Journeys of Peripheral Characters: Foreign Sojourners and their British Frenemy in Joseph Conrad and Lao She

Joseph Conrad (1857–1924) was an Anglophone writer of Polish descent. His experiences of maritime travel worldwide and his decision to become a British subject inspired his depictions of heroic encounters and cultural conflicts between foreign visitors to a country and locals. Lao She (1899–1966) was a Chinese writer of Manchu ethnicity. At the end of the Qing dynasty, his status was downgraded from one of a privileged few to part of a peripheral minority. His years in London, when China was threatened by imperialist aggression, introduced him to the writings of Conrad. Joseph Conrad’s “Amy Foster” (1901) and Lao She’s Mr. Ma and Son (1929) are both concerned with the intercultural journeys of foreign sojourners through their lives in British contexts. Conrad’s and Lao She’s realistic portrayals of British nationals confronting foreign sojourners bring up issues about stereotypical judgments. Although both works include discriminatory aspects, the analysis in this chapter focuses on the similarities shared by people everywhere, such as curiosity and compassion, which can potentially help sojourners transcend fear when journeying toward the unknown. The writers’ depictions of the hypocritical of deeds by Christians provide anti-imperialist insights into the role of religion in the Empire’s project of territorial expansion. Nevertheless, the efforts of the evangelists, whether in support of a king on earth or of the Lord of the eternal universe, to connect people worldwide through the English language and the gospel, ease the obstacle of communication.