A White Lie in the Heart of Darkness
“He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision, – he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath – ‘The horror! The horror!’” (Conrad, Heart of Darkness, pg112)1. After returning to Brussels, Marlow pays a visit to Kurtz’ intended and brings these final words of Kurtz with him. When asked to reveal Kurtz’ last declaration, Marlow offers this: “‘The last word he pronounced was – your name.’” (Heart, pg123). He lies.
In this situation, with the possibility existing of inflicting severe emotional damage on an already grieving soul, should Marlow have lied? Of course, the answer is neither simple nor short, and depends heavily on who is asked. The most relevant perspective naturally comes from Marlow himself. Marlow makes his feelings about lying clear early in his adventure. “You know I hate, detest, and can’t bear a lie, not because I am straighter than the rest of us, but simply because it appals me. There is a taint of death, a flavour of mortality in lies, – which is exactly what I hate and detest in the world – what I want to forget. It makes me miserable and sick…” (Heart, pp49-50). Marlow doesn’t hold much back here. He believes that lies are what is wrong with the world. That said, it seems that a third-person Marlow would severely disapprove of his actions, and would believe that he should have told the truth. This becomes even more evident after a glance at Marlow’s reaction after he does lie. “It seemed to me that the house would collapse before I could escape, that the heavens would fall upon my head.” (Heart, pg123). Marlow obviously sees his actions as in err, and is waiting for his punishment from above.
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...(see Sources).
2 This quote, and all other quotes from Immanuel Kant’s article, On the Supposed Right
to Lie because of Philanthropic Concerns, comes from the third edition of the James.
W. Ellington translation. The citation numbers follow from the section numbers in
that edition (see Sources).
Sources
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. London: Penguin Books, 1995.
Hume, David. A Treatise of Human Nature. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978.
Kant, Immanuel. Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals (Grundlegung zur Metaphysik
der Sitten). Translated by James W. Ellington. Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 1993.
Kant, Immanuel. “On the Supposed Right to Lie because of Philanthropic Concerns”
(“Uber ein vermeintes Recht aus Menschenliebe zu lugen”). Translated by James W. Ellington. Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 1993.
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...il of desire, temptation, and surrender during that supreme moment of complete knowledge? He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision,-he cried out twice, a cry that was no more that a breath- 'The horror! The horror!' "(Longman, 2000, p. 2240). This is what distinguishes the two men; Kurtz abandoned himself and went over the edge, but Marlow is aware of just how close he was to becoming what Kurtz was.
This sight angers Marlow, and when he gets to Kurtz, it’s too late. Even he has been pulled in by the darkness. Conrad makes an effective distinction between Marlow and Kurtz.
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