own life. Kurtz creates an enigma out of himself with his last words. He has therefore created an impressive legacy of himself. Marlow is left immortalizing a man whose actions did little to deserve the honor. Before Kurtz's death, he entrusted Marlow with a packet of papers. After many visits by friends and family of Kurtz, Marlow is filled with uncertainty about who Kurtz really was. Marlow goes to Kurtz's Intended in Brussels with letters Kurtz had written. The Intended is still in mourning, and Marlow is sympathetic to her fragile emotional nature. She asks what Kurtz's last words were, and Marlow replies, "the last word he pronounced was-your name," (140). Marlow felt that providing the Intended with this information would allow her closure. She proclaimed repeatedly to love Kurtz, and Marlow spared her feelings. "I could not tell herit would have been too dark," (141) he felt that it was important to allow her to have an honorable image of Kurtz after he had passed. Marlow chose to be dishonest at a time when someone else's feelings were at stake. His dishonesty was sparked by having compassion for others. Although dishonesty was something Marlow found distasteful at the start of his journey, he felt no remorse in lying to the Intended in Brussels. It is obvious that Marlow can not fully accept the truth himself, and lets the Intended believe that her husband died with a noble purpose, helping the Africans, and uttering her name as his a last words. Fay Weldon believes that, "the writers who get a lasting response from the readers are the writers who offer a happy ending through moral development." In, Heart of Darkness, this statement holds true. Charlie Marlow goes through a period of moral reconciliation throughout the novella. Instances throughout Heart of Darkness show different sides of Charlie Marlow's morals. It is evident that when Marlow has returned to Brussels, that his morals have changed. ...
