On the Discrepancy ln the Narrative Focus of Conrad's
Under Western Eyes
Yusuke Takahata (高畑 悠介)
1. The Language Teacher as an Unreliable Narrator
Joseph Conrad's Under Western Eyes is narrated by an old British
gentleman who teaches languages in Geneva. Although the story of Razumov
is remarkab一e as it squarely deals with Russia for the first time in Conrad's
works and draws our interests to the novelist's personal motive and
psychology, the British teacher's frame narration is also novel in its somewhat
tricky relation to the content it deals with. The narrator has indeed received no
less critical attention than Razumov, but the maJOrJty Of critics view him rather
negatively･ Some simply attack his personality and Jack of perceptiveness
(RosenfieJd 165; Hay 297･, Secor 34･, Moore 23; La Bossiere 37), and others
argue that the narrator is a failure as a device to convey the story of Razumov
(Palmer 125-27; Co又 104).
On the other hand, some critics have focused on his unreliability as a
narrator itse一f, seeing it as central to the work. In fact, his nervous se】f-
deprecation about his ability as a narrator, the repetitiousness of which is
almost boring, glVeS, together with his garrulousness, a somewhat suspICious
impression about him. His claim that "all rhe hasl brought to lRazumov's
diaryl is lhisl knowledge of the Russian language" (3-4) is hard to believe
literally, and the way he apologlSeS for digression when he makes
unfavourable generalisations about Russia several times might even be termed
theatrical･ Moreover, as Justice remarks, the narrator is a bit dogmatic and ful一
of Hpreconceptions" (95)･ He defines the keyword expressing the Russian
disposition as HcynicismM (Conrad 67), but in effect, as Rice points out, the
term "clearly applies to the teacher of languages himself" (103) who uses
sarcasm from time to time during the narration, rather than to the Russians in
thetext.
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Readt'ng 33 (2012)
Demonstrating how the Hwhole of Under Western Eves concerns the
problem of narrative reliability and unreliabilityH (277), Lothe points out the
narrator'S "characteristic, and often confusing, tendency to blur information
which presumably stems from the diary with his own reflections and ideas"
(267), and argues that Hthe reader is meant to question the validity of the
language teacher's narrative qua direct or literal transmission of Razumov's
diaryM (271). Justice closely analyses the unreliability of the narrator, too: "the
narrator vacHlates between his objective and subjective viewpoints･ ･ ･. The
teacher-storyteller is deceptively artfulM ( 1 8),
Tn truth, as the narrative unfolds the narrator turns out not to match his
apparent figure･ At first sight he seems to be modest and self-deprecating, but
actually he keeps on rnaking sneaky attempts at self-assertion, as it were･ For
example, after the traglC end of Razumov, the narrator describes his own
reception of a short note from Nathalie as Hrewarding my self-denialH (372)･
such a dubious impression dimly perceived in the quotation casts a shadow on
his character, and Justice supports my view when he polntS Out the narrator's
Hself-pitying aspectsH and Hplea for sympathyM (105), and rightly observes also
that he山caIIs too much attention to himself" (1 16).
The narrator also seems to be a gentleman who is reslgned to his life in a
sound and moderate way, acceptlng his status as a person of advanced age, but
here I would like to emphasise the fact that in reality what he feels towards
Nathalie is nothing less than covert sexual desire, Hnotwithstanding his years"･
snyder, quoting the sentence Hlwlithout fear of provoking a smile, I shaH
confess that I became much attracted to that younggirl" (Conrad 102), argues
in her study focuslng On the bachdorhood of the narrator that he feels guilty of
his desire and tries to Hward off, or at least to preempt, charges that his
thoughts and feelings are not socially 'permissible for an old man,'especially
with respect to a woman young enough to be his daughter" (150). The
followlng Passage is from an interview scene between the language teacher
and Nathalie, which implies his voyeuristic inclination: HShe gave me a quick
took. Quick, not stealthy. If there was one thing of which she was absolutely
incapable, it was stealthiness･ ･･. It was I who was looking at her covertlv-if I
may say SOM (emphasis added, 142)･ He also says: "I am not ashamed of the
warmth of my regard for Miss HaldinM (164), and if "anybody wishes to
remark that this was a roundabout way of thinking of Natalia Ha]din, I can
Reading 33 (2012)
54
only retort that she was weJJ worth some concern" (318), displaying a peculiar
seJf-Consciousness about his affection for her. Even more remarkable in this
context js the foIJow】ng scene in Part Fourth where the narrator and NathaJie
walk together looking for Razumov: "She took my arm confidingly'famiJiarJy,
and accelerated her paceH･･ lt never entered our heads to make use of these
conveyances･ She was too hurried, perhaps, and as to myself-well, she had
taken my arm conjidingly" (emphasis added･ 332)I Here he visibly experiences
a kind of ecstasy, and it is impossible to overlook the discordance between
these things and the decent image the narrator seemlngly assumes･ He may be
a gent一eman, but the impression we receive from his peculiar self-
Consciousness and garruJousness as to his iT]icit affection for the young gjrl
seems to be faintly akin to that of Humbert Humbert, the sexual1y perverted
narrator of Nabokov's Lolita.
2･ Trickiness in the Retrospective Form
The discussion above has concentrated on the unreliabjlity of the narrator
mainly in terms of his personality, which we could also describe simply as his
susplclOuSneSS, and now I will consider an even more important unreliability
of his narration connecting itwith the generalstructure of the work. There is
an odd fact in Under Western Eyes which critics have not paid much attention
to regardless of what T would argue is its extreme slgnificance･ That is, there
are no descrlptions or the change or the narrator,s attitude towards Razumov
despite the fact that he has read Razumov,s diary and learned the truth of his
betrayal at the time or his writing･ During the first-person narration in Geneva
the narrator has not yet done so and there is no way for him to know the reason
for Razumov's desperate and nervous behaviour, So it is at least
comprehensible that hemight provoke the narrator's antipathy. His attitude t｡
Razumov is indeed qulte harsh and unsympathetic, and his reluctance to
understand his psychology almost amounts to calJousness･ When witnessJng
Razumov's agonised confession of his betrayal to Nathalie, the narrator
condemns him, seemlngly outraged by his dishonesty, and later when Tekla
comes to inform him about the disastrous end of Razumov, who had been
deafened by the revolutionists and run over by the tramcar to become crJPpled,
he states Just that he does not Hwant to meditate very long on the inwardness of
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Reading 33 (2012)
this peculiar episode= (308)･
such coldness is not unnatural only lnSOfar as the narrator is Ignorant Of
the motive of Razumov,s betrayal recorded at length in his diary･ In fact, his
conduct to Victor Haldin was next to unavoidable･ Haldin's conviction of
Razumov being sympathetic towards revolutionary radicalism was a totally
one-sided preconception, and Razumov could not JeOpardise his status as a
promislng Student considering his orphanhood･ We could say that the process
through which he is driven to sell Haldin is depicted not less compellingly than
Jim,s leap from the Patna, and a close reading of Razumov's diary should
change the first impression the narrator had during the orlgJnalevent, apart
from whether he goes so far as to sympathise with Razumov or not.
Neverthe一ess, there a1℃ nO descriptions of that sort･ Though the who一e text
mixes the viewpoint of the language teacher in the past with that in the present,
the narrator never recounts tO readers what he felt when he learned the truth of
Razumov,s betrayal･ He remains to the end as callous to Razumov as in the
orlglnal event, and this mysteriously unchanged attitude, despite the
enlightenlng information in the diary, inevitably arouses susplCIOn about his
own psycho】ogy･ -t is true, as some critics have pointed out, that technically
speaking there are some obvious contradictions in the British teacher's
narration and the whole structure of the novel, and some readers might say that
this unaltered attitude of the narrator shouldalSo be disregarded just as a
common literary convention･ However, whereas it would be fruitless to
scrutinise the technical contradiction of the narration from a strictly loglCal
point of view, this fixed attitude of the narrator is, I would argue, worth a close
examination because it holds the possibilityOf leading to a new reading of the
novel.
Tn the previous section I observed that the language teacher is sexually
attracted to Nathalie, but what is important here is that in his failed love he
feels painfully excluded from the bond between the two young Russians who
love each other, namely Razumov and Nathalie･ There appears recurrently,
even persistent】y'the descriptlOn Of his position as an onlooker･ HI had been
standing a little aside, seeing them both in profileM (181); HI made up my mind
to play my part of helpless spectator to the endH (336)･, Httlo me, the silent
spectator, they looked like two people becomlng COnSCious of a spell which
had been lying on them ever since they first set eyes on each other" (344-45);
Reading 33 (2012)
56
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Composed of a purely subjective narration that is strongly motivated by his
personal emotion･ This explains the reason for his callousness towards
Razumov which mysteriously remains unaltered to the end･ Probably, in the
text the narrator's feelings are only partiaHy expressed in language, and it is in
this sense that the British teacher's perspective should be regarded as the most
unreliable. Therefore, I cannot agree with the view expressed by several
critics that the narrator does not realise the complexity of what he narrates due
to his lack of perceptiveness･ Such a view seems to miss his potential
malllpulativeness, which also contributes largely to the teacher's unreliability･
Szittya argues that Razumov "isalso a narrator･ Under Western Eyes actually
consists of two narrations, one contained by the otherl'(821), but, similarly, he
fails to pay enough attention to the power relation in which the narration of the
language teacher dominates Razumov's diary･ The raw voice oF the diary
inevitably comes through the filter of the narrator's subjectivity, whether he
exerts his manlpulative power in reality or not･
3. Discrepancy in the Narrative Focus
ln this light the problem of Russia is also important･ There has been a
considerable amount of criticism that has studied the representation of Russia
in Under Western Eyes･ One conspicuous example is Caminero-Santangelo's
argument that the noveHs compHcit in imperial ideo)ogles through the British
narrator's discriminatory treatment of Russia･ Tn his discussion on Ngugl Wa
Thiong'o's A Grain of Wheat, a novel that is modeled after Under Western
Eyes, he argues that Conrad, through the British narrator, ''creates a clear and
unbridgeable distance between Britain and Russia politically, socially, and
culturallyM (142) in order to condemn Russia's imperialism without reflecting
on Britain's own atrocities. In the Author's Note, Conrad himself claims the
story to be something like a sketch of Russia, and the narrator, too, glVeS
lengthy generalisations about Russia many times during the narration･ The
way ln Which Razumov's and Haldin's thoughts are influenced by their being
Russian is stressed, and there recurrently appears a contrast between Russia
and Western Europe･ HI confess that my very realsympathy had no standpoint.
The Western readers for whom this story lS Written wi日understand what I
mean" (112); …It]he Westerner in me was discomposedM (317)了`I felt
Reading 33 (2012)
58
profoundly my European remoteness, and said nothing" (336); "Natalia Haldin
might have guessed what was the 一one thing more'which remained for him to
do; but this my Western eyes had failed to see" (377). Obviously one of the
reasons why Under Western Eye is remarkable in Conrad's career is that it
deals with Russia, a county he famously loathed for having oppressed his
family in his childhood, for the first time in a direct way, and we need to
consider that fact carefully.
fiowever, what must be noted here is that the subject of Russia also holds
the possibility of being Interpreted from the viewpolnt I have presented above.
That is, in a way we can regard the British teacher's behaviour as making use
of the distance between Russia and Western Europe as a cover to rationalise
his failure in approaching Nathalie. lt must be quite painful for him, an old
Hlonely bachelor" (318), to accept the fact that he is no match for Razumov as
a man and that he was excluded from the two young lovers in a way that
rendered him nearly pathetic. Since age is presumably more convinclng aS the
obstacle to his approaching Nathalie than nationality, the manner in which the
narrator persistently foregrounds the causal exp一anation that he cannot
understand Nathalie because he is a Westerner allows us to hypothesise that he
takes advantage of the dispositional and political gap between the two cultures
as a defence mechanism agalnSt that palm. The generalisations about the
national character of Russia made in the work are, as I have mentioned, rather
flimsy, and as to the treatment of Russia in Under Western Eyes, Conrad
himself writes rather bluntlyinhis letter: …the fact is that I know extremely
little of Russians･ Practically nothing･ In Poland we have nothing to do with
themM (CL,3, 490). Tn this light, wemight find something ironic about the title
of the novel, Under Western Eyes, because it leads readers to expect something
like a substantial analysIS Of Russia and the West, whereas the actual novel has
the potential for being read as a story about an Old man who tries to come to
terms with his failure in courting a girl who is Hyoung enough to be his
daughterM by developlng a Seemingly disinterested theory about the gulf
between Russia and the Western Europe.
I have discussed the possible discrepancy between the apparent intention
of the novel to contrast Russia with the West and the actual subject matter
behind that contrast, but an even more remarkable discrepancy seems to exist
in the focus of the narration･ We could say that the noveHs composed of the
59
ReadLlng 33 (2012)
narrated content, the story of Razumov, and the narrative framework, the
language teacher's narration. However, that narration, which is naturally
supposed to concentrate on the story of Razumov as the framework to present
the content, focuses not necessarily on it but rather on some other object-the
narrator's unrequited affection for Nathalie.
On the face of it Under Western Eyes naturally appears to be a novel
about Razumov. Tn the openlng Paragraph of the text the narrator ponders
whether he could successfully present the personality of Razumov to the
readers, and the whole of the Part First describes him excltlSively. Moreover,
the story is based on Razumov's diary which the narrator troubled to translate
in order to record the events which happened around the Russian youth, and a
straightforward reading would be to see the novel as a story about Razumov.
Nevertheless, the narrator's vague reluctance to understand Razumov's
motives and psychology suggests that he is not only unsympathetic but also
essentially indifferent towards him･1 -∩ the text there are actually only a few
scenes where the narrator seriously reflects on Razumov's plight, whereas he
never fails to be attentive to Nathalie's fee一ings, glVlng a somewhat dubious
impression. As T have already discussed, a close reading of the British
teacher's feelings towards Razurnov and Nathane, callous towards the former
and voyeuristic towards the latter, inevitably tens us that his true interest lies
rather in Nathalie to whom he is sexually attracted. Tn truth, during the
climactic scene Just before Razumov's confession to Nathalie, the narrator
himself honestly states: "it was for Miss Haldin, already so tired in her deepest
affections, that T felt a serious concern" (351). That is, in Under Western Eyes
the framework which is supposed to narrate the story of Razumov focuses on
another plot in essence, and this focal discrepancy, as it were, between the
framework and the content can also be detected in their tone. Whereas the
story of Razumov concernlng betrayal and conscience takes on a 一evel of
seriousness which can be seen in many of Conrad's works such as LJOrdJim or
Nostromo, the narrator's attitude lacks the urgency the story of Razumov
should requlre and sometimes smacks of flippancy. This can be perceived, for
instance, in the scene I have quoted earlier where he experiences a kind of
ecstasy having his arm taken confidingly by Nathalie, notwithstanding the
gravity of the situation.
Reading 33 (2012)
60
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his major novels he had explored his characters'internaldarkness in relation to
those somewhat old-fashioned motifs, and in Under Western Eyes the story of
Razumov's ethical anguish is undoubtedly where one might have expected
them tO be explored since he is one of the Conradian introspective characters
like Jim, Decoud and Marlow in Heart of Darkness. The tragic story of
Razumov, however, is dwarfed by the British teacher'S subjective narration as
I have argued. The discrepancy 】n the narrative focus undermines any
straightforward reading of the central story of the work that was possible in
earlier works like Lord Jim, and what this consequently indicates is the
slgnificant fact that the themes of morality that had been at the core of
Conrad's major novels are, even if only to a smaH extent, rendered
comparativelyperipheral in Under Western EyesI
This observation, based on the analysts Of the structure of the novel,
seems to be substantiated when we look at Conrad's works after Under
Western Eyes. As I have argued in another essay, in the next novel, Chance,
the centra一 episode of Anthony and Flora is a melodramatic love romance that
isalmost devoid of ethical themes, and it is overshadowed by MarIow's
subjective narration that occupleS a large part of the text in its stylistic
sophistication. Tt might be possible to see a parallel between Under Western
Eyes and Chance in that both of the novels introduce a certain kind of irony
into the relation between the narrated content and the narrative framework that
conveys it, but what is important here is the fact that, as the early critics of the
"achievement and declineH theory have rather accuslngly pointed out, in the
later novels including Chance, We can no longer find the characteristic
Conradian seriousness in their exploration of the characters'internaldarkness
in relation to themes of morality.
It would be far beyond the scope of this paper to explain the reason for
this change of the late Conrad. The possible inference is that severaleJements
are involved such as Conrad's creative fatigue, the financial and aesthetic need
to be read by a wider audience, and his long-time wish to write "the
Mediterranean storyM which is presumably the germ of the last novels such as
The Arrow of Gold and The Rover (Letters 3, 56). I would argue, however,
that critics have been rather inattentive to the importance Under Western Eyes
assumes when we approach that issue. Although sometimes seen as the last of
Conrad's politicaltrilogy, the novel has the potential for being Juxtaposed with
ReadLlng 33 (2012)
62
Chance, and when we focus on its narrative structure, it seems to glVe uS a Clue
in considering the late Conrad's remarkable change that has been puzzling
successive generations of critics.
Note
l The position of Fincham, who keenly analyses the multilayered aspects of the
language teacher's narration, differs from mine jn that he emphasises HsympathyM as the
centre of his reading･ He states not only that the narrator's behaviour …indicates an
understanding of, and sympathywith, RazuTTmV's plight" (73), but also that some of the
contradictionsthe narrator shows Hconspire to endear him to the reader''(emphasis
added･ 66)･ My discussion has demonstrated, I hope, that in Under Western Eyes
sympathy works neither between the narrator and Razumov nor between readers and
the narrator.
Works Cited
Caminero-Santangelo, Byron･ HNeocohnialism and the Betrayal Plot in `A Grain of
Wheat': NgugトWa Thiong'o's Re-vision of `Under Western Eyes'‖･ Research in
African Literatures 29. 1 ( 1998): 1 39-152.
Conrad, Joseph･ ne Collected Letters of Joseph Conrad, Vol.3. Ed. Frederick R. Karl
and Laurence DaviesI Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988･
･ Chance. Collected Edition of the Works of Joseph Conl･ad. London: J. M.
Dent, 】949.
･ Under Western Eyes･ Collected Edition of the Works of Joseph Conrad.
Londoll: J. M. Dent, 1947.
Cox, C･ B･ Joseph Conrad, the Modern Imaglnation. London: J.M. Dent, 1974.
Fincham, Gait. `"To Make You See': Narration and Focalization in `Under Western
Eyes"A Joseph Co,trad: Voice, Sequence, History, Genre. Ed. Jakob Lothe,
Jeremy Hawthorn and James Phelan･ Columbus: The Ohio State Universlty
Press, 2008. 60-80.
Hay, EJoise Knapp･ The Political Novels of Joseph Conrad.I a Critical Study. Chicago:
Universlty Of Chicago Press, 1963.
Justice, E･ Louise. Ironic Ajfirmation in Joseph Conrad's Nat.ratOrS: LNostromo ', `The
Secret Agent', and LUnder Western Eyes I. TaHahassee: Florida State University,
198】.
63
Reading 33 (2012)
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