Razumov’s Predicament And Redemption:A Sartrean Existential Interpretation Of Conrad’s Under Western Eyes

Joseph Conrad is a well-known Polish-born English writer in the 20th century. Besides the most distinctive sea stories, Conrad also wrote some Europe-setting novels. Under Western Eyes, Conrad’s third political novel, was first published in 1911, and it is his only novel that is set in Russia. Many critics deem it as the high-water mark of Conrad’s art creation.Under Western Eyes, set in St. Petersburg and Geneva, depicts an autocratic Russia permeated with terrorist activities and military conspiracy, portrays the protagonist Razumov’s solitary existence and alienated relations with others, and describes Razumov’s psychology in the betrayal-deception-confession process. The existential ideas such as the absurd situation, alienated interpersonal relationships and the relations between freedom, choice and responsibility are presented thoroughly in the novel. First, Razumov is a law-abiding student and works hard for his ideal, but the revolutionary Haldin’s intrusion causes his predicament. He betrays Haldin to the government but then is sent to Europe as a spy. Razumov then is aware of his absurd situation. His life cannot return to be normal. He becomes a soul abandoned by God and his existence becomes a void. Second, Razumov has no intimate relations but social ones. Haldin’s confidence in him is ended by his betrayal, but afterwards he ends by loving Haldin’s sister. His ideal to work for the government is disillusioned by suspicion and oppression. Being a spy, he has to deal with the revolutionists whom he hates. All the interpersonal relations are torment to him. Last, confronted with so many choices, whether to give Haldin up or to provide help, whether to be a spy or to refuse the task, whether to twist the truth or to confess, Razumov makes nearly every decision for self-preservation. In the end, he chooses to confess for love despite the risk of losing everything, and just this decision saves him from the haunting of betrayal.The domestic and international study of Under Western Eyes has achieved great results in the following aspects:politics, morality, ethics, psychology, narratology, comparison, etc. However, the Sartrean existential interpretation of the novel is not very common, and often fragmented and passive concluding. Based on the previous study, the thesis adopts the text analysis and the Sartrean existentialism to analyze how Razumov finds his authenticity under autocratic pressure, and gain redemption through love out of the predicament from the perspectives of the absurd situation, alienated interpersonal relationships and the relations between freedom, choice and responsibility. The novel reveals Conrad’s understanding of human existence and his search for the existential significance. Through love, human will take the responsibility with courage, thus to be freed from the fetter of the absurd situation and the alienated relations, and to attain the authentic existence.