This study argues that Conrad portrays Marlow and his relationships with a psychological depth that is unsurpassed in literature. In Youth , Heart of Darkness and Lord Jim , he is a continuously-evolving character whose thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are expressions of his personality and experience.
'Bernard Paris offers a direct challenge to critics, who have commonly viewed Conrad's Marlow not as an 'imagined human being' but instead as a literary device or a purveyor of themes or a purely functional character. Paris, who has long been interested in the psychological study of literary characters, uses close textual analysis in his straightforward and thoroughgoing assessment of the crucial links between the evolving character and personal psychology of the Marlow who appears in 'Youth' and the Marlow of 'Heart of Darkness' and Lord Jim. A work of literary analysis but also a highly personal work that reads, in part, like a passionate tribute to a time-honored and deeply appreciated literary friend, Conrad's Charlie Marlow offers readers a penetrating and deeply sympathetic psychological portrait of Conrad's Charlie Marlow in a refreshingly accessible way.' - J. Brooks Bouson, Professor of English, Loyola University of Chicago