Heart of Darkness Characters: Complete Analysis
Conrad's characters represent different responses to imperialism: Marlow observes and is disillusioned, Kurtz embodies civilization's collapse, the Intended represents European delusion, and the Manager demonstrates colonial incompetence and mediocrity.
Marlow: The Observer and Narrator
Who is Marlow?
Marlow is an experienced seaman who becomes steamboat captain for a Company trading in ivory on the Congo River. Hired to retrieve Kurtz, a Company agent at the Inner Station, his journey up the river exposes him to colonialism's brutality and absurdity. Unlike typical adventurers, Marlow reflects deeply on what he witnesses, ultimately becoming disillusioned with European imperialism's civilizing claims.
Marlow serves as narrator within the frame structureâtelling his Congo story to crew aboard the Nellie on the Thames. This double narration creates distance and uncertainty: we receive his interpretation of events, not objective truth. His account is subjective, selective, and shaped by what he can and cannot articulate about the horror he witnessed.
What Does Marlow Represent?
Marlow represents the disillusioned observerâsomeone who begins with some faith in European civilization and colonialism but witnesses its reality and cannot unsee it. He's not heroic resister or active participant, but observer who carries knowledge back to Europe and discovers he cannot fully communicate it. His lie to the Intended preserves civilization's illusions, suggesting truth about colonialism is either unspeakable or refused by those who haven't witnessed it.
- â˘Observer Position: Witnesses horror without becoming Kurtzâwork gives him restraint
- â˘Moral Ambiguity: Complicit in system he critiques, cannot escape compromised position
- â˘Failed Communication: Returns with truth but lies to preserve illusions
Kurtz: Civilization's Collapse
Who is Kurtz?
Kurtz is a Company agent at the Inner Station who has become a brutal, god-like figure worshipped by indigenous people. Once the pinnacle of European civilizationâeducated, eloquent, talented in painting and music, author of a report on civilizing 'savage customs'âhe descended into barbarism when freed from social constraints. His compound is decorated with severed heads on poles. He conducted 'unspeakable rituals.' He achieved absolute power and became absolutely corrupted.
Kurtz dies saying 'The horror! The horror!'âwords suggesting recognition of what he's become, what imperialism produces, or the darkness in human nature. He's the novel's absent center: discussed constantly, rarely seen directly, constructed through others' accounts and Marlow's anticipation. This indirect characterization makes him simultaneously real and symbolic.
Kurtz's Significance
Kurtz represents colonialism's endpoint: the most civilized European becomes the most savage, proving civilization is performance requiring restraint, not inherent racial quality. Remove social constraints and grant absolute power, and you get Kurtz. He's not aberration but colonialism's logical resultâwhat imperialism produces when exported from Europe's restraining social structures.
The Intended: European Innocence and Delusion
Who is the Intended?
Kurtz's fiancĂŠe who waits faithfully for him in Europe. She believes in Kurtz's nobility and the civilizing mission completely. When Marlow visits her after Kurtz's death, she asks what his last words were. Marlow liesâsaying 'your name' instead of 'The horror!'âpreserving her illusions about Kurtz and European imperialism.
She represents European ignorance of colonial reality. Safe in Europe, she can believe in the civilizing mission, Kurtz's nobility, and empire's benevolence because she hasn't witnessed what it actually produces. Marlow's lie suggests this ignorance is either necessary for civilization to maintain itself or insurmountableâtruth about colonialism cannot penetrate European drawing rooms.
Other Important Characters
The Company Manager
Mediocre administrator at Central Station who survives through outlasting others. He fears Kurtz's influence and represents colonial incompetenceâhis main skill is enduring while accomplishing nothing. Conrad's satire of imperial administration.
The Russian Trader
Young Russian who worships Kurtz and stays with him despite the danger. Describes Kurtz as 'very terrible' but remains devoted. Represents those who rationalize and enable violenceâseeing horror but calling it greatness.
The African Helmsman
The skilled African man who steers Marlow's steamboat. He's killed by a spear during an attack and dies unnamed, largely uncommented uponâhighlighting how African lives matter less even to Marlow who supposedly learned to question colonial assumptions.
Kurtz's African Companion
An African woman described as 'savage and superb, wild-eyed and magnificent' who appears at Inner Station. She never speaksârepresenting Conrad's problematic silencing of African voices. She's visual symbol rather than character with interiority.
The Company Accountant
Impeccably dressed accountant at Outer Station who maintains appearance despite surrounding chaos. First to mention Kurtz's remarkable ivory collection. Represents colonial absurdityâcaring about starched collars while people die around him.
Frame Narrator
Unnamed narrator aboard the Nellie on Thames who introduces Marlow and records his story. Creates interpretive distance and connects London to Congoâboth rivers, both sites of imperialism, both containing darkness.
The 'Pilgrims'
European Company agents Marlow sarcastically calls 'pilgrims' because they worship ivory instead of God. They carry staves like religious pilgrims but their religion is profit. Represent colonialism's greed disguised as mission.