Description
The following excerpt is from a letter written by Joseph Conrad to R. B. Cunninghame Graham. In this letter, Conrad discusses his philosophical and political beliefs in relation to Graham's radical and provocative opinions.
"I am not sure that I understand you, my dear Graham. I am not sure that I understand myself. I am not sure that I understand anything. But I am sure that I understand you. I am sure that I understand your mind. I am sure that I understand your heart. I am sure that I understand your soul. I am sure that I understand your courage. I am sure that I understand your idealism. I am sure that I understand your passion. I am sure that I understand your intelligence. I am sure that I understand your integrity. I am sure that I understand your generosity. I am sure that I understand your patriotism. I am sure that I understand your love. I am sure that I understand your faith. I am sure that I understand your hope. I am sure that I understand your dreams. I am sure that I understand your fears. I am sure that I understand your sorrows. I am sure that I understand your joys. I am sure that I understand your sorrows and your joys
Joseph Conrad's friendship with R. B. Cunninghame Graham was stimulating and in many ways paradoxical. Cunninghame Graham was a remarkable figure - a Scottish aristocrat who lived variously as a South American cowboy, a fencing master, a socialist Member of Parliament and a highly respected writer of travel, histories and short stories. His political beliefs, to which he was deeply and passionately committed, contrasted sharply with Conrad's pessimistic conservatism. They became friends in 1897, when Cunninghame Graham first wrote a letter of admiration to Conrad, and they remained friends until Conrad's death in 1924. The letters to Cunninghame Graham are the most illuminating sequence of letters from Conrad to any of his correspondents. He struggles to define his philosophical and political beliefs in relation to Graham's radical and provocative opinions. The letters also provide comments on Conrad's work, notably The Nigger of the 'Narcissus', Heart of Darkness, Nostromo and The Secret Agent, and show how Graham became a central figure in Conrad's life and helped to sustain him in some of his most strenuous literary struggles.
Related Products
