A Critical Review of Marlow’s lie to the Intended

Marlow’s lie to Kurtz’s Intended is indeed an essential

Marlow’s positive act…is to place himself as an artificial barrier between the degraded and the exalted,…that is, between Kurtz and his Intended. By the end of the story, Marlow alone bears that responsibility; Marlow’s destiny is to maintain that separation just because he has seen that, in reality, no separation exists (Kimbrough, 1971, p. 237-8).

He goes on to say that “Marlow is made aware of this chaos, the “inner truth” which the fragile beauty of Kurtz’s Intended cannot be expected to bear, and he compulsively maintains the appearance of harmony” (Kimbrough, 1971, p. 239). Hollingsworth simplifies this whole idea, stating “Upon his return to civilization, Marlow lies to Kurtz’s Intended wife; he maintains the “illusion” (Kimbrough, 1971, p.180). Bruffee looks deeper into the issue. He goes beneath the surface in his observation, and says that “By denying superficial “integrity”, and by putting himself at the service of a passion the maintain …man’s humanity, Marlow at last manifests the unexpectedly…devious forms that man’s innate strength or capacity for faithfulness may take” (Kimbrough, 1963, p. 239). Boyle agrees with Bruffee and notes in particular what is learned from this adventure. He states that “In the mythic journey, the return from the underworld and the communication of the knowledge learned there are fully as important as the hero’s descent and his adventures in the world of darkness…if he does not communicate this knowledge after his return, his descent has been meaningless” (Kimbrough, 1971, p. 242). Swisher and others (1999) report a reoccurring pattern in Marlow by his need to maintain this illusion:

Hay (1963) states of the lie that by the end, “Marlow has made too much of lying all through the story to convince us at the end that he lies only the save the woman” (p. 150).

The truth, Marlow believes, is almost too threatening to reveal and could cause unnecessary damage. This is portrayed through the critics’ perspectives. Bruffee especially notes that “Conrad’s hero, after his journey into the dark regions of the mind, after his insight…chooses to mock truth (Kimbrough, 1971, p. 239). He notes the potential damage in the lie. “In the corruption of the “pilgrims,” who represent the worst of that sage, complacent, bourgeois civilization, Marlow has found something with a stronger “flavour of Mortality,” something more rotten to bite into than a lie (Kimbrough, 1971, p. 237). Guerard seems to view Marlow as a strong man who can handle this dark knowledge, and says “Marlow takes back the word “love” to deliver, the truth being too dark for the Intended. It is not too dark for Marlow, though, nor for others with totems powerful enough to withstand its evil energies (Kimbrough, 1963, p. 166-7). “Thus, with the act which fulfills his own destiny, Marlow renders Kurtz “that justice which was his due.” He would have accomplished neither had he not lied. Marlow has learned that when the heart speaks truest, it may speak not of light and harmony but of darkness and chaos (Kimbrough, 1971, p. 238-9). Hay (1963) puts a twist in her comment and generalizes between male and female gender issues in the lie. She states that “Shortly after Kurtz’s death…we learn that Marlow feels compelled to lie about Kurtz not to a woman, to save a woman’s world, but to men, representatives of commerce and finance who had a right to know about Kurtz but could not possibly, Marlow thinks, be allowed to know (p. 150). Adams and Loughrey (1991) embellish the fact that Marlow actively withholds information from the Intended for certain reasons. They decidedly state that:

When he completes the second leg of his journey into the Congo,…Marlow is quick to identify himself as a man of honor, a man so repulsed by lying that is makes him physically ill…But the man who hates, detests and can’t bear a lie tells Kurtz’s f

Some topics in this essay:
Kurtz’s Intended, Intended Marlow, Intended Kurtz, Adams Loughrey, Kurtz Intended, Marlow Intended, Ted Boyle, European Imperialism, Kurtz Marlow, Gekosky Marlow, kimbrough 1971, kurtz’s intended, adams loughrey, kimbrough 1963, adams loughrey 1991, bloom 1987, loughrey 1991, kurtz intended, intended kurtz, lie intended, male critics, bloom 1987 43, lie kurtz’s intended, kimbrough 1971 243, kimbrough 1971 242,