Fabulosas, militantes y calamitosamente triunfantes: figuraciones geográficas en “Geography and Some Explorers”, de Joseph Conrad
Fabulous, Militant and Calamitously Triumphant: Geographical Figurations in “Geography and Some Explorers” by Joseph Conrad

Summary/Abstract: In the essay “Geography and Some Explorers” (1924) Joseph Conrad draws a distinction between “fabulous geography”, “militant geography”, and “triumphant geography” with the purpose of advancing some reflections on the rescue of a tradition of supposedly unblemished geographical exploration. Focusing more on the picturesque side than on the historical aspect, Conrad seemingly neglects the underside of geographical enterprises and voyages of exploration in praise of “men great in their endeavour and in hard won successes of militant geography”. In this article we intend to delve into the essay’s zones of indetermination and tension which work to, respectively, undermine undivided loyalties and unblemished objectives and blur any unequivocal distinction between “militant geography” and “triumphant geography”. More specifically, we will correlate two potent and powerful images, capable of, on the one hand, drawing lines of flight in the blank of maps and, on the other, capturing the catastrophe by reintroducing the body into space.

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