In Thomas Harris's "Silence of the Lambs," Dr. Lecter tells Clarice that her impeccable dress takes no compliment from her flawed footwear; he tells her that she needs better shoes. Not allowing Hollywood to upstage him, Conrad stresses the importance of shoes. Defined as "a durable covering for the human foot" by Webster's Dictionary, shoes can take on many other meanings. For instance, Webster also describes shoes as "a device that retards or stops the motion of an object." In the novella, Heart of Darkness, Conrad leaves little doubt in the readers' mind as to the importance of shoes; he, in all the most important scenes of the book, places this well-wrought motif as a central symbol. Shoes, found in life as a conveyor of utility and comfort, become a symbol of civilization and its failures.

The first important instance of Conrad's use of shoes as a motif...