A CR!l'IC 'L 1)1:\: TH!J:'!rTIC ST:,my OF WALpE~.

( FRCX~ C!:c,P'I'ER XIII TO CHJ\Pl'ER XVIII)

If the cth;\pt(er on 11 Brute Neighbours" be1on 'S

to Thoureau's sunmer experiences, then the chapter on

"House warming" gives his preparation for the anyat~.g­

mentation of winter. In this chapter be is seen

·atherlng autumn fruits and building his chimney and when

winter fin0lly sets 1n1 his life begins to grow inward •

He is confronted with the problem of keeping his

vital heat auv .. his fdth is now his problem. In

regard to his cotta e Thor~:PU wr1 tes :

My 4wellinr; was Sl!l8ll, and I could hardl.y entertain en echo in 1 t; but 1 t seeme1J larger for being a single apertment and remote from nei:;hbours. All the attractions of a house were eoncentratad in one room; 1t Wr>s kitche>,~ chamber, parlour, and keeping room ; end what-ever s<~tisfaction parent or child, mast&r or servant, derive i'l'Olll living in a house, I enjoyed it all. 1

Thore~u's one-room apartl'llent g;>ve him a sense of

belongine as he hed himself built it by his ~aenual labour,

Durinr, the autumn, he ~~ent on makin;', 1 t fit for the dnteJ

In cold countries. a fire place is a must in the room

•• 173 ••

where one pesses most of his tille keeping the fire

alive is o nort of TJ.t:u.'ll l'lnd keeps two house warm.

But for t'"e soke of econoll)'1 Thorenu kept e stone

rather thr·n hnv!n::" an open fire place. In these (:oya

of store nwJ cuoki~ tt,as, people have forgotten the

advanta:":es of an opr-·n fire place. Besides g;iv1n;~ warmth

to the occupr·nt of the hou:::e, 1 t ~l.so provide& him

CO!npr·ny. n '£he labourer, looltin". into it at evenin;:,,

ruri:fies !'>.is ti1ou,hts of the dross and earthiness

wblch they lleve acc.\.t!lulatr d durine the day • 112 Thus with­

out havin;~ an advan'tage o! a fire place. Thore;o,u had

prepered himself for the cOd!~~ of winter.

In " Former Inhebitant.s• and winter visitors",

the chapter that immediately .follows " House warming,"

Thoreau describes his longest periOd of solitude• when

he had the fewest visitors and wben his life was reduced

to a routine. He writes a'baut himself that the maste.r

of the house was at bmle but the 1V1s1ter'3 never came.

not even !rom the town. It was the time o:f thOUiiht and

memory, of his Cai!Diunion with the former 1nhnbi tants of

the pond whose lives introduced the possibility of

failure. It was a sleepy time, reminding him of n that

winter that I laboured with let~1 "4 falling asleep

over " Goudibr- rt"5 a time when he lulled him3elt to

sleep with reminiscences, when like the owl, he a:le>ited

" the dawninr; of ·:is day:'6 And it W<•s the proper time :tor

•• 174 ••

conddering triend.eh.1p u a ..- apiri tual neceslli ty-

-not those friendships of his youth, those comp!Ulions

of his exte.ftlal Ufe, but those compnnions of his

thour:·~te whose diec,>urse s\.llll'lloned• *he old settler•

nnd expnncled and racket:' my little house •••• 11 7

11r. TrJOreau describes there were onl/ a few

visitors durin· thnt lon.:, period of 1dnter when the

path to \ialden pond was covered witn snow. But there

was one as he writes :

The one who ca'lle from farthest to my lodr:e, throw h deepest an01~s and most dismal tempeats1 was a 90et.B

This poet friend of '1'horeau was Ellerty channing

whose love fo~~s hermit friend was so r;reat that even

the be.zards of wea. ther did not deter him i'!:Cmvisi ting

h.1m. 11 .'t farner , a hunter, a soldier, a rei}orter, even a

philosopher may be deunted; but nothing con deter a

poet, for he ts actuated by pure love. 119 fhe solitary

lla.'tll comp;-:ny of the t-rmit and the poet made that

small cottae;e rin-; with boisterous mirth and resound

with the mumer of much sober talk. m"king amends then to

Walden vale for the lonr silences.

In n Uintl:!r Animel.s 111 Thoreau gh es an account

of the wtld life around Halden ?ond And \iplden Wood~-.

He speaks with nostal~ia of former time$ when bear,

aoose, deer, wildoata and other animals abounded in the

•• 115 ••

township o! Concord. ot the animals whoee species are

•till left, h~ writes :

T.t is hardly as if you had seen e wild creature when a rabbit or a pe.l"tri~e burata rt<Je.y, only a natural one.10

This lament of tne author is further elaborated

in one of ius Journal entries two years after 1-ial.df:n was

compl.$ted s

I spend a ccnsiderr>ble portion ot my time obset'­v1ng the habits of the wild aniaals, my brute nei;>;hbours. By thc>ir 'Jarious IIIOvemente :;,nd migrations they fetch the year about to me ••• •• But when I oonsider that the nobler andnk~ls have been extermlnat here, -the cougar panthel", lynse, wolverene, wolf, bear, moose, deer, the beaver, the turkey, ete._,etc •. , -I cnnnot but feel as if I liveLin a tamed and, as it were1 emasculated country. Would not the motions of those larger and wilder animals have been illOl't! siGnificant still ? • • • • ! 3m reminded that this my life in nature. thia particular round o.f natural phenomenon whleh I cal1.a yenr, is lamentably i<.'leomplete.1 i

By living at. \1! rcalden Pcmd, Tl:lreR'..l had not only cultivated intimacy with cnimals but had realized the one·

ness of l.i:fe. He could find the amiab!li ty in the animal

world which made hilll to befriend his brute neighbours. He

abnored huntin.i and clhenever th< news came that a lynx had

been killed .1n the nearby Carlisle, Thoreau was t!'le first

to reach on the spot. So deep was ~is sympa t!ly for his brute

nei.~;hbours. And as such the chapter on " \linter Animals" has

become syml.>ol.ic of ·J:horeau 1 s loYe for the wild ll!e. His

•• 176 ••

intiaate contact wlth Nature et Walden Pond end Wild life

in the nei :hbOurinl~: woods ll!f1do him s-.alize the unity of

ll!e w''ich Nature so sacredly preserves for all its children

Thoreau hAs attribute<i uym'bol!e llleRnings to some

of the birds. J.'he hawk is a symbol for the poet and ao is

the thru.<Jh, in a compl.,mentary sense. In one,wildxJess stnnds

for Lbe treodom of genius, in the other tor untamed lyric

beeuty. /UJonc nearly three -score refer~nce& to the thrush

in his Journab_, several are particularly relevant t

" All tbr>t wc:s dpeE>t f~:irest in the: w1~<1n~1ss

and the tdlt~ man is preserved and transrr.itted to us in the

strain of the weed thrush. It is the rr:e<'iator batw<?en barbaris:

and civilization •••••• This is the only bird wr~se note

effects me like music, effects t:he flow and tenor of my

thought, my f:::::eJ and ima:· inati.on. •••. The thrc>.sh alone

declares tb~ i!rm;ortal ">'~'elth and ·vi::;or that is in the forest

Here is a bird in 'lllhose atr:::in the story iS told• though

Nature waited !cr the science of aesthetics to discover it

to men. \;henever a man hears it, he is young, and :Nature is

in her spri118• lihenever a man he~rs it, it 1s a new world

end a free country, and the ::at-. ·s of heaven are not s 1.1ut agdns

him."12

Here is the generalized ideA of the wild beauty

of the sinaer to 1'1 t ~Y poet. I

There nre othrcr a::;pecta of ti-Je thrush that melee

it e•eeificnlly suitable to ThoreAu. He 1e convinced that

there 1~ no r-uch n lm.,vploreci . ildness• in the nl htine;ale,

a bird which ne bad never hearu but which he knew as emble­

mat1c of ti·:>' :\om:-.ntic poet, as in keats' greet ode. His prefere

ence fer tJ·,.:, thr'Ut>h im?lies s~et'lin;~ :far ,.,yond mure bird

son~. He ~~l~rfes t

l doubt if they hnve anythirl!! so richly tdld in "~urope, .it will o:.ily be beard in A!:1eriea, perchance, wh.tl(' our star is in in the ascendant • • • • • • • • • 1:hy, tlwr, Wl'ls I bern in America ? I might ask.13

He er~ere his own question, in a later Journal

entry, toot he 'llt'O i~~ to sine. just sucb I'\ ne;.1 native son2:.

The .AMerican ti1rush is .-tot ''hlY remote from J:>:tu'ope but remote

from its OWn C!'iti,;a, \~i1<)3C CUlture is still too d•;-;r;i. ·ative

o:t' the old worB. 'i?h!!'re e2n b<; Uttle doubt t>:at ?hreau h~s

himself in mind when he writeo.'. :

'l:hf:- tree po,~t wi11 ever live :::loci' frihm wild to 1 t, a.s tite fine$t singer !s the ±1'-l'Ueh, a .forest bird.'l4

society, WOOd

The- t;'!'U.Sh m~:kc"s i t..s e,;> ~-!'!<:.'::'<:me a ae·,;eral times

in t~ill.o~n. ) once si::ru-.f!c::-ntly L"l connt~tion with the taru;:-;er.

Listininc t.be ao."Vtu·rtages of wr..ere he hall chosen to live , 'm

airy ce!Jin in the woods above tte r.-onrl, he says he has caged

himself nearer to the birds, espec18lly" those wilder and

more thrillin;z sone;sters of tl:e forest which never or > rF~rely

' serenage a villager,.. .._the -:;ood t"hru:;h, ...... the scarlet

tanager.• 15 This links the \tildernes,:,; beauty of eolour to

•• 1-ro ••

tl111t of soun 1. The two in combination mRkef a mcomorn'ble

paf113Afe in the Journnl on n Mt::y ~en!ng in 1853 I

At Lorin.'' s \.' ood heerCI and saw a ter>..eger. Thnt ('·mtt·:•"!t o/ .... ':'flcl biNi -with the r,reen _,inPs ond the blue :;ky 1 t<;ven Whf-!:1 I hovp heard \1is note and look for ll.111l 11nd :find the bloody tello1~ 1 sit~ing vn :1 t!!l'ad twi:· of t• p1r.,-, , I am al•11nys stnrted. •• • Th"t 1ncrer1thl•' rNl 1 vl!tn the cccl"'l'l "ln-:1. blue os lf ·~~:ere \~h:l•e the trinity we Wlelnte:~ •••••• I M t!'Rn"'l>Or'tad c these a&"e not the woodS l ordinarily ·.-;r·1l: in. t;'" .~un){ Conno1·d in hi~> tf'.OU.cl'lt• r'.owhe enh:'lncee toP w ill.;l!'lf'ns anc we:~lth an:;i weal:t.h 01 wo:~J::. l •••••• r lc··.ve- ?-r>- :~sed tll<~' Rat•1I~OY.'.I of st1.a ;1n.. out. .1. have eaid to a.yst~U:. ti::•t t~f;i is .r.::·~ t;,-rr-e,·:.r: ; J. wU.l · .. ander· further ff'Oiill whnt I have cr·lled my home - to the home which is forever invHin · me. In such an hour the freedOm of wooos is offered me, and the.: birds sing my dispensation.1G

'l'his is indeed an artist's Paradise his go<.i.s

a trini.t~, of colours , bird soJ;gs bis dispensation. It is a

new re1Lion. a re-orderin · of the world under the divine

eutbority of the poet.

to <>:i v j.nr; a U.rml comment on • l(

Winter AhilftB1E:"• it may be steted t}tat this and the succeeding

chapter antiobates tho spri.!l,~, taking tip solitude, the

resources of the natural scene, sounds, am! tl1e pond only

in a differeent nood. In this chapter the catalogue of

soun<!:> and nnimnl3 conveys a scene of impoverisrsent- the

wilder anim~=:ls hunted in former times are t•.one ancl 'H'f} no

more in the woods. Probably some of the species (here anim:-·ls)

bave Mcoi!De extinct because of man's cruelty on them and his

sport of huntin~. 'rhe whoopin pond has [~one to sle"P• The

fox 1a seekin;: " expression 1117 and is strugging !or "li ht_!1~

•• 17! ••

t· e btr: tl•: of n :uirrul~ rvl' 1 r.~tce hr>ve awnkeri4d hia. ttl 1D:

If it he to o >erk or br~ve:·y lm''er duress, t''r-re ''rc ~~·ill

the hc·rdy j:·y:-; rm·· o;·JiCkP.deca, the le-,n but vl~;orou.'l on.1

elost1o hl:'refl f.,··in ti.e ht.lzr:rds o! cold nnd chilly winter. II 0 \9

The brfl·, e bi.rd t-l-J.e pnrtrid .e is not to be s,.,cre· · by winter '

In " '1 ho Pond in \,inter." however, Thoreau h~<S

tried to develop the> t\'eme of loss ~mt could not do it well

Of c::urse he coull'! not 0nB.-ccr this question in

his alte:;>, for it was the question of life itself which

only wakin(-c would a.ns1ver. And therefOl'e he went on~

But there was d.:clWnin ·_ N.-<Jture1 in whom nll creatures live, lookin- in 1-"tt my broad ·,,l:f.ndo;>s with scene ant'! st~tisfie.1 !r>ce and no question on her lips. I av1oke to an an<>wered question, to ~Jctvre pnd doyli~;ht.22

This awakenin_: '>'les the be~':innin;:', of his rebirth

of the pond, that reechec" the crescendo in «sprin·""• end

that served as the llvin:.o: testimony of his conclusion

--" only thnt dr.y d"wns to ~~!lich wo ere D\iPke. There

1::; mere d;:-.y to d01m. 'l'ho sun is but a mornin stnr. 1123

•• 180 ••

" Moral re!orm", he st~i<l 1·1l-:cn he f1rat fixed the meanin •

of •ornin-: one B'·'nkenln::," is tr.e effort to th%"0\·J off

slPep •••••••• To be aw~ke is to be alive• 24

He be:~" The .Pond in winter•, therefore, with

his mornin · work or ritunl 1 oln~ in search of water. Like

the winter fisherman, who were wise in natural love,

men of 11 real faith" who know where summer had treAted and

whose life was p0ssed " deeper in Nature then the studies

of t."le naturalist penetraten 25 Thoreau also cut his hole

in thrice; and if he W8S no lon~er a fisherman himself, he

could still glory in tre fabulous pic~erel of Walden_, end

find wh<>t w:>s more important to hill, that " its bright

sanded floor (was) the same as in summer. 11 26 He w~1s now

penetratin;-~ the deeps to find his faith, fathoming

n unceasingly 11 'Z7 as he wrote in his youth," for a bottom

that will hold an anchor, that it may not drag. 11 28 He

said he " was desirous to recover the lon(~ lost bo±t"'lll of

Walden ponrl"1 arr' he made it clear, by his verbal play on

"bottom" and 11 foundation" 29, that he was aeekin·:: his

foundation. The foundation of his faith as his survey of

the .~nd indiCated was the doctrine of correspondence; and

what he needed to prove again was the law thnt eueranteed

that the actual corresponded to the unseen reality. He

discovered the " general re,':ulari· y of the bottOII" and

what was aore surprisin,o; to him 1 " ita eontirm!ty to the

shores", a con.fomi ty" SiO perfect th3t a distant promontory

betrayed 1 tself in the soundinr:a quite ecro,:s the pond,

•• 181 ••

:•n·' it'l (itr•'ction coul" bl' 'eter'inl'd by obsei"rin t"'e

oppo~i te shor!". "30 lie l'll~o found 1 o his surprize tl 'nt "

the line of ~">'re'ltest lC'n,·th intersected the line of .. re~test

brendth exactly nt the polmt of ··~rentest ·'er>t!> ••••• 1131

This, he pointed to a r:ener11l lr>w 1 it a[l·)lied to ocr-rn,·. as

well flS po~s to motmt:•ins nnd V!"'lle·,s,to ea 1es ond br.rs_.._

" This rule •• •••........ io universal. "32 Thus he discover­

ed 1('•:~ ond h:;rmony in nature, et the same time thnt he

realized anew th:· t truth -.vrJt ;)erspectivnl. " If we knov;

('11 the laws of NiJ.ture 11 , he wrote," We should ne(~d only one

fact •••••••• to infer All 1he pnrticular results at thGt

po: · t. 1133 But bee a. use 11 we knovv only a fe1:1 lc·1ve •••••••

our result is vitiated, not of course, by eny confusion or

irre· ularity in Nature. but by i ·norr-~nce of es~;entinl

elements in the enlculetion. i:lur notion.'> of law and hc·rnony

are co:n.lllOnly confined to tboso instances which we detect,

but tho harmony which results from a. tar greater number of

see!'lilr·:ly confl.ictin.:·:, but re'. lly concurrin, 1 lnws, <Jhieh

we have not detecte<:J, is still r:o~·e .,onderful."34

r"iore or less in 1 :-s general! ty, this law also

applies to m n, for " as there is no e:·:clusively physic,cl

nor e: c lusi vely morc>l 1·- '", this is as true in ethic;:; ,-,s * in Physics. • • • • • "35 " 'Cra,.,. lines th!'01Fh th·" len. ·tr:. <"llG b!'08<.-lo

th of the ae;•/re:;ate of a man'" particular dPily be~1<1viou-x:s

and waves o:.· life into ris coves Pnd inlets, " he su . 'ested,

•• 1B? ••

" Rn<l where they inLereect will be hei ht or deptn of his ch­

aracter. Perhn:>s we need only to kno.,· ho. his shores trend

An his !l<!jc>cent country or c!rcl.lllstflnces, to his depth and

conce(lled bottom. n 36 Thls was the kind of character ann-

ly· is • horer!U W!!nted •. 1\;;>pliecl to himself, of course, 1 t

ould h've reaveled" a corres!>Ondin·· depth in h1m"37 the

hero whose centre ~•ould h~ve been ;:/alden Pond itself. And

once the pond was the soul, cover, inlets, !'nd shores, the

sea end navieation, provi ed the i111v'ery for a conceit

that seemed irresistible. For Walf!en was such an indivi(tual

lake, a sweE!t se.<1 1 that " private seatt38 of tbou,ocht, the

self thnt Thore:c:u in •eonclusion' advised his contempora~ies

to explor·e.

In exploring the depth o! the pond, Thol'eau

was explorin. his own depth, t.'1e depth of his inner sell

His ver:1 act of ~;angin,:; the depth " was a contemplative

labour to be contrasted with the utilitarisn skimming of

the pond by the ice cutters, nnd a cor.scious end£vour

to be contrasted with the ecstasies of his youth." 3g

While plUIIlbin· the depths h£> discovered " a brieht green

weed," the symbol of or::anic life and soul, •'~hich, he scid

was very er;r eable to behold in midwinters; 8 40 tmd

while surveyinc; the pond he discovered the manifestation

o~he same organic la\>1 in the undul.ation of its apparently •

rigid surface. And t'1e ice, wluc:r: others were harvestinr:,

was now for hill the si":n of his own purity rather than

dormant state, t"le si n of that " new auaterity"41.

•• 183 ••

he spoke of in 11 1-11 ht>r lewall which pE>rrnltted the mind to

descend into his OO''Y <:n:l rec'aem it •••••• "42 IJhile rer·din·:

'I he Hari v Oilll na , 'Inorcru ~·c'! noted thnt 11 the heart

. illcd ~·ith etran;:e a~fecticn::; ie to be here below puri,'ied

by wisdom, 1143 The pur<:> hnlden water minc:led with the sacred

waters of i'i1e ::;~:n';es, in t'.c fnmous conclusion of t' ia

chPpter. b~ccuse he h~d trPnslated the ice, a commodity

exported to all p~rte of the world, into "solidified

azure•, 44 a symbol o.f purity and spirit, :>o also 11 Hi ;her

L·wsn and " 'l'he f!oncl in Winter• were joined together by the

ascetics disciplines of oriental -philosophy - by th,~t mornir

anster1ty which he was now re~larly performing.

Pond in ''inter•, ~1hen Thoroau wrote that :

in thirty days lliOre, probably, I shell look from the Srlf!1e window on the pure sea-!P'eert ~ialden water ti:ere, reClectin. ·::he clow~s an-' the trees, rmd send!ll!~ up its ev~ratiol".s in solitude, nnd no traces ~i-iill ~PP«ar thct a mnn has ever stood there. 45

'rhe:n spr.'ng came as a SYJIIbol of rebirth when

whole Nature be an to appear in its new form. One of the

purposes of Thorc c:u in comin' to the .;oods WPS to " have

leisure and opportunity to cee the spr1l}f, come in. •46 And

before it actuc•J.ly c~e 'i.'horeeu made a prept:eration to

w&lcome it.:

•• 1PJ ••

"r nl" on the Alert for the first si m; of :;l>r·.n ·•

to hPPr thC' cl•: nee note of s:·.me errivin:' bird,ol' L1e stripp-

ed 5'Ju1rrel's chirp' for ;1!5 stores must be no1> ner>rly

e"h•·ustnd, or Sf·e the '•Dor1cl~uck venture ~d out of his

~linter qur;rte:·s. Gn th~ 1 .ith of Mrrch, nfter I h;3rl heFtl'd

~·bture bus 1 ts o·.n:1 me b:n~ o:f bringine e

chet:-/·,e. It vms ~·.radua11y tl;·t t'be winter be·:an to show.,

~.i ns of chun·e. The went~W':' ;':l'ew warmer , the sno1r1

and ice be~;Bn to melt, thf' " circulations" ber;:an in the

rtlls and rivulets, purr; in·" the blood the winter1148

PJ.nd Thoreau no lonrer needed to gtether woo<!. for his t'ire

assured no,, th t would kt:H';p ··is vital heat. In the theWint;;

cl8y of the rd1 road out h.: sc..w " the Artist who m""de the

world Bnd me "4! c;ive way to the impulse of expression.

Indeed, hJ.s descri;>tion of t'D('> th"w• one of the most

brilli:ont end best suetpitwd :1'.!12lo~·ies in transcer!dental

writ.in<', 1 1vas r> myth of creation as expression, an eltoborste

-refore, of the creetivc and :~i,c.pin:~ power of Idea, ~·n<} the

re~.Pwal that proceeds from the in~ide out. :'n·5 it ,;,srs more

than that:"' metr<pbor of birth, and a metaphor of puri :'icatior:

ved for two cons{cutivc; .:c--::·s the phenomenon o:f s;:>ring-

•• 185 ••

how slo·.;ly 1 t came nn h01<1 winter be en to :ive W?.Y for 1! e

comin •. ~lE' 'II rote 1

Few .pheno~~~enon ·~!W& lllE !IIO!"e deli ht th:1n to obsterve t'JE! forra!: ,,hich the thr•win:-. s.~nd end d11y e·.sume in flow1n~ do. n thP. oines of a deep cut on the r"!lro.~d throu'h which I ppssed on my WilY to the v!llnr·.E', E! phenomenon not very common on so lfl%'!1:0 e scc·le, thouo;h the nUIIIber of !'reshl.y expo.>ed banks of the ;·1 ht mat-'rinl mus~" ha·1e beer; 'creRtly multiplif!rl since rn!J ro:>t:ls wer'! in.·ented.50

The thaw wos first of a 11 a following a 11 burstinr;

out"51 of the " insi<les of tr e eorth 1152, the unfoldill,t1 of

" th ill "- hi t '' ~3 f lo 1h". +~wi,...r obeyed e ) e...-up c ory · ::> o geo ~;:y. ~ .""'

the lav of currents end th£' law of vegetation. Thoreau

callt:d it a 11 grotesque or mytholo<:ic~l ve:etat:ton11 Sl'

and 1 t reminded him not only of foliage, but of 11 brains or

l.un,;.s or bo'-'wels, and excrements of all kinns." 55 He felt

as 1f he w~:re nearc•r to the vitals of the e;lobe. "56

This £>Xremental character sug ;ested " thl'lt Nt:~ture ho.s some ·

bowels, and ••••••• is mother of. hw8.nity ••••• "57 For the

treat coming out of th~ p,round was spring, a newly delivered

child," Eerth ••••• in her swr,ddlin clot::es" 58 stretching

forth 11 baby fine-, ers on every side. It 5'

Besides !1e saw in the th&n not only the birth

but the development of men, in the stre,-ms of clay the

for.'1at1:m of blood vessels, in sand tJoe bony :n:?tter. in

finer soil the flesh- in fact, the process by ~~hlch rivers

were forrn2d ~~d v~lleys creater se~~ed us nn n~lo~y for the

creation O! the huaBn face. he wrote :

• • 1 ~.,_r, ••

"' :1t 1.::; ···r-:1 but r nro 11 of thE!l:ln·· cl 'J 7 •••• \Jho !.o:;l~J\·~~ w:: t t ··.- :1\.Jm n bo. J .ou · ·! ~, · "~l ~ ..., ... ' f1 'J' o"~ to 11~-~"t' ,, marc- c•ni:--1 he-"'e:t"(i· •

~;prJ.n.: inn:~ u:'£· :!.G :c symbol of y'Outll, no:;e

ness a:r:d hope :

i·inlden in sbply the SU!1 of

sprin ·, offcrin:· escape frO!~ .l:e mort~:~l cycle, t.<:";is •.;i11

\irlden

" the passage ends quietly, " I c~me in, .:nr~ s~ut i..l'".i.

•• 1f'·t ••

door, ~n<~ lll">'1"d 111:1 !iP&t S?rin", nl·rht in tl1c wood5o"63

Tt)i!J S!!nt4nce brin 3 th .. ·.:rlr!f>n yeor rO\.Intl to 1 ts second

sprln~ (the pr1w tr>us sprin•~ wn!:. .-Jevoted by T!lorPnu to the

t!'Sk of hou<Je- built!in1;). It is preceded !lnd follo'•l<!d by

eire lin.\~ iJla. ·:es of ~1ild geese ,u.t.l wild duck:J arri·t.ii.l · :.1t

the pond.

11.11 sor;~;on'" hove tl:e1l' importance anrl (;ll · nve

their W.:!leome 'but " th~~ comir~:! in o.f spril'lg. is l.ike the

crei':'tion o! Cosm(xo out of ch:--o.~ and the realization o:t

t."Je Gol de.n fl~e." 64 F'Qr such is the order of n:.l tu:..·e to

help for tr;c •:.r.owth r>!l('1 to existence of ll!e on earth. Sprtn.e

comes 2a a re~!nder to m~n of somethine of eternal in its

character thpt exists bevond this mund;me lite '<~here there

exists .neither decay nor death, and where there is all life,

bliss and ha;;>pinerw. 'fhore;;u could C!ltch such epiph...,nif'ls :

Ah 1 I htrve penetrated to ti:t.'t!e meadows on the morning o:f mPny s :li.rst spt'in:: day t jump ill!; :from hummock to hUmmock, from Wi:tlo~v Not to willow root. when the wild riv~r valley an0 the woods Wf!re bathed in so pure and brir,ht a li.,~ht sa would ll!'Ne waked the dead• 1! they '·wd b·2en slumbe.r-!.ng in ~hdr r,r'"ves, as som'! suppose. There needs no stronge1• PN·J! of inK,or'tal!ty. ,'.11 thin.·:s ~st ~ve i.n e~cl·, a Uc-ht. 0 ~ath, where ~cs 1 tr,y s;;:Lng 7 0 .il:'::v& w ·,t~re \<l<'il thy vic ~Or}' • then?~

~ihr~t is required :f.or a man to ,,o th1·ou .h such

experie!lC"S is " too t.':lnic of wildness "65 which ·,;oull~ · ive

billl v!P,our end v·iteli t:; to see beyond the world of ne ;;urt! on

eternP.l life und an eternal sprin;~. therefore, in the Cjcl&

• • 1 ~:"''""•·

'J.'' c r.ir--·•<-<J.lour.; inflUX of li;:>:ht ~;t the a• ·vE>nt of :;orin sh:J\~(~r\ 'fhore~u c p· ble of r:~ .>in;' ni.Jo·rc nr>t>.,re to em i\:;olloni· n v~ .. :don. IlO.:w he uo~1 'O on to nc'hieve a synthesis nuc•··, ?.5 th··t offered by orph!em ? Initi,tN> of this aneitmt cult beli.everl that :!.f '.:' '-'! cou1·i su~fic.i.c1•tly trnaBCend the Lionysie'n world, 1:' f''J ccul~ ~?<Cf, )e :frorr. t:"'e ~,-:r-~P.tu..,l 9~"'0cess of c· nn::.e, revolvi~l.·. in <J cycle, by .,.i;·;·":tnr•. on inn!!r mystic..-1. ~:n·:lo-; 1i'hi:::h 1:; etf'rn"l•

oo~ril of' h l·'k fr '1Jen··]n - ····•'o -1 of '.·Jf:; j'-,1 .•.· .. '.<"•\h "el·r. • • . , " ::: . a .'c • , ' .. ·.--.·c .. " '·' ;:,.1'·' ~· - -- "' •

to seeint.:: a loon on thE> pond early in M13y, tl'..e chapter

ends 1 '* And "0 the ee--sons ~1ent rollin2 on tnto su;mJer, 11G3

It se~?~~~S t!:<at ThoNJE>U w~·s still revolvinr; in thf! cir-cle o:f

' Thus wns my fi.:'st yCc:?r' s :l :!.fe in th<? viOOd.s cooplete('; ~;>nd t·'-le second year \~as similar to it. I :fin21ly lett \'-'3lden t~epte>r:he:r 6th 184\7. 6'

stupid ae1lors ;>1ek1n- oek.- but like brsVe ~lumbWI " to

whole new c ntinents and worlds w1 thin (hill), ope:1in'"' new

ch-.nnels 1 not of trarle, but of thought. "70 Such 1a t."l0

'1dv1ce of Thorer>U to those Rdventurists who .. ·ould seek

t~elr own Walden ~Dd awl live to explo~ tho worlds within

" !!.'Very mnn ia the lord of a realm beside which the e!'lrthly

cap1re ot the ezar is but (.) petty state, 8 hUJr:moc~ left

by the lee." 11

Having ex"PlOred his own worlos within, he :nt,de

a retreat from the woods." I left tl·e .,..100ds for as. good a

renson ns I ;vent there, " 72 the author of 'Conclusion' to

\'ielden writes: " £1erh1•ps 1t geemed to me th!'t I had

several more lives to live, and could not spare Any mo:re tim

for that one."73 Why 'I'horeeu, the man, terminated his

resi·~ence at Welden Pond has always b;'·ftled the researchers

even more than why he \'lent there in the first place. He

himself is :focted into psra(1ox an(~ met::>phor t·lhen trying to

exp:: ·1in it on '.he lit r··l level. The details of his

wit.~dra·.al from the •·1oods are avdlrible 1n one of his

Journal: entries of 22 January 1852 which offer a more

elabor~lte but hardly more satisfying set of reasons • Yet

t.~ey spe.•-1'> of bis mind et t e til!!e of le~wing ti:e woods t

~ why I che.n·ed ? why I left the woods ? I do not think that I can tell. I have often wished ayself bsek. I do not kna.<~ ~ny better how I ever came to eo there. Perhaps it is none of my business, even if it is yours. Perl;eps I wanted a chan:>;e. There was a little stagnation, it rnay be. tbout 2 O'clock 1n the afternoon the world's axle crepked es 1f it needed greRsin.,, as 1f the oxen laboured with the wain and could herdly get their load over the ridge of the dey. Perhaps 1f I lived there IIUCh lon er, I lli·'l'lt 11 -'• there :Cor ever. ODe

would think twio~ before he acce>ted heaven Oil such tems. A ticket to Heaven IIUSt include ticket to Limbo, purgatory, end Hell. 74

It is futile to ,.o into the question as to why

did 'l'hore['u ;;o to the woods and why did he withdraw '1

'l'he moe t J.mpor tant ot all the thin s in this context is

his experienco of li"•in ~ at the Walden Pond. His mAin

purpo _ e wr:os to discover whether life was worth liVillft, en~

if so he must discover its value in terms of splirl.tlual

truth and not in 1 ts materinl1st1c terms govern the

act1v1 ties of common men. In drawing his conclusion from e his experiences. he s®etimes d~ns the poetic mode of

\1} alr:>en by addres !ng audience with the zee.l of e morea.lJ

However me~n your 11f,~i,1s, meet it p.Jl·~ live it; do no~ shun it and itA.ffard nr,mes, It is not so bad asvou are • It looks poorest when you are richest ••• ._ cultivate poverty like a garden herb• like sage. Do not trouble yourself " much to et new thincc;s• whether clethes or friends. Turn the ole; return to them. Thin_ s do mt ehan;e• we ehanee. Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts. God will see t.hnt you do mt want society .75

Thoreau felt an urge to apprise his renders

of the results of his "alden experbent before let tin~

thea~ ,-o and it h'OUld be worth ·::oing throu h 1n his O'.vn

wor s inspite o:f its short cOIIIin s :

I learned ~~is, atleast, by my experiment, that if one edvances confidently in the ~ direction of his dreams, and endeevours to ~ Uve the life \vhich he has illagined, he dll aeet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some thin;a bel-cind• will

pass an in·J.lalble boundary-. and 1-:e will live w1th the Hceae of a higher order of beings. In proportion as he e~nliflea his life, the laws of the universe will eppear less complex,and solitude will not be sotltude,nor povert'l ">OYerty,nor "'""knel'ls weakrlesa.76

This is very JIIUCh in oontol'llity wlth the V~entic

teee"irt;~ that infor-nG eo mu!:'h of hi~ ':reat book i'lolden. 'But

it certainly vio~'ltes the aode end so . .>ould spoil the effect

if it con ~1nued too lon· • Very o:tten hitl ~ententiousnens

risea into e:t:reotive aphorism. : 11 It 1a life nee.r t 11e bone

where it 1s sweeteetm Or better at111 into a. parable&'

"It JOU have built castles in the alr, your work need not

be lost, that is where they should be. Now j3Ut the foundations

under thom. 1118 In the last chapter he baa ude e subatitutiou

of taebphor for the mode of didacticism. The most remarkable

thirv, about his · ('conclusion is r series of memorable ima2.es,

linear instead of circular , and the spee1al travel tma ·:ery,

that brinrs finale to the entire meeninc: of W ~~en.

Thore&u did not believe in stiekinT to the p;a:th

of eonfor~~~i ty even :tf it wos to stick to his O'<;l'l. round of

set d.uties and <>~sig'OO\ents. '!e al11ays preferred an escape

from the eirculGr path of convention. ~lly shouldn't he dis­

cover a nE,w path for hilll'self? This was an additional reason

for .~oin,': to the woods and withdrawing from there. He neither

wanted to stick to the routine life of Coooord nor to the

routine ltfe of the '~~oods. His soirit of adventure took

h1a to discover new Wf'ys and the same aade him to withdraw.

He withdrew from the woods but " did not return to Cone ore

village to tall into any of 1 ts routin€'S. "7! Out of the

gooae-ateppin;_; of the local llilltia, one of the most 1-eekJleyed

symbola for confo~nl ty 1 he croabn a new •etf\PhOr of thP.

•archin. hero thrt hl''> become f··,r~ou.s throu ;h re?el!ltec quotation~

I! a ~~n docs not keep pace with his compen1on$, perht~ps 1t is be:: a use h1.~ heors e di t'ferent t!~l11!I'. Let him stei) to the JaUsic whic'~ he hears, however mensurecl or :far aw~y.eo

Here is tl'!e imr-1·;e of "~ selt-reliP.nt man which h"s r>

lon and inter,,stinrr history in Thore::>u1 s writin.:::s. It first

ap;>"Ars in one of his Jo· rnal entries in 1840 s

A mBn 1 s lif.e shou~d he n sta.te1y march to an unhr·.e>rd music, ,.nd \~hen to his fellows it f".ay seem irrcr:ul<>r end in~rrrnonious, he will be stepping to a livelier measure, which only his nicer ear can detect.81.

The image reap;;>eGrs thot.;ll greatly ezteooed in a

l~eek • It is associated to tt.e hci ent o! hearing an actual

drummer in t"le ni:·ht. thou~;h described as a 'stray sound

pa from a far-off npb.:-~re." that comes to his ear W11en he

is falling ·sleep on the !;ank of th~ ~i!er't"illlaek • It leaves

hill IIUSing; :

A strain of mu::ie reminds me of a passage of the Vedas, nnd I associate with it the idea of infinite remoteness, as well es of beauty and serenity, for to the se!lSes thet is farthest from us <·ihich addresses the ~reatest depth within us ••••••• Thnt harmony which exists naturally between the hero • s moods ond the universe, the soldier would fair imitate with drum and trumpet. Vhen we ~ in. health, all sounds! fife and drum for us ••••••• •·1arc,:inf, is w"'en the puJ.Se o! the hero betots in unison \lith the pulse of Nsture_,. and he steps to the measure of the universe.B2

When this imece fina' ly r>P!)Par& in vi alden, the one

tiae hero ot ti ':leek seems to '1alk straight out of his mundene

•• 193 ••

t into a life t.l-)ot is in hnr~~~ony w1 th the universe. The

::• of t'le saH-rellt:mt men bPcome!'l fuller eont1'0lled and

~nda upon tl e &••:~ •.estive .P.!>$ o! a " di !fen:-nt drunnH=r"

music th<ot comes from " frlr aw:oy 11 , Dut ~~hnt j s i:n JOrtant

~'·,orenu 's mprti~o~l •netapho!!' v.-h!c~ co,nes later :

I delit:llt to come to my bearin,11;a,- not walk in "roce~;sinn with pomp •nd parer1e, in a conap1cous pl~ee, but to WPlk even with the Builder or the universe, if I may, •••• not to live in his restless nervous, bustl1r.w,, trivial Nineteenth ~entury, but sto.nd or sit thourttfully while 1t :~oes by. B3

Ther(e arc vcri0us im-gc!J of tr(>.r>sccrdence in :Jel<len

1ot: in·.· like the s-peci:--1 tr&vel ima ·.ery 111htch ives eomplett

lin: to ~~~ld,en.

It is the Journey motify that permeats all Thoreau

' da ·ana all are records o! his actual tri:>s and voyar;es

t.'H'Y speak of l'horeau as a traveller and an explorer.

1 the fourteen volUIIIes of his Journals are the records

J.s journey throur:;h the days and years. Walden. which is

master piece is " the final and unique expression of

theme. 11S4 There is an extraordinary cluster of tr::\vel

es in i:liilrttn which h~ve enabled the author to seek an

pe from the limitations of time and space. It now • there­

• re::;dnes to brin:~ into fceus ":hE! speci::-1 tr~vel baa ery

alden. !:ilKl in tl·:e ,Tourn<)l, th!1t will 1llum1nt.1.te the

e of the present st1.Jdy.

•• 19"•··

All ll!e is :, voyo· t nr; .~n unknown se • •; ::e

irWi·1i ual soul 1~, : r· :• vc··~urt•l' from ar. unkno .. n l.~n.•. ls

not our birth " n sl;-e,;> nci :J for ett1n "? .ihere is our [>OI"-

m"nent ;,om~ 7 I:- not tll~ indL lC:u:,l .-.oul in seprc; · of its etr.I"­

n·l h0111e? T:·e 'tihOle life is ;·. vocvtion. a journey in ow· !.>ir.glc

pursuit which tl10 i'l.unr-n soul const:ontly truct.·es on whithout

h"Cvin··. rny kno· .. Ld; e of its voyn(•·e. But 'I'1·.or!•nu woo is n

conscious tr,_,v..,llc:I· t!levntes the s::-.cul('tr 111alker into the

rel1 ious p1J.r;x·im. It occurs in the conte...,.t of l'is L·<rnEmts n::-<~ve

the "t· ri·.-ty of thr' person wi th 11 A t;enius.. •• •• for S8unter1n~i,~>l

one w11o does not wr;lk for mn:rcise or to :-:et somGWhere but "

.rto succeed to the hi .hPst and worthiest ends hy the abantlonne.nt

of all sp0c!!ic ends. 111''.6 In a chnracteristio ety-molo;de·l

:mme Thoreau mf;ntions in ona of hi<l Journ.3l entries from 1851:

And t'.ts wor'd.'seun'(er', by th1: WG.Y , i2 happiJ.y derived ; !rom if11e people \vho roved o'-oout the country ( in '!--:e t;i.,_:cle Mf€~S) <U"ld :·,sked ch~\rity under pretense of ;~oin· o ln Sainte Terre' 1 to the ilply kmd 1 till yerc!·!.;trJ.Ce, ·the c!1ildren excla!•·O\ecl~ 'IN~e There :-oes a Sainte-Terre. a Holy .. L;_-utier. T: uy ~•i:o n>ver c,;o to the !:oly Land in t: ·eir \~alks, as t:--ey )It"~' tend are indeed moPe idlers Ci1d d3.,j.&bour...:\.s.G7.

But ?Ito is t;,e tr~<e " Seunterern in ;'fc,lqen other

than the au~;hor himself, tf•(•l.\ h it is not e.;.~plicitly n2P1ed.

In II Visitors I. i't is Q,:o"lied to the eanr>dian wood chOPP0r,

thet wtld " ~aphl&·"OniFm' ma."l, >vho is seen 11 saunterin;:; throUf:h

the villf'!,;e 11 like " a ;>r l.nce in di.sr,uise. "83 In ">; L"lter

Visitors" it is r-,_,_,llc:d to l;lcQtt, the "blue-robe:'." sent; II

((

Of yore we hBd S:lU:.<tered Hn~1 ' ... ·lke6, and ;;1ffectu:::lly pu~ ~· .e

•• 1!5 ••

world bttblnt'l ue." ~ .But it is the narrotor himself v1ho is

the truP. saunterer, with ell his s}'I:Jbollc journC'yi!J..B on t!1e

There is n be!'lut1ful flr·saec::e in one o! hili<: :j<)Urn;ol

entries w lch is so pert.!ncnt to the trevP.l iJI:"' · c!"'] in

tv f!llden __ •

T'ho poet rr.ust k<=eP hi!!lf:.elt unstained and aloof. Let £1im p~rambubte the :Ounds of ima~1nation•A pr'ovinces, the re.-lms of faery, and not 'tile 1n::;!.r;n.if1cant bo•.:r.-:hr1es of tcr..4ns. The e:· curs!O'l:lS of the im;:·: in!'>tion are so bound1esst the limits of to"n on' so r.,etty.OO

" I have tl'avelled a :;ood deal in Concor•~"!i

Thoreau announces at the very beginning of his book, an

~trsvag'Unce th~t h~s won a kind of indul;;ent renown .Dn the

li t~ral level it woulct mel'ln th'"t he must hsve seen every

nook and corner of u~e :fifteen square miles of the whole

area of 1'-.0ncord township. But his et!'lte,;1tmt has double

aeanin;;. To tr~vel qnd t descry new la\1.ds' is to think

new thou;:hts, and have new ima~~ir...irlgs, " he wrote f!. oec!'lde

earlier i~:> his Journal, a 11 The deepest and most ori- inal

thinker is the farthest travellen."!2 Tr,&t is w~at ia ffie3nt,

on the second and lllOr>e s1 nifieant level, by his whimsical

atatement ~" I i EAve travelled a r:ood deal in Concord. n

loc:1l i.'!lages :>re extended tc .'lOb:>l

ones by ima.<;in"ll')' trnvl'!l. !\s hi looks across the pond fr011

•• 1!6 ••

!1:l.s C!'1'ir. r'oor, " tb" opl)oei.te r.rore ••••• stretched ll\iAf to\,flrd

the pr~1r1cs of the •·est NJd t·~·e etep•leA Cl! Tart:·rv," 93

\~hen tht> tea is cut in winter to bP. !'h!rlpf!d to r.s!A by

Ya"l1keE> r:lippe1·, RS hr. a b!'!en ,.,o1nted out, the pure VRlden

Water if' minc:lef. with the sncred water o.! the r.""li'"f'B. As ht>

Wt'S A wc":'J. r·c•,.d mr.-n in li i <:>rr:htre of the world, pert iC'.til.arly

from his ::rest o':;~r~:> house o! naodin:. Concord,tO'I{nship 1s

linked, hy thou U r~nd 1mr·~·ination, to the l!'nrls ~nd l1teratw-es

of the w0rlct.

It is ill tt Conclusion', the last chapter of UaJ.depa

th-~tt there exists the lpr~,est concentration of travels,

travellers, and fDrei:·n parts to be found in any one place in

all Thoreau's writin s. "Gut ectually t:1ey are t~e stA.rting

points for fi£-rurGS :.~; ~:J·?eeh. 'I'heN dre two kinds of trnvel

meanin s. A :final oit"::ul. r irDn;;e o:t tr ·vel is QSpecir lly

interesting becac;.se o! its t>rabignity. In the context of

globe- trcttinr, 1md so ;n·e.sumably- with dispara~:ernent 1 he

seys : n Our· v-oya :in·. is only £reat circle seilir:,,?. "94 T\1is the

navigator's tem !:;>r sai11n.s Plon: any of t~£ " gre<~t circlestt

like the equator, such a course bein;r t:;e ahcrtest bei:'.~e~m any

two points on th? earti 'r- t.urtPce. Th!it 1s1 it ·its the

definition of a strai tt line, t,,e ilhlsio:r. exi)€<riE·nc:,d ty ~

the voyager, b1..:i: it is :,,ctually M ara. cf thrt earth's sphere, ~ and following it 1 he eventually coates back to where he started

trca.

•• 1, .. It 18 0:1ly b:i tho U.:a 11ne1Jr ba,-;er of tr~vel

th t T!:orer" coul(~ nnnihilnte PJ;>ncc. 'i'he oost so:>rinr; one 1n

·.-:oldep over leaps ~u. bound.~ries ,,nd le-vea the pl net.

l!o.e it b£>comes the .rer~t st le.·:p of the spirit.:

Start D011' on thnt farthest \~esternw.,y, whic~ does not pause at the Mlssissipl or the pncific, nor conduct toward a worn out China or Jap -n, but leads or dit•ect, a tan- ·ent to this sphere, 8\l!lllller and winter, day and ni ht, sun down. •oon down, and at l.:~st earth do1~n too.!5.

Finally Thore--u eeer~:··s as the symbolic explorer of

the ne*'l worlr.s." If you would tr..,vel farther th::>n all

travellers", he concludes- " J.::xplore thyself."% So ~e

r;ive.s new life to an old cliche. i!is :f'il".al linear image of

trrvd annihilates nll spoce by dra<;in' it into himself• Spec«

out again recre~ted as metr.phors. Just as Thoreau ~erged

hie~self witH all th se by leA:M'l:i.l'l.": to orbit in their circles,

so he learned to esca!,)e from all entrapments by vert ica.l

le2ps in.to n nev;ly id.entified life of ::-- speritiual axplover.

'"''here could t>e no bE-tter way of concluding ;;alden other

th:>.D 111th his travel 1ma_, er:: of " spiritual explover.

In the final surnr:.~tion of his aesthetic

he oorrntcs th(> story of the ~rttst of Kouroo 2n:.J

identifies hi.~s~lf wit!'! 'hi!!!. In a ~ tter to his friend

he wrote in Decell!hPr 1853 : " How eA..m!rably the artist 1s

•ade to aec~plish his self-culture by devotion to his

own art.•,-r This was the i'i!!e w:~en he .~tJS concludin;; ·.-ialden

end the le1~end was beim ad•io4 to the 'book. It is olenrly

a .;arable of ..::orl'·u'a own laboure to oreate e .,erfect · .. ork o

art ~n walden, pol1ch1111!: anr! rev 4 sing it throu7.h el ht

sepcrate drB ta over a period of as many :reara- ell but lite

slly devotln~ hie life to it. His sl~leness o! purpose

endowed him" with perenni<>l youth•. As the corner of

Kouroo aspired upward, f:;:,shiosU.nt; hi.a simple staff, as the

or! inal creAtor ot t: e pond rounded it with his hnnd

into nn object of nntural be::1uty and symbolic si";Dificancc, s

1'noreau she.ped his aesttaetic eXperience into the J.mar:ery

of ~/alden and then 111ade a let'P out o:f it by transcending

the limits of time and sp~e. If nn artist asryires to

find an escape from tJl,: ll:;;itation o:f til:~:e. he ccm clo

it thrOU'.h the immortollty of art. ~;hat is required of

an artist, tr.erefore is that transcendence with which be

\1/or•ks 11takinc~ no compromise 'flith time and allo,,ing it to

stnnd. outside the ,,,onain o£ art. He is• then sure to en;)oy

that 1peren..'li·c 1 youth • which ~~ mrts bmortallty to the

wo:!'k of :'lrt. Ho>l enn the result under the circu:nstances

be otb0r chan >IO!'lderful ?

•••