“He looked like a harlequin.” (pg. 64)
A harlequin is a comic character in theater who is usually depicted as wearing fanciful, multicolored garments. The harlequin appeared and became distinguished in the Italian movement commedia dell'arte where it was more or less a clown-like servant. Conrad uses the Russian man under Kurtz's employ to convey information about Kurtz to Marlow. Conrad describes this character as being harlequinesque because he essentially acts as Kurtz's servant.
"Harlequin Definition | Definition of Harlequin at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com. Web. 12 Aug. 2009. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/harlequin
Photo Credit: Harlequin. Digital image. Web. 12 Aug. 2009. http://www.carnivalofvenice.com/files/images/arlecchino.jpg
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