MMV: Conrad

[Terrance]

Out of the Jungle. The savage, however,  remains. The isolation,
endures.  Lupescu has been in the jungle far too long. He has paid a
tourist's price. His mind, his body,  and his soul are sick. But he gets
out. His double,  Siegel, his secret sharer, steps in at the moment when
the highest price must be paid. That price, is the price of moral
integrity. Just one reason I like to refer to this short story as Mercy
&  **Morality** in Venice. Siegel is so very civilized, so very
organized, so very far from the maddening cries of crowds murdered  in
the jungles and streets. He's not even a spy. He's protected by law, by
police, by the political Whiteness of Washington. What does he know of
the heart of darkness?  Less than Lepescu. But he's no slow learner. He
quickly discovers what the Captain in Conrad's Secret Sharer discovers:
himself. He  gains knowledge about Humanity only after he has totally
identified with his secret sharer (the murderer) and the murderer's
moral problem. And once Siegel discovers that Lepescu is his murdering
double, he too gets out of the jungle. But Siegel is not Marlow, Lepescu
no Kurtz. Siegel lacks the journey, the unflagging pursuit of his
double. He recognizes his double at first sight, but he never attempts
to understand him, to fathom Lepescu's (and thus his own) heart.