Marlow's Loyalty to Kurtz

     Once I finished Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, I thought about the one part that really stuck with me from the book.  After Marlow had been sick and on the verge of death, he reflected on Kurtz who also had been sick but passed away from his illness: “I was within a hair’s-breadth of the last opportunity for pronouncement, and I found with humiliation that probably I would have nothing to say.  This is the reason I affirm that Kurtz was a remarkable man.  He had something to say.  He said it” (Conrad 65).  I wondered why Marlow was so loyal to a man who had been kicked out of his company for his actions in Africa.  For example, he threatened to kill one of his fellow workers over ivory.  The wilderness in Africa and the greed for the wealth and money that comes from ivory changed Kurtz for the worse.  In that quote, though, Marlow stated that he still respected him and would stand by him, mainly because at the time of his death, he had something to say while Marlow realized he would have nothing to say that could fully grasp the life he had lived.  Kurtz’s final words were “The horror!”, and Marlow thought those words were so sincere and perfectly summed up the pain and defeat in his life.  Furthermore, Marlow believed that was one of the reasons he personally had not passed away during his illness because he did not have anything to say at the time of his death.  In my opinion, I do not agree with Marlow’s actions at the end of the book when he lied to Kurtz’s mourning wife a year after Kurtz had died, but that is because I know the history behind what happened in Africa and what the Europeans did to the natives.  After a little more thought however, I could see why Marlow did what he did.  Marlow respected Kurtz for the reasons discussed before, and I also believe Marlow telling Kurtz’s wife that her husband’s last words were her name was another way of Marlow respecting not only Kurtz but also his family.  While most would have gone back to Europe and talked about Kurtz in a negative manner, Marlow decided not to do this.  At first this angered me, but I ultimately understood why Marlow did it, since he did justify his actions.