The first word that draws the reader’s attention in the passage is “spell”. It relates to mystical power, which leads to the thought that there is no explanation behind it that Marlow or any other representative of the more developed civilization, for that matter, can comprehend. That “spell” is described as “heavy”, which implies a sense of not only mass, but also size and volume. In comparison to the jungle, Marlow feels small and insignificant. Nothing seems to be able to break the silence of the wilderness, which is why it is described as “mute”. Although these adjectives build a somewhat depressing feeling of the environment, they are followed by the image of its “pitiless breast”. While the noun suddenly turns the jungle into a mother taking care of her son, Kurtz, the word “pitiless”, which means “cruel” or “severe”, suggests that something is being enforced. Kurtz is a man who was raised away from the wilderness, which is why the conclusion that he is forced to live in the jungle against his real will is understandable, but the jungle’s mother-like portrayal states that it is all for his own good.
What the surroundings use to “draw” Kurtz are his “forgotten and brutal instincts”, which Kurtz, as one of the colonizers, is supposed to fight against. This part of the passage implies that these “monstrous passions” lie on the bottom of every human being and can be awaken at any time. Kurtz seems to be attracted by these natural, primitive forces. The fact that Marlow goes on to list “the gleam of fires”, “the throb of drums”, and “the drone of weird incantations” hints that Kurtz has, to a certain extent, become a part of the African tribes who are characterized by these customs. They seem to be a sort of escape for the man, who is described as an “unlawful soul”, because he needs the freedom that the restrictions set upon him by the world he lives in do not provide. When he is “beyond the bounds of permitted aspirations”, Kurtz can allow himself to be the person he is by nature, the way he was born to be, without artificial laws limiting his personality.
In his search of his place in the world, Kurtz ultimately goes with the primitive African environment, distancing himself from the world that has limited the nature of his character. While Marlow has definitely begun to question whether the more developed culture is the right one to represent, there is no dilemma for Kurtz. Although he does not feel like he is a perfect fit for the jungle, it is a home much closer to him than his previous one.
