Conrad is totally obsessed with physical appearances in The Secret Agent, and in general, his descriptions of peoples appearances seem to have two main effects: 1) Give Conrad a chance to really show off his mad writing skillz, and 2) Create a very chilly distance between the narrator and the characters of the book.
In Conrad's case, physical descriptions of people almost always suggest a lack of sympathy in the narrator. Also, physical appearances have a huge amount of significance for the character Ossipon, who believes that you can tell someone's true personality through a scientific study of his/her appearance. This sort of idea has been completely discredited since Conrad's time, but Conrad himself never comes out and says it's false.
Questions About Appearances
- In this book, there are three characters that are described as fat, and two of them (Michaelis and Ethelred) are morbidly obese. What's with Conrad's depiction of fat people in this book? Is there a broader point he's trying to make by dwelling so much on people's weight?
- What do you think the book's final verdict is on the ideas of Cesare Lombroso? Do you think it makes fun of Ossipon for believing in this man's ideas, or does it actually treat the ideas seriously?
- There's an old saying about how appearances can be deceiving. Is this ever the case in The Secret Agent, or do people's appearances always match their true personalities?
Chew on This
In The Secret Agent, Joseph Conrad never directly invalidates the ideas of Cesare Lombroso. In fact, Conrad's obsession with appearances sometimes seems to support these ideas.
Conrad's representation of obesity in The Secret Agent symbolizes a loss of energy and vitality in modern culture.