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FromwhomdidConradwrite?
9
nessofConrad’sPolishheritageacomponentwhichenrichesandbroadenstheun-
derstandingofhiswork.9
Inanycase,inthispaperIamconcernedwithadifferenttopic.Iwouldliketo
considertwothematicallyrelatedbutmethodologicallyquitedistinctproblems.First,
howConradhimselfconceivedhisrealreaders?Second,whoarethe“implied”(in
theterminologyofWolfgangIser),orintended(inErwinWolff’sterms),ormore
loftily“informed”or“ideal”(accordingtoStanleyFish)readersofparticularworks
ofConrad?
Ishallbeginwithabanality.Everypieceofliteratureisacommuniqué,directed
tosomeone,usuallytomorethanoneperson,andexpressedinagivennaturallan-
guage.WhentheboyKonradKorzeniowski,apparentlyattheageofeleven,con-
coctedsomejuvenile“dramas”,10heknewperfectlywelltowhomtheyweread-
dressed.Butwhen,attheageof32,hebeganhisfirstnovel–howdidheimagineits
readers?HowmuchcouldhehaveknownabouttheEnglish,towhomhewasad-
dressinghiscommuniqué?
Itseemsthatverylittleindeed.Contemporaryseamendidnotreadmuch.Singleton
inTheNigger,laboriouslyploddingthroughBulwerLytton,isanexception.Anyway,
themajorityofcrewmeninBritishmerchantvesselswereforeigners.Officers,also
notalwaysBritish,probablyreadmore,butcertainlydidnotforminthisrespect
acoherentcommunity.ItisdoubtfulifConrad,meetinghisprofessionalcolleagues
intheportsofAustraliaortheFarEast,couldconversewiththemaboutcontempo-
raryfiction.OntheBritishIsleshedidnotknow,priortomeetingEdwardGarnett,
anybodyfromtheintellectualandartisticcircles.G.W.F.Hope,hisearliestEnglish
closeacquaintance,mentionsbooksasphenomenafromanotherworld.Conrad’s
Marlowiseducatedwellabovetheaverage,andJohnGalsworthy,whoknewwhathe
wastalkingabout,assertedimmediatelythatMarlow“thoughEnglishinname”,is
“notsoinnature”,11(and,athingunusualinEnglishfiction,weneverlearnfrom
whichpartofthecountryhehails).
WeknowthatConradwasexceptionallywell-read.Heknewnotonlycontempo-
raryEnglish“serious”butalsopopularfiction.(Althoughitseemsthattherewere
gaps:wefindnotraceofhishavingreadJaneAustenortheBrontësisters,or–more
significantly–GeorgeEliot).Butthatwastheknowledgeoftextsofnovelsandtales,
notanacquaintancewiththeirreaders.Thereadershehadtovisualizehimself.Now,
itisnaturalforanauthortoimaginereadersasresemblinghim-orherself.Buthere
weencounteraparadox.OfonethingConradcouldbecertain:heknewthathead-
dressedmenandwomenverydifferentfromhimself.Differentintheirculturalback-
ground,biographies,linguisticassociations,artisticcustom.Hewassendinghis
worksasifintoamist,notknowing,howtheywouldbereceived.WritinginEnglish,
9“ConradundKonrad.”NeueZürcherZeitung.1Sept.2007.
10See:ZdzisławNajder.JosephConrad:ALife.Rochester,NY
,2007,33.
11JohnGalsworthy.CastlesinSpainandOtherScreeds.London1927,78.
