Lies and Darkness

The ending of Heart of Darkness finished with Marlow visiting the intended and lying to her. Kurtz's intended asked Marlow what Kurtz's last words were. Marlow lied to her saying Kurtz's last words were her name. Marlow's motives as to why he lied to her are unknown. However, we can assume he did it to shield her from the horrid thing he did say: "the horror, the horror." Furthermore, he lied to the intended to preserve her image of Kurtz as someone good; a figure of light, not darkness. This could imply that the Congo is a source of darkness, and once in Britain, there is a source of light. Although, lying can be viewed as something dark. Therefore, instead of leaving the darkness, he brought it with him. Is the point of the story to make us realize that there is no way to escape the darkness in Europe or in Africa?

Well we don't know for certain. Conrad is intentionally vague and ambiguous. There is no black and white. There is only grey. Multiple shades of grey. The ending isn't suppose to give us an answer. Conrad's writing is meant to be interpreted outside the text, not what's inside. Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness to share his experience in the Congo, and at the same time, to expose the hidden mysteries that lay underneath the human soul.