At the end of the heart of darkness, Marlow is face to face with Kurtz's Intended. She wants to know what Kurtz's last words were before he died.... Marlow decides to protect her memory of Kurtz and tell her his last words were her name. Had he told her the truth, I think it would have gone something liked this:
"'To the very end,' I said, shakily. 'I heard his very last words...' I stopped in a fright.
"'Repeat them,' she murmured in a heart-broken tone. 'I want - I want - something - something - to - to live with.'
"I pulled myself together and spoke slowly.
"'I know he loved you very much, but there's something you need to understand. Being out in that country for so long, living with all those savages, it can change who you are. You must understand he wasn't the man you knew before he left. His illness had taken over his body and mind, and his soul dissipated before our eyes. In his dying hour, his last words reflected what his journey had shaped him to be. 'The horror! The horr!' Those were his last words.'"
"With that, I turned and left her to face the truth of the darkness that had overtaken her one true love."
Nice. Poor gal...
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