Joseph Conrad – A Possible Return - Lungan Cristina

            Joseph Conrad is one of the most subjective and most personal of English novelists. His best work makes appeal to the living sensibilities and commitments of readers; it is a deliberate invasion of our lives and deliberately manipulates our responses.

            Conrad conceived of his own art in terms of insight and vision; he founded his values, both artistic and moral, on the hypothesis of a “spectacular” universe. From E. M. Foster’s verdict that “he is misty in the middle as well as at the edges”^*2 to C. B. Cox’s view that “there is no clear development of ideas throughout his work”^*3, the main stream of Conrad scholarship has stressed his power and profundity at the expense of his intelligibility and control.

      The things that matter to us are Conrad’s determination to be successful in his career and his subsequent disillusionment as he struggled for recognition as sailor and artist.