Women have achieved equality with men over the many centuries of evolution of modern Western civilization. We cannot therefore overlook the fact that there are still many literary examples of social contempt for women's potential. Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" exemplifies Western patriarchal gender roles in which women are assigned inferior status. Not only are women portrayed as inferior to men, but the fact that Marlow (the protagonist) rarely mentions them in his account of his adventures in the Congo symbolizes his view of their insignificance. There are a total of five women presented in Marlow's narrative, but only three of them are significant minor characters: Marlow's aunt, Kurtz's African lover, and Kurtz's "Destined One". The following essay will examine how the presentation of each of these three women in Marlow's tale helps to connect the events of the story. Despite the generalized view of women of his time, Marlow's tale indicates a more specific view of women's value that suggests they are all naive but with culturally dependent personalities. By introducing female characters, Marlow may have wanted to add more essence to his narrative. However, each of their appearances and their description served as metaphorical yet powerful contributions to the plot. From the beginning, Marlow sends a clear message to the reader regarding his stance on the image of women. He talks about how he "tried women" after finding no man to help him realize his travel and trading ambitions. He did something out of the ordinary for his time; he went to a woman for financial help. Since this woman is actually his aunt, it could be argued that perhaps Marlow is not grateful enough to her... middle of paper... he associates her with powerful qualities, she is still considered naive for not having foreseen the departure from Kurtz. He shows pain and sorrow as he raises his hands to the sky as the steamboat moves away. Finally, Marlow uses Kurtz's Intended to support his view of women as accurate. To save their fantasy worlds, Marlow argues that men can stoop to the point of lying. In unique ways the three significant female figures influence the development of Marlow's story but do not influence the theme of the story; which is Marlow's exploration of the darkness of the human soul. Preserving the "beautiful world" of women, as Marlow suggests, denies women the journey into darkness. Their role is therefore limited to their cultural environment and their world because they may not have the strength to handle all the difficulties and temptations.