“…the sound of her low voice seemed to have the accompaniment of all the other sounds full of mystery, desolation, and sorrow I had ever heard - the ripple of the river, the soughing of the trees swayed by the wind, the murmurs of the crowds, the faint ring of incomprehensible words cried from afar, the whisper of a voice speaking from beyond the threshold of an eternal darkness” (75) - Kurtz’s fiance.
Throughout Marlow’s journey, he constantly envisioned Kurtz as a voice personified. In the last few pages of the novel, he travels one year later to visit Kurtz’s Intended to deliver remaining belongings of Kurtz. While he is listening to her reminisce and praise her deceased fiance, he comes to the realization that Kurtz and his fiance were polar opposites who came to balance each other out with their perception of life. In this quote, Marlow listens to her as she speaks of her fallen loved one and her voice reminds him of his journey through the Congo and even of Kurtz, speaking from beyond the eternal darkness of death. This observation only enforces Marlow’s belief and faith in Kurtz, even though he had already been consumed by the darkness of the Congo and his colonizing mission. The words “mystery”, “desolation”, and “sorrow” all emphasize and embody Marlow’s perception of Kurtz. Both Kurtz and his fiance spoke to Marlow with voices that embodied more than themselves, which further influenced Marlow’s understanding that he himself must continue his journey down the river of life.
~Megan
