Heart of Darkness Q: Comment on the significance of Kurtz’s dying words- “The Horror! The Horror! ”

Marlow, the protagonist and sole narrator, is the mouthpiece of Conrad who tells us about his close observation and experience about the evils, ills and ugliness of the white westerners in the Congo region of Africa. From Marlow we come to know about Mr. Kurtz, the sole agent of the Belgium Trading Company collecting ivory from the Congo. From the close observation and relation Marlow has come to know this conclusion that Mr. Kurtz is a demonic figure and that most of his actions are of a diabolic nature. Now Kurtz has taken “a high seat amongst the devils of the land” and he belongs to “the powers of the darkness.” Marlow’s view is that Mr. Kurtz has become wholly evil, and has thus fallen to the lowest possible depth from the highest aims and ideals which at one time he used to cherish about the Whiteman’s great capacity to do good to the savage natives. Marlow has finally discovered that Mr. Kurtz lacks in restraint in the gratification of his various lusts and has turned into a devil who is “hollow at the core”.

                         The hollowness of Kurtz’s life is related through his dying words “The Horror! The Horror! ” Kurtz created horror in the Congo region to establish his power and domination with a view to bringing the natives under his control and exploit them. He left no stone unturned; even he killed the unruly and protestant natives and hung their skulls to the posts of his cottage as a taken of threat and terror. He became a dummy god to the natives. Before dying, however, Mr. Kurtz had pronounced a judgement upon the adventures which his soul had gone through on this earth. The judgement was “The Horror!” Kurtz judged himself, his whole life with the same words pronounced twice. In other words, there was something horrible and terrific about Mr. Kurtz’s dying; he had realized that his life on the earth had been a horrible and horrifying affair.