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By far, Marlow? s most important self-discovery occurs at the very conclusion of the novel. After himself claiming a? taint of death, a flavor of mortality in lies? (pg), he proceeds to lie to the face of the Intended at the close of the novel.
The reader learns a similar lesson, as s / he learns of all the ways that even the most upstanding of men (Kurtz, and especially Marlow) can be corrupted. As Marlow narrates the ending of his story aboard the Nellie, he explains how he was utterly shaken to his very core. Marlow had never had his beliefs challenged in such a personal way before. As Marlow fabricates his tale to the Intended, he fears that?
the house would collapse? the heavens would fall upon my head (76). ? Meanwhile, under today? s relaxed standards, Marlow? s actions would have seemed polite. The important issue here is not the action of the lie; it is the fact that a man?
s single true belief can be compromised in a situation which itself doesn? t nearly justify the means, completely breaking through a man? s fundamental belief system. The story of Marlow? s Congo exploits comes to an end with his fib to the Intended, so it is unclear how exactly Marlow handled the situation and made his exit.
We do, however, see how he is entirely shaken after only recounting his tale. ? Marlow sat apart, indistinct and silent, in the pose of a meditating Buddha. Nobody moved for a time (76). ? Ford Madox Ford, in his? Portraits of life? , mentions the fact that the two sentences at the beginning of the final paragraph (the sentences quoted in the previous sentence) were, in the original publishing of the novel, separated, forming their own paragraph (212). This was mentioned, not for the lack of action or dialog, but to emphasize the mood on the deck of the Nellie and to slowly calm the reader after the morally turbulent conclusion of the novel (Ford, 213).
The reader, after seeing this action, is led to query whether or not his or her own moral fibers could ever be completely ignored, as was the case between Marlow and the Intended. Again, under today? s loose standards, not nearly as much emphasis is placed on a person defending their one true belief (in fact, few people believe anything as strongly as Marlow did). But after seeing the anguish that Marlow went through when he finally did lie, one can quickly grow to fear the self-evading darkness that lies within each and everyone. This darkness, whether it was that of Kurtz, Marlow, Africa, colonial imperialism, or the reader, became the focus of the novel, rather than the physical plot conflict involving the enslavement of native Africans in the process of bringing ivory tusks to Europe. 1. Conrad, Joseph.
Heart of Darkness. New York: W. W. Norton &# 038; Company 2.
Ford, Ford Madox. ? Heart of Darkness? , Portraits from life (excerpt, pp. 61 - 63, printed in (1. ), pp. 212 - 213). New York: W. W.
Norton &# 038; Company (originally published by Houghton Mifflin Company)
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