ABSTRACT
Conrad’s existential experience, marked by frequent geographic transitions and multiple cultural influences, positions him in the space between cultural collectives. At the heart of this experience is the anthropological construct of liminality. The liminal space between national constituencies, a privileged, textual, and discursive space, attracts those predisposed to social and cultural mobility. It becomes a hybrid site that witnesses the unique production of cultural meaning. It is not surprising, therefore, that by contemplating liminality as an existential condition, Conrad undertakes the analysis of several major issues within his adopted culture. In The Secret Agent, Conrad brings the action from exotic and imaginary settings back to England; however, since he lacks familiarity with English drawing rooms, he stays away from the tradition. Instead, he populates his version of London with anarchists, terrorists, revolutionaries, and double agents. Conrad’s liminal continuum in The Secret Agent includes persons and principles that fall in the interstices of social structure, reside on its margins, and occupy the lowest ranks, alongside various liminal spaces. As a reflection on the perennial opposition between structure and anti-structure, The Secret Agent’s liminal aspects mirror the author’s ambivalence of cultural displacement and his efforts to expose living in liminality. Conrad’s irony is directed against institutionalization of liminality in the embassy, police, and criminal activity.
