Relationship of Marlow and Kurtz in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is a story about the adventures of Marlow, the story’s protagonist, on the Congo River where he meets Kurtz, an agent that works for the Company, providing them with ivory supplies.
Marlow ends his story here, and the narrator looks off into the dark sky, which makes the waterway seem “to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.” Marlow’s series of encounters with persons from Kurtz’s former life makes him question the value he places on his memories of Kurtz.
Kurtz’s Intended, like Marlow’s aunt and Kurtz’s mistress, is a problematic female figure. Marlow praises her for her “mature capacity for fidelity, for belief, for suffering,” suggesting that the most valuable traits in a woman are passive.
At the same time, while he is highly skilled at what he does—he repairs and then ably pilots his own ship—he is no mere manual laborer. Work, for him, is a distraction, a concrete alternative to the posturing and excuse-making of those around him. Marlow can also be read as an intermediary between the two extremes of Kurtz and the Company.
Marlow learned that Kurtz asked the Company's Administration to send him into the jungle to show how much ivory he could acquire, and that he sent his assistant back to the Manager because he found him inadequate for the work. Marlow further learned that there were "strange rumours" circulating about Kurtz's behavior.
To meet Kurtz will be to create a coherent whole in a world sorely lacking in such things; by matching the man with his voice, Marlow hopes to come to an understanding about what happens to men in places like the Congo.
When Marlow first hears about Kurtz, he's not "very interested in him" (1.74). But when he hears the story about Kurtz turning back to the jungle, his ears prick up: he "[sees] Kurtz for the first time" (2.2) as a solitary white man among black men.
Instead, his experiences there teach Marlow about the "heart of darkness" found in all men: Many (like himself) suppress these evil urges, while others (like Kurtz) succumb to them. Marlow's chief qualities are his curiosity and skepticism.
Answer and Explanation: No one kills Kurtz in Joseph Conrad's 1899 novella Heart of Darkness. Instead, he dies from a disease.
Marlow's admiration of Kurtz stems from his belief that Kurtz is truthful. Kurtz, after all, was appalled because of the truth he knew; he spoke of “the horror” that he had witnessed and committed. The truth, then, becomes a significant theme in Marlow's mind, in Kurtz's character, and in Conrad's writing.
Marlow on recounting to Kurtz's intended about her lover's death lies to her about Kurtz's last words. As a replacement for Kurtz's last words “The Horror, The Horror” he lies about Kurtz's last words....Works Cited.Heart of DarknessEndAfter Kurtz dies, Marlow returns to Europe to look for other work20 more rows•Jul 2, 2020
Why does Marlow judge Kurtz to have been a "remarkable man" in spite of the terrible acts Kurtz committed? Marlow claims Kurtz to be a remarkable man because he added an aspect of adventure to Marlow's soul.
Shortly after midnight, Marlow awoke to the sounds of a drumbeat and natives reciting incantations. After hearing a "burst of yells," Marlow entered Kurtz's room and found he had escaped. He found Kurtz crawling through the grass and finally approached him.
Kurtz and Marlow acknowledge the darkness, the former as he is dying, the latter as he reflects retrospectively on the meaning of Kurtz's final words.
Marlow's intermediary position can be seen in his eventual illness and recovery. Unlike those who truly confront or at least acknowledge Africa and the darkness within themselves, Marlow does not die, but unlike the Company men, who focus only on money and advancement, Marlow suffers horribly.
Marlow succumbs to illness and nearly dies himself. He suffers greatly, but the worst thing about his near-death experience is his realization that in the end he would have “nothing to say.” Kurtz, he realizes, was remarkable because he “had something to say.
Thoroughly disgusted by the manager's hypocritical condemnation of Kurtz, Marlow tells the manager that he thinks Kurtz is a “remarkable man.” With this statement, Marlow permanently alienates himself from the manager and the rest of the Company functionaries.
Both have powerful connections which establishes them a strong place in the Company. A very important common feature between the two men is that they are described as gods, at least in their own environments. Kurtz is admired by the black natives at his station, and Marlow is kind of a god for the men on the steamer.
In the 1958 loose adaptation for the CBS television anthology series Playhouse 90 Kurtz was played by Boris Karloff. This version uses the encounter between Marlow and Kurtz as its final act, and adds a backstory in which Marlow had been Kurtz's adopted son.
Kurtz was called back to his Inner Station by the “many powers of darkness [that] claimed him” which was not only his greed and thirst for power but also the darkness within humanity.
Marlow is in many ways a traditional hero: tough, honest, an independent thinker, a capable man. Yet he is also “broken” or “damaged,” like T. S. Eliot’s J. Alfred Prufrock or William Faulkner’s Quentin Compson. The world has defeated him in some fundamental way, and he is weary, skeptical, and cynical. Marlow also mediates between the figure of the intellectual and that of the “working tough.” While he is clearly intelligent, eloquent, and a natural philosopher, he is not saddled with the angst of centuries’ worth of Western thought. At the same time, while he is highly skilled at what he does—he repairs and then ably pilots his own ship—he is no mere manual laborer. Work, for him, is a distraction, a concrete alternative to the posturing and excuse-making of those around him.
Marlow can also be read as an intermediary between the two extremes of Kurtz and the Company. He is moderate enough to allow the reader to identify with him, yet open-minded enough to identify at least partially with either extreme. Thus, he acts as a guide for the reader. Marlow’s intermediary position can be seen in his eventual illness and recovery. Unlike those who truly confront or at least acknowledge Africa and the darkness within themselves, Marlow does not die, but unlike the Company men, who focus only on money and advancement, Marlow suffers horribly. He is thus “contaminated” by his experiences and memories, and, like Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner, destined, as purgation or penance, to repeat his story to all who will listen.
Unlike those who truly confront or at least acknowledge Africa and the darkness within themselves, Marlow does not die, but unlike the Company men, who focus only on money and advancement, Marlow suffers horribly.
The world has defeated him in some fundamental way, and he is weary, skeptical, and cynical. Marlow also mediates between the figure of the intellectual and that of the “working tough.”. While he is clearly intelligent, eloquent, and a natural philosopher, he is not saddled with the angst of centuries’ worth of Western thought.
Marlow realizes that the things that Kurtz has done is brought about only because of Kurtz’s exposure to Africa. Marlow’s understanding of Kurtz lead him to see Kurt as an alter ego. And finally, the two main protagonists’ relationship does end even after Kurtz’s death.
Relationship of Marlow and Kurtz in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is a story about the adventures of Marlow , the story’s protagonist, on the Congo River where he meets Kurtz, an agent that works for the Company, providing them with ivory supplies. Although Marlow and Kurtz are not by any means “best friends” ...
Marlow blames Africa for causing the downfall of Kurtz and not directly blame Kurt for his actions. He claims that the Dark Continent has driven Kurtz into madness because he is unable to adapt fully to a world outside of modern civilization. Marlow’s Viewing of Kurtz as an Alter Ego.
Marlow sees Kurtz like a hero because of all his adventures and success in ivory collecting. Much of what Marlow’s picture of Kurtz is based on his conversations with the Russian trader. Apparently, the Russian trader has spent some time with Kurtz and has become his relative companion.
Near the end of the story, Kurtz seemingly had absolute power in Africa. Marlow and Kurtz both realized of the former’s power. Marlow enlightened by this knowledge, claims that Kurtz’s own realization of this power lead to his madness. Marlow becomes also aware that Kurtz himself knows this power and thus associating the realization to himself. Marlow sees Kurtz’s wickedness in relation to his own potential for evil, providing yet another link between the two protagonists. And thus, when Marlow was contemplating on killing Kurtz he held back because he knows it would be like killing himself since he sees Kurtz as somewhat of an alter ego of himself. “I did not want to have the throttling of him, you understand” (Conrad, 1898 p. 111).
It would not be surprising to hear Marlow be biased on passing judgment on Marlow’s actions. He is only second to the Russian trader for being an ultimate fan of Kurtz. Marlow states reasons for why his “idol” was not as successful as he thought he would be. Almost like the semi-crazed Russian trader, Marlow defends Kurtz even if he provides a sense of threat to him. Perhaps this is because of their agreement that they would keep the name of Kurtz clean, at least to those in Europe.
Frankly, Marlow’s curiosity to Kurtz is because the rivets that he needed to build the ship would not come, and thus giving him more free time to think. “I had plenty of time for meditation, and now and then I would give some thought to Kurtz” (Conrad, 1898, p.68-69).
Because of these mixed feelings toward Kurtz, Marlow agrees to protect Kurtz's papers and his reputation after Marlow returns to Europe. Kurtz dies on the trip downriver; the last thing Marlow hears him say is, "The horror! The horror!".
1 Resting on a yacht on the Thames, Marlow begins his tale.
With this goal in mind, Marlow travels to central Africa on a French steamer. As the ship heads toward the river, it hugs the African coast close enough that Marlow can see see the lush, dark-green jungle. Marlow disembarks at the coastal Outer Station and then walks 200 miles (320 kilometers) to the Company's Central Station, where the river is navigable and his steamer is supposed to be waiting for him. "Camp, cook, sleep, strike camp, march," is the journey Marlow describes.
This is the end of Marlow's tale, and the action returns to the five friends on the yacht . He ceases talking and sits apart quietly. The narrator notices that the Thames River is flowing under an overcast sky "into the heart of an immense darkness."
Heart of Darkness is set in the 1890s at the height of European colonization of the African continent. As the novella opens, five friends sit waiting for the tide to change on the Thames River so that they can head out to sea. They are used to telling one another stories, and, as they sit on the yacht, Marlow, the best storyteller of the group, begins a tale by saying, in reference to Britain, "And this also ... has been one of the dark places of the earth." His words set the dark, brooding tone of the novella.
Although there is a brickmaker at the station, and some station agents (whom Marlow calls pilgrims because they carry long staffs) have been assigned to help him, he had not made any bricks for a year due to the lack of some crucial material , though Marlow doesn't know what it is. When the brickmaker begins pumping Marlow for information, Marlow decides that the brickmaker must be a spy for the manager. Marlow overhears a conversation between the station manager and his uncle, who is leading an expedition into the jungle in search of wealth. The two exchange dark hints about Kurtz's character and behavior.
Marlow goes to see Kurtz’s Intended in a state of profound uncertainty. He is unsure whether his version of Kurtz has any value either as a reflection of reality or as a philosophical construct. In response to the woman’s simple question as to whether he knew Kurtz well, he can only reply that he knew him “‘as well as it is possible for one man to know another.’” Given what the preceding narrative has shown about the possibilities for “knowing” another person in any meaningful sense, the reader can easily see that Marlow’s reply to Kurtz’s Intended is a qualification, not an affirmation: Marlow barely knows himself. By the end of Marlow’s visit with the woman, the reader is also aware, even if Marlow is not, that the kinds of illusions and untruths which Marlow accuses women of perpetuating are in fact not dissimilar from those fictions men use to understand their own experiences and justify such things as colonialism. Marlow has much more in common with Kurtz’s Intended than he would like to admit.
Marlow lies and tells her that Kurtz’s last word was her name. She responds that she was certain that this was the case. Marlow ends his story here, and the narrator looks off into the dark sky, which makes the waterway seem “to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.”.
Finally, Marlow is left with only a few letters and a picture of Kurtz’s Intended. Marlow goes to see her without really knowing why. Kurtz’s memory comes flooding back to him as he stands on her doorstep. He finds the Intended still in mourning, though it has been over a year since Kurtz’s death.
This notion is based on traditional ideas of heroism, involving quests and trials in the pursuit of knowledge.
Conrad’s portrayal of the Intended has thus been criticized for having misogynist overtones, and there is some justification for this point of view. She is a repository of conservative ideas about what it means to be white and European, upholding fine-sounding but ultimately useless notions of heroism and romance.
Marlow realizes that the things that Kurtz has done is brought about only because of Kurtz’s exposure to Africa. Marlow’s understanding of Kurtz lead him to see Kurt as an alter ego. And finally, the two main protagonists’ relationship does end even after Kurtz’s death.
Frankly, Marlow’s curiosity to Kurtz is because the rivets that he needed to build the ship would not come, and thus giving him more free time to think. “I had plenty of time for meditation, and now and then I would give some thought to Kurtz” (Conrad, 1898, p.68-69).
He claims that the Dark Continent has driven Kurtz into madness because he is unable to adapt fully to a world outside of modern civilization.
Their relationship is highlighted in the novella. Even before the two are able to meet, Marlow feels some sort of connection towards the enigmatic Kurtz. On his way to meet Kurtz, Marlow ponders on Kurtz‘s character. Marlow realizes that the things that Kurtz has done is brought about only because of Kurtz’s exposure to Africa.
Much of what Marlow’s picture of Kurtz is based on his conversations with the Russian trader. Apparently, the Russian trader has spent some time with Kurtz and has become his relative companion. The Russian claims that Kurtz has “enlarged” his mind “’Ah! I’ll never, never meet such a man again.
Kurtz was a mystery for Marlow, he based his initial assessment of Kurtz just through what he hears from others, including eavesdropped testimonies about Kurtz. There is an instance when Marlow “overhears” a conversation between the manager and his uncle.
Frankly, Marlow’s curiosity to Kurtz is because the rivets that he needed to build the ship would not come, and thus giving him more free time to think. “I had plenty of time for meditation, and now and then I would give some thought to Kurtz” (Conrad, 1898, p.68-69).
Thus, the Manager is nervous when talking to Marlow because he does not know who Marlow really is or if he has any powerful connections in Europe. When he replies, "That ought to do the affair," he means that three months without any relief should be long enough to ensure Kurtz's death. "Trust to this," his uncle says as he gestures to the jungle, and this is just what the Manager is doing: "Trusting" that (as his uncle also says) "the climate may do away with this difficulty" for him. Only later does Marlow realize that the Manager was responsible for his steamboat's "accident": He could not get any rivets because the Manager made sure that their delivery to Marlow was delayed as long as possible without arousing Marlow's suspicions. (When Marlow's steamboat gets close to Kurtz in Part 2, the Manager tells Marlow to wait until the next morning before pressing on, to delay their arrival even more than he already has.) Even as Marlow felt he was being entered into a giant conspiracy upon accepting his post in Europe, he has unwittingly stumbled upon one in the Congo.
Heart of Darkness is an oftentimes disturbing book because Conrad's suggestion that all of these "rivets" are simply lies — ideas, beliefs and assumptions used to excuse shameless profiteering (as with the Company) or sustain a false image of a loved one (as with the Intended).
Brussels The hypocrisy alluded to is that King Leopold's brutal colonial empire was run from this beautiful, seemingly civilized, city.
Those who are about to die salute you"; a salute of the gladiators in ancient Rome to whomever was hosting their tournaments. Here, Marlow is ironically comparing the knitters to Roman emperors. Plato (c. 427–c.347 B.C.) Greek philosopher. alienist an old term for a psychiatrist.
the Erebus and Terror In 1845, the English Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin led a voyage in the ships Erebus and Terror in search of the Northwest Passage; the ships were stuck in ice from April 1846 to September 1848.