.
Furthermore, the psychological change in Marlow follows his physical journey and the different settings in the novella. Conrad depicts three different stations that Marlow travels to, these are the Outer station, the Central station and finally the Inner station. Each of them is reflecting the different changes Marlow undergoes in his voyage of self- discovery.
However, on his way to the Outer station Marlow senses an anxiety within his soul:.
my isolation amongst all these men with whom I had no point of contact, the oily and languid sea, the uniform sombreness of the coast, seemed to keep me away from the truth of things, within the toil of a mournful and senseless delusion.(30).
This quotation reveal that Marlow, when arriving at the Outer station, will see the "truth of things- such as the cruel treatment of the natives, yet it also suggests that he is beginning a journey into his own mind and will eventually discover "truth of things- in him self. In addition, the first sentence of the quotation show that Marlow distances himself from the other Europeans on his boat, he thinks that he has more morality and dignity than they prove to have. However at the Outer station Marlow hears of Kurtz who is the successful man of the ivory trade depicted in Heart of Darkness. He is described as an intelligent and noble man with admirable qualities. Hearing of this rouses Marlow's curiosity of him; "' I was curious to see whether this man, who had come out equipped with moral ideas of some sort, would climb to the top after all, and how he would set about his work when there. (55) .
The indication here is that Marlow believes that Kurtz intentions are the same as his own, and Kurtz becomes the only person who he identifies himself with throughout the novella. Little does he know that Kurtz have become immorality itself. When Marlow is on his way to the Central station another symbol that strengthens the inner-journey theme is noted; "Then I noticed a small sketch in oils, on a panel, representing a woman, draped and blindfolded, carrying a lighted torch.
