The narrator, as is expected of an exilic figure, seems to have a very strong connection with the land of his village. Although he states in the beginning of the novel that he returned with a "great yearning" for his "people" and that he had "longed for them, had dreamed of them", his connection to the individuals is not very believable. He says that he is welcomed with "great fuss" and the people "rejoice" at having him back, however there is a lack of intimacy since he does not introduce/mention/describe the people who have come to greet him. Instead, he displays a certain affection for nature in his hometown.
"... I felt as though a piece of ice were melting inside of me, as though I were some frozen substance on which the sun had shone..." (1)
Moreover, his description of the people is vague, unspecific and impersonal.
"My ears had become used to their voices, my eyes grown accustomed to their forms."
He also admits that a fog rose up between them the first time he saw them. This suggests that he does experience disunion in the beginning, which he ends up overcoming later in the novel. With nature, however, there is no disjunction. His description of his village's earth and air is personal and affectionate right from the beginning.
"I listened intently to the wind: that indeed was a sound well known to me, a sound which in our village possessed a merry whispering..." (1)
"I heard the cooing of the turtle-dove, and I looked through the window at the palm tree standing in the courtyard of our house and I knew that all was still well with life." (1)
It is as if he is more at ease with his natural surroundings than human relationships.
"... I felt as though a piece of ice were melting inside of me, as though I were some frozen substance on which the sun had shone..." (1)
Moreover, his description of the people is vague, unspecific and impersonal.
"My ears had become used to their voices, my eyes grown accustomed to their forms."
He also admits that a fog rose up between them the first time he saw them. This suggests that he does experience disunion in the beginning, which he ends up overcoming later in the novel. With nature, however, there is no disjunction. His description of his village's earth and air is personal and affectionate right from the beginning.
"I listened intently to the wind: that indeed was a sound well known to me, a sound which in our village possessed a merry whispering..." (1)
"I heard the cooing of the turtle-dove, and I looked through the window at the palm tree standing in the courtyard of our house and I knew that all was still well with life." (1)
It is as if he is more at ease with his natural surroundings than human relationships.
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