Noirceur et fascination de l’abominable: Céline et Conrad

Abstract

The present issue draws a parallel between two modern writers, Louis-Ferdinand Céline and Joseph Conrad, who share a pessimistic ”philosophy” concerning the human race and its relation to a godless Universe. In their respective novels, “Voyage au bout de la Nuit” (“Journey at the End of the Night”) and “Heart of Darkness”, they both depict a world whose main feature is the utmost “darkness”/”noirceur”, and show that Mankind’s eternal vices (greed, cruelty, will to dominate the World, lack of empathy for the other, etc.) have led to sad epiphenomena such as poverty, dehumanization, moral and material decay. Both writers highlight (directly or allusively) the deep scars left on the black skins and black soil of Africa by the “benefits” of colonialism; but, at the same time, they both mock the “bad habits” of the Natives, such as cannibalism (Conrad) or moral decay (Céline). Both authors portray a non-flattering image of the human race.