Patrick Brantlinger"s essay, "Victorians and Africans: The Genealogy of the Myth of the Dark Continent," presents a basis for the development of the theory of the "Dark Continent". Joseph Conrad suggests the universality of darkness, or "savageness", within every individual, whether he is black or white. The Europeans, in an effort to disprove Conrad, attempt to project their own "savage" impulses onto Africans (Brantlinger 194). They saw themselves as superior to Africans in every way, and refused to accept the darkness that Conrad proposed, resulting in the emergence of the Myth of the Dark Continent. H. Rider Haggard"s novel, King Solomon"s Mines, supports this idea of the projection of darkness onto to Africans. .

             The term "dark" can be interpreted in many different ways as the word can imply several meanings. "Dark," often times synonymous with "evil," reflects the way in which Europeans perceive the Africans. "The British tended to see Africa as a center of evil, a part of the world possessed by a demonic "darkness" or barbarism" (Brantlinger 175). The rituals that African tribes commonly practiced, such as human sacrifices and cannibalism, were unheard of in the European world. The mystery that lies behind the daily lives of the natives contribute greatly to the darkness. All of this represents the inferiority of the Africans. Haggard"s novel has many instances that support this idea. Throughout his book, the white travelers are respectfully called, "white men from the .

             Kim 2.

             stars." Allan Quartermain, the narrator, commenting on the death of Foulata, which signified the end of the relationship of Captain John Good, a British man, and Foulata,, the black woman, by saying:.

             I am bound to say that, looking at the thing from the point of view of an oldish man of the world, I consider her removal was a fortunate occurrence, since, otherwise, complications would have been sure to ensue.