had denied any sort of moral convictions in order to be worshipped as a god.
Because of this unmonitored power, Kurtz lost all sense of restraint and
became the savage that he was. Marlow, however, has not lost his sense of
morality and, thus, has not become a savage free of societal hindrance. It is
because of Marlow’s rejection of both the Europeans, who he claims are full
of “stupid importance” (70), and Kurtz’ inability to establish his own moral
code, that Marlow chooses another avenue. The first time the reader
witnesses Marlow’s choice to find a middle ground is when he first gets back
to Europe. Marlow finds himself resenting the way the Europeans go about
their lives, “hurrying through the streets to filch a little money from each other
[. . .]” (70). Not only did he find their lives meaningless, but he also silently
mocked them. “I had no particular desire to enlighten them, but I had some
difficulty restraining myself from laughing in their faces so full of stupid
importance. I tottered about the streets [. . .] grinning bitterly at perfectly
respectable persons. I admit my behaviour was inexcusable [. . .]” (70).
Although Marlow looked down on the Europeans, he judged his own actions
and found them inexcusable. This is evidence of Marlow rejecting Kurtz’
extreme. Unlike Kurtz who could not fault others because he lacked any
restraint, Marlow realizes that he can not fault them because they do not
know the truth he knows. He seems to be searching for a middle ground
between Kurtz’ enlightened madness and the European’s egocentric
stupidity, but the reader does not know exactly what Marlow feels. By
looking back to Marlow’s voyage, the reader can see an act of affirmation
for the middle of the two extremes. While aboard the Nellie, Marlow says, “I
hate, detest, and can’t bear a lie [. . .] simply because it appalls [sic] me.
There is a taint of death, a flavor of mortality in lies…” (29). However, near
the end of the novel, he acts in away that is diametrically opposite of his
assertion. Marlow visits Kurtz’ intended to speak of her beloved fianc?. She
desperately wants to know what his last words were. Marlow says, “The last
word he pronounced was—your name” (75). He lies to her. He does
something he previously claimed to detest. Marlow’s lie to the intended is an
indication that he has found a middle ground between the two extremes of
human nature (Stewart 369). Her question forced Marlow to look inside
himself for the truth of his reality. He found an instance where a lie was better
than the truth. Like Kurtz, Marlow judged the situation independently, but
unlike Kurtz, he used reason and reality. He rejected Kurtz’ values, which
were based on whims and void of any objective principles. Marlow
successfully used both personal creeds and objective principles to decide
what answer to give the desperate intended. Marlow found a middle ground
and discovered his own truth. Marlow saw the suffering imposed by the
imperialistic environment on the Congo and its natives and it had a
tremendous effect on him. He underwent a drastic change in response to the
hostile environment that was so different from his homeland. Kurtz showed
him the flaws of European imperialistic ideals. Marlow came to understand
European principles of his time and it changed his entire perception and
behavior.
Primary Kimbrough, Robert, ed. Heart of Darkness: An
Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Sources, Criticism. By Joseph Conrad.
3rd ed. Norton Critical Edition. New York: Norton, 1988. Secondary
Johnson, Bruce. “Conrad’s Impressionism and Watt’s “Delayed Decoding.”
Conrad Revisited: Essays for the Eighties: 51-70. By Ross C Murfin.
University: The Univ. of Alabama, 1985. Rpt. in Heart of Darkness: An
Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Sources, Criticism. Ed. Kimbrough,
Robert. 3rd ed. Norton Critical Edition, New York: Norton, 1988.
McLauchlan, Juliet. “The Value and Significance of Heart of Darkness.”
Conradia 15 (1983): 3-21. Rpt. in Heart of Darkness: An Authoritative Text,
Backgrounds and Sources, Criticism. Ed. Kimbrough, Robert. 3rd ed.
Norton Critical Edition, New York: Norton, 1988. Stewart, Garrett. “Lying
as Dying in Heart of Darkness.” PMLA 95 (1980): 319-31. Rpt. in Heart of
Darkness: An Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Sources, Criticism. Ed.
Kimbrough, Robert. 3rd ed. Norton Critical Edition, New York: Norton,
1988.