Companion

Character Role Analysis

The Harlequin (to Kurtz)

The strange Russian man dubbed "the harlequin" worships Kurtz, while the truth is that he's really more of a lackey and listener to Kurtz than a true companion. By listening to Kurtz's mad discourse, he believes that the man has "enlarged [his] mind" (2.37). Buying into Kurtz's foolish rationale lets him commit atrocious acts, like raiding other tribes and villages for their ivory. The harlequin, as something of a religious outcast, is searching for a god. And he finds it in Kurtz.