The Victory in Victory

Victory - victor, victorious, victim. How do we understand these words and their possible connotations with respect to Conrad's novel? In order for there to be a "victory," there must have been a war or a conflict. What is this conflict in Conrad's novel, who is the victim, and who is victorious? Quotations are used from various parts of Joseph Conrad’s Victory.

In Victory, by Joseph Conrad, the word “victory” comes into mind from the very beginning. The reader would assume that as one obtains a victory he or she would be in an ideal situation, in a utopia of ultimate achievement where the victor is the righteous and the victim shall receive no mercy. However, the novel comes to a tragic end for the protagonist so the “victory” of which Conrad writes about is more complex than one would simply imagine. The true conflict which lies within the novel is not between Axel Heyst and his foes, but rather between Heyst and himself. He is forced to fight against himself an...