# Heart of Darkness — Character guide

> Key figures in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.

- [Marlow](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heart_of_darkness_se/characters/marlow.md): Marlow is the teller of this tale, a seaman who has learned to read the surface of things — hidden banks, sunken snags, the thump of a scraped keel — while suspecting that the inner truth stays hidden. He is grateful to 
- [Mr. Kurtz](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heart_of_darkness_se/characters/kurtz.md): Kurtz fills the thoughts and emotions of everyone who speaks of him, a man who once threatened to shoot the Russian over a small lot of ivory and could do so, having nothing on earth to prevent him. He suffers, hates wha
- [The Russian](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heart_of_darkness_se/characters/the_russian.md): The Russian speaks of Kurtz with mingled eagerness and reluctance, his life filled and his emotions swayed by a man who once wanted to shoot him for a small lot of ivory. He gave up the ivory without a care but refused t
- [Jove](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heart_of_darkness_se/characters/jove.md): The chief accountant at the Outer Station, noted for his neat appearance.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heart_of_darkness_se/characters