Secret agent, absent agent?

ethical-stylistic aspects of anarchy in Conrad's the secret agent

Ruth Kolani

pp. 86-100

in: Andrew Hadfield, Dominic Rainsford, Tim Woods (eds), The ethics in literature, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 1999

Abstract

The ethical concerns of The Secret Agent and Conrad's treatment of the theme of moral anarchy have been subjected to considerable literary investigation; but there has been no critical consensus on the significance and scope of the anarchist theme in Conrad's narrative. Some critics have maintained that the author's portrayal of the anarchists does not do historical justice to the anarchist movement and that, unlike his other major works, this novel lacks "a moral perspective to serve literary ends".¹ Others have insisted that The Secret Agent is not about anarchism per se and that its anarchists are indeed not to be taken too seriously. For example, Leo Gurko argues that the anarchist theme provides mere "political scaffolding" and that the author's overriding ethical concern is the dehumanising impact of London.²

Cited authors

Conrad Joseph