In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

195 CORNELIUS THE KAZARENS: AKEI-AKBIGUITY IM LORD JIM By Tom Schulthelss (Bibliographic Edltor, Conrad lana) The observations made by Dudley Flamm In his article on the ambiguous use of the term "Nazarene" in Conrad's Lord Jim require some amplifications, although my own comments are aimed more at suggesting the influences which led Conrad to choose both the epithet and the name Cornelius than they are at improving upon Flamm·s able delineation.1 As previously pointed out in my study on the influence of Hamlet in Lord JIm, the name Cornelius, along with so much else, was apparently drawn from Shakespeare's tragedy. I also cautioned In my remarks, however, that the "Influence of other sources. . . must of course be considered."3 With Conrad such a consideration is at all times necessary, because of his well-known tendency to make associations between life experiences and literary sources. Although the reference Is biblical, as he points out. Flamm has neglected the obvious course: a search of the Bible. There, In the New Testament (AV), Acts of the Apostles, chapter 10, we find: "There was. a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion. . ." The name Cornelius, then, is one which Conrad may have discovered In two places, in Hamlet and the Bible. Cornelius, the Roman centurion, is - fittingly - a convert to Christianity. Ey being "baptized in the name of the Lord," Cornelius becomes a Nazarene.5 The term Nazarenes (or Nazoreans) was a designation commonly applied by Jews to the "Christians," the early Jewish-Christian followers of Jesus as the Davldic Messiah. Conrad could easily have made an association between the convert Cornelius and the term "Nazarene," because later in Acts reference is made to Paul "a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes."" The basic ambiguity In Conrad's use of the word, as noted by Flamm, is that It immediately calls to mind Jesus of Nazareth, causing the general reader to make a rather ludicrous comparison between Cornelius and Christ. Underlying this, the ambiguity is compounded by the fact that the name Cornelius, to literate readers, would evoke the recollection of two other figures who are themselves models of devotion, faith, and loyalty (although the Cornelius of Acts, from the Roman point of view, is a betrayer of the old values, a convert, one who has gone over to the "other side"). The possibility follows from this that Conrad deliberately chose the name Cornelius in order to help create a figure who would be recognized as playing Just such an "opposite" role, whose antithetical stature would thereby decrease in proportion to our recognition of a contrast with two other literary models of a touted Conradlan virtue: fidelity. Such an ironic turnabout may also help explain the novelist's choice of the peculiarly distinctive word "Kazarene"t as a spur to the imagination, calling to mind the figure of Jesus and forcing the reader to make a sequen- 196 tial progression from Jesus to Elble, New Testament, the Cornelius of Acts, a figure which then might be further associated with memories of the Cornelius of Hamlet. The readers' ambiguous response marks the reference as a point of distraction which Conrad might better have avoided. As a technical matter, however purposeful, such a devious pattern of associations seems uncalled for, especially in view of the otherwise straightforward and explicit presentation of Cornelius as a figure of betrayal. NOTES 1 Dudley Flamm, "The Ambiguous Nazarene In Lord Jim," English Literature In Transition, XI: 1 (I968), 35-37. 2 Thomas Schulthelss, "Lord Hamlet and Lord Jim," Polish Review, XI (Autumn 1966), 128. 3 Ibid, p. 126. 4 Acts 10:01. 5 Acts 10:48. 6 Acts 24:05. CONTEMPORA The first issue of Conteapora. a literary nagazine, is scheduled to appear early in 1970. The magazine will publish poetry and fiction, as well as non-fiction concerned with contemporary culture . Contributors will be paid for work that is accepted. The general editors, Paula G. Putney and Robert B. Hinman, welcome contributions. Address: CONTEMPORA P.O. Box 673 Atlanta, Georgia 30301 Mrs. Putney now teaches at Atlanta State; Mr. Hinman is the MIltonist at Emory University. ...

pdf

Share