Heart of Darkness 5

                Throughout the story, Marlow has harped on this fundamental idea that lying is wrong. He has overtly stated that he hates nothing more than a lie. In fact, one of the reasons that he holds at least a small amount of respect for Kurtz is that he is honest. Kurtz does not hide his practices; he takes pride in them. He does what he wants, but he is open about the fact that he is doing it. Marlow considers this honorable in a twisted way. Marlow does not condone Kurtz’s practices in any sense, but he appreciates honesty; honesty comes before all. That however is where the irony lies. Kurtz, the epitome of honesty in this story, ends up being the driving force behind the one lie that Marlow tells. When asked by Kurtz’s wife-to-be what Kurtz’s last words were, Marlow responds that it was her name, which is nowhere near the truth. Immediately after, Marlow comments, “It seemed to me that the house would collapse before I could escape, that the heavens would fall upon my head” (157). The audience feels how monumental the fact that he lied truly is. The question arises: why? Why would Marlow lie for Kurtz? Truthfully, Marlow does not even seem to know. He states that “it would have been too dark – too dark altogether” (157). It appears that Marlow just did not have the heart to tell the girl the truth. However, this does not take away from the conundrum of the whole situation. The man that always tells the truth spurs the man that detests lying to lie. It is all so hypocritical.  The only sense of it that can be made is that sometimes the feelings of others trump one’s own feelings. Therefore, Marlow could not break the girl’s heart, so he chooses to spare her feelings and compromise his own.