"Two women, one fat and the other slim, sat on straw-bottomed chairs, knitting black wool." (Conrad 24)
"Often far away there I though of these two, guarding the door of Darkness, knitting black wool as for a warm pall, one introducing, introducing continuously to the unknown, the scrutinising the cheery and foolish faces with unconcerned old eyes. Ave! Old knitter of black wool. Morituri te saluntant."
I believe that these women are a mythological allusion; they are the Greek Fates. They weave a dark cloth the way the fates weaved the futures of the humans. The cloth of the Fates foretells the future of the individual; and the cloth color of the women's is Black with foreshadows the fates of all who enter the office and sign up for this venture into the jungle.
Wow. I agree. This venture in the jungle is often like leaving the boat and not being able to come back. Instead of killing the tiger, the animal kills you. In the book, the man sent to kill Kurtz before Marlow killed himself. Going into the jungle seems to be a definite death sentence for most. I just don't understand how Marlow survives. Right now, he seems sane, but how can we know for sure?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ladies, for your posts. Keep reading. Marlow does survive, but in what "condition"? Yep, the knitters are certainly references to the Fates. Did y'all read A Tale of Two Cities last year? Any parallels there? This book is certainly "all about" tone, mood, atmosphere!
ReplyDeleteMadame Defarge!!!! Her knitting was her observations of those around her and it served as a death list for aristocrats and their sympathizers.
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