Lies For The Greater Good, Blog #6

Marlow tells Kurtz’s fiancée that his last words were her name, which of course is not true.  It seems Marlow tells Kurtz’s fiancée this to ensure that Kurtz really did love her, even though Kurtz was barely considered about her.  Also, Marlow saw how badly Kurtz’s fiancée was still mourning, as if he had died yesterday.  “But while we were still shaking hands, such a look of awful desolation came upon her face that I perceived she was one of those creatures that are not the playthings of Time.  For her he had died only yesterday” (332).  Just one look upon Kurtz’s fiancée made Marlow see how much Kurtz meant to her, which made him lie to her in the first place.  He did it to make her feel better and to prove to her that Kurtz really did care for her even in his last moments.  Although in reality, Kurtz seemed to be the type of man who just used women.

Ultimately, he was trying to portray Kurtz as the perfect person she fell in love with to help her during her grieving instead of the corrupt man he really was.  “But with every word spoken the room was growing darker, and only her forehead, smooth and white, remained illuminated by the inextinguishable light of belief and love” (332).  Marlow really did not want Kurtz’s fiancée to know what Kurtz had really done while he was away.  Marlow wanted her to still picture him as the great gentleman she fell in love with.  “Men looked up to him, -his goodness shone in every act”(334).  In reality, Kurtz was living a very corrupt life even in his last hours of life.

What Marlow tells Kurtz’s fiancée falls into the themes of women and isolation in Heart of Darkness we discussed in class.  During this time period, women were not considered important to men.  They were considered to be possessions more than anything. In the novel, Kurtz lacked compassion, which was considered a female trait. Without compassion, qualities such as greed take over. Also, Kurtz openly cheated on his fiancée regardless of his relationship with her which showed he did not feel any emotional compassion towards her.  The theme of isolation also seems to fit in with these lies because Kurtz had a lack of emotional attachment even though he had his fiancée.  Also, he was only interested in himself even though others, like his fiancée, cared about him.