Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad - Blog Post 3

A new character that is introduced in this part of Heart of Darkness is a young man who is simply referred to as "the Russian" (132). He is first spotted on the bank in front of the station, where Marlow tells that "he looked like a harlequin" because of his brightly patched clothing (126). This association that is made between the Russian and a clownish, comedic figure sets up an air of innocence around him. This air of innocence is emphasized by the way Marlow describes him as the steamship pulls closer to the shore: "A beardless, boyish face, very fair" (126). The fact that the Russian is "beardless" and has a "boyish face" suggests that he is young, but not young enough to actually be a boy anymore. The observation that the Russian has "very fair" complexion conveys that he has not been in the sun much, presumably covered in the jungle for a long time. This also gives off an air of innocence, for the Russian looks as though he is not weathered and has not traveled much, but later he is told to have been lonely and traveling for quite some time. The knowledge that the Russian has done so much traveling and been so alone makes it strange but intriguing how a man like him can stay so youthful and innocent.

The Russian is also said to have had "smiles and frowns chasing each other over that open countenance like sunshine and shadow" (126).  The verb choice of "chasing" gives off a feeling of playfulness and joy as if the Russian's emotions are a game. The Russian's mood shifts back and forth from happy to sad quite often, as if running after itself one after another. The Russian is at times "like sunshine" - light and happy - and at times "like [...] shadow" - dark and morose; however, he is never both at once. His "open countenance" tells that his emotions can be easily read on his face; he is an open book.

Marlow also tells that the Russian has "no features to speak of" (126). He says this while describing the Russian outright, clearly pointing out features that he notices about the Russian, so saying that the Russian has "no features to speak of" is a strange statement; However, this may go along with the point that the Russian is never given a name, though he is quite important to the plot of the story. Giving this man a name would make him less of a mystery, for Marlow doubts "whether [he] had ever really seen him - whether it was possible to meet such a phenomenon" (140).