In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, there are many characters that make brief appearances, or never even utter a sentence. The character that I believe has the most influence compared with their actual time in the novel is "the gorgeous apparition of a woman" that appears for only a brief moment, but represents many of the stories central ideas (136). From Kurtz's corruption to the conflict between society and savagery, she is able to illustrate many …showed first 75 words of 993 total…

…showed last 75 words of 993 total…essence, the native woman represents every conflict with the story. The basis of the story is civilized man's conflict with an unexplored continent, and the woman's existence is a conflict between man's civilized disposition and her savage (unexplored) nature. While the story would still have contained many of its points without her, she reinforces every major conflict in the story, and ensures that the reader will not forget the great struggle that is taking place.