Joseph Conrad

[Lotr246]

Joseph Conrad, author of Heart of Darkness--INFJ

 

[Uytuun]

Aha, interesting.

I am very fond of Joseph Conrad.

Any other opinions?

 

[Sniffles]

I must admit I don't know too much about him, but he certainly is an author Ive been interested in knowing better.

And the probability that he was INFJ only furthers my interest.

 

[ragashree]

INFJ could be a good call from the books I've read. Those amount only to "Heart of Darkness" and "Nostromo", but I believe they are considered pretty representative books. I remember a lot of overt moral judgement of people and situations; something of a didactic tendency at times; a profound, haunting sense of isolation; and persistent self-questioning and self doubt, at least in the major characters. I would have thought these are classic INFJ preoccupations.

His natural linguistic abilities must have been remarkable too - I think I remember hearing that English was not even his second, but his third language, and that he was largely self taught in it. I know he had quite a chaotic, travelling life at sea for many years (which informed much of his later work), and came relatively late to writing. If a long slow road to self-realisation and a particular gift for verbal self expression are to be taken as typical INFJ characteristics he appears to have had those too.

But maybe someone else has read him more widely or studied his life. I'd be interested to find out.

 

[miss fortune]

I wouldn't say that he was either an introvert or a j!

the man was a sailor from a young age and he left his home country and sailed to various regions around the world because he found living on land to be boring. He knew a lot of people and liked to tell and listen to stories and actually HAD adventures instead of just imagining them.

I'd say ExxP instead of IxxJ any day

 

[dynamiteninja]

INFJ

 

[ragashree]

I wouldn't say that he was either an introvert or a j!

the man was a sailor from a young age and he left his home country and sailed to various regions around the world because he found living on land to be boring. He knew a lot of people and liked to tell and listen to stories and actually HAD adventures instead of just imagining them.

I'd say ExxP instead of IxxJ any day

I get your point (I thought of it too), but I don't think you have to be either an e or a p type to do a lot of travelling. If he was experiencing a lot of existential discomfort from staying where he was (I can imagine an INFJ doing so) or didn't have too many other positive options in his life, it could be due to that, rather than the sheer lust for adventure that would be more typical of an E**P type. This being so, I would be interested to see if anyone knows what actually motivated him to travel so much, and if there are any INFJ's posting who have found travelling to be a necessary part of their self development!

 

[violaine]

I get your point (I thought of it too), but I don't think you have to be either an e or a p type to do a lot of travelling. If he was experiencing a lot of existential discomfort from staying where he was (I can imagine an INFJ doing so) or didn't have too many other positive options in his life, it could be due to that, rather than the sheer lust for adventure that would be more typical of an E**P type. This being so, I would be interested to see if anyone knows what actually motivated him to travel so much, and if there are any INFJ's posting who have found travelling to be a necessary part of their self development!

^Yes, I wasn't going to say, but if that was Joseph Conrad's way of life it wouldn't preclude INFJ. I have traveled all over the place and on my own... and I was very shy. It was invaluable for my personal growth and is addictive. I am highly adventurous and I love people too. hehe one of my childhood 'bones of contention' was that I wasn't born a man in the times of exploration cos that's what I wanted to be off doing. Curiousity about the wider world trumps any kind of 'shyness'. (Curiousity in general trumps any kind of shyness for me.)

 

[Sniffles]

This being so, I would be interested to see if anyone knows what actually motivated him to travel so much, and if there are any INFJ's posting who have found travelling to be a necessary part of their self development!

Yes and no in my case. Since I was young I always yearn to travel and explore the world. I have done some travelling in my day, and yes it has benefited my own self-development. But at the same time, I also strongly note the limitations of what travel can actually achieve in terms of self-development.

Flannery O'Connor made the great observation that the more you know of a place, the more you see the world in it. One doesn't need to travel all over the world to gain a view of how humans really are, one can easily gain that knowledge from the humans they encounter everyday at home.

Need we forget that Immanuel Kant never travelled 30 miles away from his home town. This is true of other great thinkers and writers of history.

As one colleague of mine stated: a man of true thought and experience prefers inner travel, which is much more pleasant and interesting. I have to agree.

 

[Uytuun]

There is a certain kind of intense primal madness in his writings that might be related to Ni.

I'm reminded of The Scream.

His work is very intense, IMO.

His starting to travel might be related to the situation in his homeland - in fact he didn't have much of a home when he decided to go to France. His very patriotic Polish father died after being banished somewhere where the climate wasn't very pleasant by the Russians and his mother died as well. He was taken in by an uncle, but it wasn't what he was looking for apparently.

He's also said to have attempted suicide when he was still in France.

 

[miss fortune]

I get your point (I thought of it too), but I don't think you have to be either an e or a p type to do a lot of travelling. If he was experiencing a lot of existential discomfort from staying where he was (I can imagine an INFJ doing so) or didn't have too many other positive options in his life, it could be due to that, rather than the sheer lust for adventure that would be more typical of an E**P type. This being so, I would be interested to see if anyone knows what actually motivated him to travel so much, and if there are any INFJ's posting who have found travelling to be a necessary part of their self development!

If you read much else that he wrote or about him he speaks of a pure lust for seeing the world and adventure- not an existential discomfort.

George Orwell seems like a MUCH more likely candidate for INFJness any day

 

[Eileen]

Bleh, Joseph Conrad. Probably INFJ. Definitely annoying writer.

 

[Sniffles]

George Orwell seems like a MUCH more likely candidate for INFJness any day

He's generally classified as INFP. Although I certainly wouldn't mind accepting him into our ranks.

 

[miss fortune]

He's generally classified as INFP. Although I certainly wouldn't mind accepting him into our ranks.

Newsweek just had a piece on him that made him seem MUCH more INFJish- I think 2 weeks ago. Good piece actually.

 

[Sniffles]

Newsweek just had a piece on him that made him seem MUCH more INFJish- I think 2 weeks ago. Good piece actually.

Do you have a link?

Besides, I have several biographies of the man.

 

[miss fortune]

here it is

 

[ragashree]

Yes, I REALLY wouldn't think Orwell was an INFP. *thinks about searching for existing thread on Orwell, then realises can't be bothered*

 

[dynamiteninja]

Orwell: INFP
Conrad: INFJ

 

[miss fortune]

proof?

 

[ragashree]

proof?

Is always better than just a bald assertion. Orwell seems more T than F to me, but if someone wants to assert that, they can create an Orwell thread I'm too lazy right now.