Plot Summary
This section of Heart of Darkness by opens with the Russian harlequin's departure. He reveals to Marlow that Kurtz himself ordered the attack on the steamer, hoping to frighten the company men into leaving him in the jungle. After receiving cartridges, tobacco, and shoes from Marlow, the harlequin vanishes into the night, still professing his worship of Kurtz's genius.
Shortly after midnight, Marlow discovers that Kurtz has escaped from the cabin. Rather than raising an alarm, Marlow pursues him alone through the dark jungle, following a trail through the wet grass. He realizes Kurtz is crawling on all fours toward the native camp, where drums beat and fires glow. Marlow intercepts Kurtz near the fires and confronts him in a tense exchange, threatening to throttle him if he calls out to the natives. Kurtz speaks of his "immense plans" and pleads that he was "on the threshold of great things," but Marlow manages to break the wilderness's spell and leads him back to the steamer.
The next day, as the steamer departs, a crowd of natives emerges from the forest. A striking woman — Kurtz's African consort — rushes to the riverbank, and the crowd takes up her shout in a roaring chorus as the boat moves downstream.
Character Development
Kurtz is revealed as a man whose intelligence remains "perfectly clear" yet whose soul has "gone mad." His midnight escape dramatizes his total surrender to the wilderness. He has "kicked himself loose of the earth," placing himself beyond any appeal to conventional morality. Marlow, meanwhile, demonstrates his deepening bond with Kurtz by choosing loyalty over duty — refusing to betray him, calling it "the nightmare of my choice." Marlow's decision to pursue Kurtz alone marks his own descent toward the darkness he seeks to understand.
Themes and Motifs
The central themes of this passage include the fragility of civilization, the nature of the human soul unrestrained by societal norms, and the seductive power of the wilderness. The recurring motif of darkness — literal and moral — pervades the midnight pursuit. The drum beats and ritual fires represent the primal forces that have consumed Kurtz. Marlow's recognition that he "could not appeal in the name of anything high or low" underscores the novella's exploration of moral relativism and the hollow core of European imperialism.
Literary Devices
Conrad employs vivid imagery throughout: Kurtz rising "like a vapour exhaled by the earth," the sorcerer figure with antelope horns silhouetted against the fire, and the steamer as a "fierce river-demon." Symbolism saturates the scene — Kurtz crawling on all fours represents his regression from civilized man to primal creature. The passage relies heavily on paradox: Kurtz's mind is clear but his soul is mad; Marlow finds "commonplace, deadly danger" more comforting than moral horror. Conrad's frame narrative technique creates layers of interpretation, as Marlow reflects on the inadequacy of words to convey his experience.