The Intended Timeline and Summary

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The Intended Timeline and Summary

  • Marlow’s first impression of the Intended is that she is beautiful but not particularly young. He gets the distinct impression that she is not a creature subject to time. To her, Kurtz’s memory is still fresh and she feels as if she is the only person who knows how to mourn properly for him.
  • She keeps repeating that she knew him best out of anybody. It becomes increasingly obvious that she is blinded by her devotion to Kurtz. Any man who knew Kurtz, she says, could not help but love him. Her dialogue with Marlow is full of these sorts of grandiose statements.
  • The Intended mourns Kurtz as more than simply a personal loss; she sees his death as a loss to the world at large. However, for all her saintliness, she keeps coming back to how unhappy his death has made her personally. She says she must suffer the pain of his death for all her life.
  • She fixates on Kurtz’s words – the only part of him that remains. She begs to know his last words. Marlow lies to her, saying that with his dying breath, Kurtz said her name (instead of what he actually said: "The horror! The horror!").
  • She says something along the lines of "Great! I knew I was the most important thing ever."