- “Then with a certain eagerness asked me whether I would let him measure my head. Rather surprised, I said Yes, when he produced a thing like calipers and got the dimensions back and front and every way, taking notes carefully.” (p. 46)
In this excerpt, Conrad is referring to the practice of craniology, which during the 18th and 19th centuries was the pseudoscientific study that believed that a person’s character could be determined by examining the shape, size, proportion, and every bump in one’s head. At the time, it was thought that head form indicated the differences in race and intelligence. The doctor believes and suggests that there are noticeable changes in men once they travel in Africa. He claims that men normally go mad once they are exposed to the African race and culture.
(Works Cited)
"Definition of Craniology."
MedicineNet.com. Web. 20 Aug. 2009. http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=10855
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(Photo Credit)
Museum Exhibit #1. Photograph.
Our Nineteenth-Century American Museum. Web. 13 Sept. 2009. http://antiquescientifica.com/phrenology_calipers_George_Combe_on_Wells_bust.jpg.
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