Kayerts

Kayerts has been assigned as the chief of the trading station. Conrad describes him as short and fat. Before he came to Africa, he worked as a bureaucrat with the Administration of the Telegraphs. Kayerts views his assignment as a chance to distinguish himself and gain profit. He also has a daughter, Melie, for whom he is earning a dowry. His underlying reason for being in Africa is that he believes Europeans are superior in every way to Africans. He is a pawn of the notion of European Expansion, the idea that powerful European nations have a right, even a duty, to other cultures to bring civilization to them.

Kayerts is a simple man. He seems to be incapable of coming up with creative solutions to his problems. Rather, he is like a boat set adrift. Unable to stick to a coherent course, he is propelled by his...