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Heart of Darkness Madness Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #37

"One evening coming in with a candle I was startled to hear him [Kurtz] say a little tremulously, 'I am lying here in the dark waiting for death.' The light was within a foot of his eyes. I forced myself to murmur, 'Oh, nonsense!' and stood over him as if transfixed." (3.41)

We're pretty sure that this blindness is metaphoric: Kurtz is blinded by the darkness and evil of his soul.

Quote #38

"He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision—he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath:

'The horror! The horror!'" (3.42-43)

Wow. This is not what we want to be whispering on our deathbed. We don't exactly know what Kurtz is seeing, but we know it's not good.