Joseph Conrad

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The Life and Impact of Joseph Conrad

Joseph Conrad, most famous for his novels Chance, Lord Jim, and Heart of Darkness,

was a reserved Polish gentleman who lived a trying life filled with debt, depression, and health

problems. However, he had the support of his loving wife and he became a successful author of

over twenty novels. Conrad seemed interested in battles of good versus evil in which the gray

area between the two extremes often overtook both sides. His works have been analyzed by

thousands of critics, but more importantly, enjoyed as thoughtful and brooding moments by

millions of avid readers. As with many authors, his novels were respected and read during his

lifetime, but his impact on modernist literature echoed well past his death on August 3, 1924.

Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski was born on December 3, 1857 to polish nobles

Evelina Bobrowska and Apollo Korzeniowski during the Russian takeover of Poland. When

Józef was only four years old, his pro-rebellion parents were arrested and the family was “exiled

to the province of Vologda in Northern Russia. The living conditions and harsh climate took

their toll on Joseph’s parents: they both contracted tuberculosis, Evelina dying of it in 1865,

Apollo in 1869.” (http://www.online-literature.com/conrad/). The harsh climate also affected

Konrad and he developed health problems that would plague him for the rest of his life.

Bobrowski, Evelina’s brother, took care of twelve year old Józef and would continue to support

the orphan past his childhood. Konrad describes his uncle as being “the wisest, the firmest, the

most indulgent of guardians, extending over me a paternal care and affection, a moral support

which I seemed to feel always near me”. (Conrad)

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Tiring of tutors and wanting to avoid the Russian conscription into the military, Konrad

left his Uncle in Poland for a French sea port and began his life as a seaman with the French

Merchant Marine. He traveled across the world and lived and worked on many different vessels.

Critics claim that Konrad took many of his experiences as a seaman and incorporated them into

his writing. Before becoming a smuggler, Konrad met “Dominic Cervoni, upon whom he based

the protagonist of Nostromo” in 1876. (Allingham 10) In 1877 he allegedly became an

international smuggler.

Konrad eventually changed his name to Joseph Conrad, but only after one of the most

trying times in his life. As a seaman he had incurred a large gambling debt and had no way to

pay off the debt. He shot himself in the chest in an attempt to end his life and resolve his debt.

His uncle once again came to his rescue and paid off the debt so Konrad could start over with a

clean slate. Konrad passed several tests and transferred to the British Merchant Marine where he

changed his name to Joseph Conrad and built his reputation as an experienced seaman.

Joseph Conrad left the seas in favor of becoming a novelist. He began work on his first

novel Almayer’s Folly in 1889, but the sea called him back the following year and he “desperate

for command, takes a mate's position on a river steamer for the Societe Anonyme pour le

Commerce du Haut-Congo , the experience so vividly reflected in Conrad's Congo Journal and

eventually in Heart of Darkness”. (http://www.victorianweb.org/).

Conrad immersed himself in the literary world and in “1896 he married Jessie Emmeline

George, daughter of a bookseller; they had two sons. He also had friendships with prominent

writers such as John Galsworthy, Ford Madox Ford and H.G. Wells.”

(http://www.biography.com/). Conrad starts his writing career in earnest, publishing one book a

year from 1895 to 1900. In order of publication, these books were: Almayer’s Folly (1895),

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Your Name Last Name 1 Teachers Name Class Date The Life and Impact of Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad, most famous for his novels Chance, Lord Jim, and Heart of Darkness, was a reserved Polish gentleman who lived a trying life filled with debt, depression, and health problems. However, he had the support of his loving wife and he became a successful author of over twenty novels. Conrad seemed interested in battles of good versus evil in which the gray area between the two extremes often overtook both sides. His works have been analyzed by thousands of critics, but more importantly, enjoyed as thoughtful and brooding moments by millions of avid readers. As with many authors, his novels were respected and read during his lifetime, but his impact on modernist literature echoed well past his death on August 3, 1924. Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski was born on December 3, 1857 to polish nobles Evelina Bobrowska and Apollo Korzeniowski during the Russian takeover of Poland. When Józef was only four years old, his pro-rebellion parents were arrested and the family was “exiled to the province of Vologda in Northern Russia. The living conditions and harsh climate took their toll on Joseph’s parents: they both contracted tuberculosis, Evelina dying of it in 1865, Apollo in 1869.” (http://www.online-literature.com/conrad/). The harsh climate also affected Konrad and he developed health problems that would plague him for the rest of his life. Bobrowski, Evelina’s brother, took c ...
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