Women

After Kurtz’s death, Marlow returns to his Intended to tell her of his demise. To console her, he says the man’s last word was her name. Because she is certain above all else of the late man’s love and commitment, this lie only acts to affirm that belief. In reality, the woman obviously is quite naïve and oblivious to the truth, the Kurtz of Marlow’s experience and the Kurtz of her imagination being two very different men. This picture of her as not only naïve and disillusioned but even nameless speaks to the Conrad’s portrayal of women: insignificant individuals who should be allowed to remain in dream-worlds of their own creation, never to come face to face the harsh reality they choose to avoid or ignore.