“The Horror” of Silence: Gendered and Racial Absences in Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”

This thesis explores the racial and gendered silences in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, examining how the novella reflects and reinforces the ideology of European imperialism. Drawing on historical context and postcolonial and feminist theory, it analyzes the dehumanization of Africans and the symbolic roles assigned to women, revealing how silence functions as a tool of imperial power. Through its portrayal of race, gender, and narrative authority, the thesis argues that the absences in the text expose the contradictions and eventual collapse of the imperial enterprise.