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This article argues that Conrad’s Heart of Darkness belongs to the genre of tragedy as outlined by Northrop Frye. As such, Kurtz becomes the central character, the tragic hero who is superior to other men but not to his environment, possessing powers of expression far greater than others. Kurtz, however, is subordinate to the wilderness, and his tragic flaw (hamartia) is partly and ironically his physical constitution. He also commits hubris by occupying a god-like role. Through hamartia and hubris, he falls, becoming tragically isolated. The hero’s isolation is the center of tragedy. At the point of death, the final phase of tragedy, Kurtz reaches a point of demonic epiphany. Marlow, too, plays an important part in the tragedy, assuming the role of the “tragic type of plain dealer” who “is an outspoken critic of the tragic action.”
