Is Conrad Anti-Russian? [Volume: 7(1988), pp. 231-249]

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Stanislaw VINCENZ
inflexibility, and even indifference, persistently anti-Russian to be sure,
but facilitated by a complete unfamiliarity with Russia. He couldn't forget
his wounds. Russia was their cause, but others including Russians suffered
as well. What was he supposed to do? To persevere outwardly on the just
platform of the political defense of his nation? Yes. But he couldn't close
himself off. His position is not ambiguous; but a man and a writer of his
stature, at times Shakespearean, who also allows others a place in the world,
cannot be a propagandist. You probably won't deny that he appreciated
not only the heroism of slavery and suffering but also the heroism of despair.
B: Of course I admit that much, but as the translator shows in the
preface, Conrad reserves for the protagonist of his novel only a contemptuous pity and doesn't consider him, cannot consider him his companion
in this world, a fellow man, judging from what he says through the teacher
of languages, a man of the West.
A: You are doing Conrad a disservice by emphasizing such an aristocratic attitude. Do you consider that the "West" comes out positively
in comparison with the so-called East when they are contrasted in the
words of the teacher, as it appears on the surface of his statements, which
were composed however with Conrad's great and concealed irony?
B: I would be interested in your arguments, especially to see whether
they concern the heart of the matter, or predominantly the sidelines.
A: If we look at the text itself, it contains a tremendous amount of
important and clear evidence that, precisely through this so-called Western
man, Conrad criticizes and even flays the West and also reveals his apparent
position regarding the East. First, the impressions of Geneva. Let's take
the description of the Swiss couple, whose fate from the cradle to the grave
is secure and could almost be held in the palm of one's hand. There is no
admiration in this description for West European security. The man isn't
distinguished by anything but his uncouthness, and the woman is looking
around idly. "(The streets) had an air of hypocritical respectability and
of inexpressible dreariness." These are the words of the author himself.
An enthusiast of the West wouldn't write this way. And furthermore: "a
town of prosaic virtues and universal hospitability" (of hotels), "a town
indifferent and hospitable in its cold, almost scornful toleration-a respectable town of refuge to which all these sorrows and hopes were nothing."
What's more, Conrad, drawing from his own experiences, not only identifies
himself but also to some extent inclines the Western observer to internal
identification with the so-called East. The irony is obvious. The Western
observer cannot sleep and has the feeling that he has become mixed up in
something morbidly exaggerated, even theatrical. Such absurdity fills him