Introduction
Heart of Darkness is a flagship novella written by Joseph Conrad. It hit the shelves in 1899. The novel basically narrates the story of Belgian Imperialism upon the African natives. The author has subtly utilized the title of the novel which is multi-dimensional. Apparently, the title of the novel hints at the darkest heart of African Congo (which is the centre of Africa). But the title is also used as a metaphor of the destructive force of the evil. Evil here means a number of things, like the evil of imperialism, the evil of passion, the evil of greediness. Moreover, Kurtz' last words are also important as they are directly interlinked with the title.
Appearant Meaning
The literal meaning of the title of this novel points at the continent of Africa and especially its territory of Congo. The name of the dark continent was first used by Henry Morton Stanley. He is the man who voyaged through the dark bushes in Africa. Due to his contribution, the word "dark" was widely used to refer to the continent of Africa. Although Conrad had himself voyaged to the dark continent in 1890. Yet he kept the dark name despite more discoveries of the places in the African continent. Therefore, on account of Stanley's contribution, Conrad named Heart of Darkness to literally signify the dark Congo and the dark people living in it.
Metaphorical or Symbolical Interpretation
The second layer of the title rests in its symbolic or metaphorical interpretation and there are many of them. As mentioned in the introductory paragraph of this question, the metaphorical meaning of the title is the destructive nature of the dark forces of the evil. Which leads us to another rabbit-hole of symbolic interpretation.
Firstly, it symbolizes for the evil force of imperialism. It is obvious from the novella that Conrad condemns imperialism. It was due to imperialism the natives and their property was exploited and they were kept in the dark about it. Secondly, the title can be used as a symbol of the evil of passion which destroys the soul. It is vividly portrayed through Kurtz' uncontrollable lust to collect ivory. The third implication of the title lies in the greediness of the Western colonizers who, in their greed to extort as many resources as possible, destroy the freedom of the people who are ruled by them.
Kurtz' Dying Words
Kurtz' dying words allude to the corruption of the human soul after an excessive exercise of passion. This is exactly what the title of the novella is referring to. It is to be noted that heart and soul are often interlinked. Kurtz was all after ivory and he could go to any length to extort as much ivory as he liked, even at the expense of the lives of the people. It must be noted that before the arrival of Kurtz in Africa, he was a man of fine manners. But after stepping Into Africa, he lost every civilized part of him for the sake of fulfilling his passion and his primitive desires. The truth dawns upon him as soon as the angel of death approaches him. Therefore, his last words are of considerable importance in the context of the title of this novella.
Conclusion
The title of the concerned novella appropriately conveys both its literal significance to the dark heart of Africa (Congo) as well as its symbolic adherence to the darkness of the soul during its stay in the human flesh.
