Citation

Sokołowska K. Zeitschrift fur Anglistik und Amerikanistik 2019; 67(4): 341-357.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019)

DOI

10.1515/zaa-2019-0026

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Conrad's story "The Planter of Malata," by focusing on the portrayal of Geoffrey Renouard, addresses the dilemmas of the modern self implicated in the subjectivist mode of experiencing the world. Heidegger's reinterpretation of the Cartesian ego and his conceptualization of modern subjectivity provide a theoretical framework for clarifying the paradox of Renouard's position which involves both demonstrations of mastery and gestures of submission in his interactions with Felicia Moorsom. The paper examines how the subject construes the world as representation and reduces the world to the object to be manipulated and controlled. Renouard's experience of irrational desire and his loss of mastery, which lead to the collapse of the subject/object duality and the dissolution of representation, dismantle the project of the omnipotent ego. Eventually, the breakdown of the ego engenders a growing paralysis of will, enhances the lure of death-like stasis and culminates in Renouard's suicide. © 2019 De Gruyter. All rights reserved.

Language: en