Conrad is one of the makers of modern fiction. He was the only foreigner writing novels of genius in English, wrote with the vision of a poet. Recognition came to him rather late, research about his established position in the world.
Conrad makes all his books autobiographical in one respect, that is, he takes material from his own life and uses his experiences at the sea and on the sea-ports as integral part of his books.
Conrad's major concern is with 'evil'. In this respect he is very similar to Graham Greene and Golding. He deals with the working of evil in human mind and shows its consequences for the persons concerned and others. He tries to trace evil in natural surroundings.
There is a clear indication of skeptic feeling in his works, the feeling a product of his experience. He felt insecurity in life, was quite uncertain about his position as an artist and a sailor. This feeling reflects clearly from his writings.
He does not follow the traditional plot in narration. His method is impressionistic, tells the story “you are the narrator” who gives his impressions and describes his relations with his protagonist. Quite often broken narrative is employed. Sequential order and chronological order is not followed by him.
Keynote of his works is romantic realism. He was a great romantic and a great realistic, narrates tales of adventure and his settings are quite accurate.
(Note: Information compiled from various sources.)