At the Back of the North Wind · Chapter
X: At the Back of the North Wind explained
Diamond recounts his experience at the back of the North Wind, a mysterious country where he felt still, quiet, and content.
What happens
Diamond recounts his experience at the back of the North Wind, a mysterious country where he felt still, quiet, and content. He describes a land without wind, with a river that sings tunes in people's heads, and where people communicate without speech. The chapter compares Diamond's account with those of the Italian poet Durante and the peasant girl Kilmeny, both of whom reported similar otherworldly experiences.
Themes in this chapter
Dreams and Reality
The chapter explores the blurred boundary between dream and reality as Diamond describes his experiences at the back of the north wind, a place that feels like a vision or an everlasting dream.
Home and Belonging
Diamond feels content and patient in the otherworldly country, yet he misses his parents, highlighting the tension between the comfort of a strange, peaceful place and the longing for home.
Characters to notice
- Diamond
Diamond is the protagonist who visits the country at the back of the North Wind and later recalls his experiences there.
- North Wind
North Wind is absent from the country at the back of the north wind; Diamond finds himself there without her.
- Kilmeny
Kilmeny is a peasant girl who also visited the same country and reported her experiences, as referenced by the Scotch shepherd.
- Durante
Durante is the Italian nobleman who described his own journey to the country at the back of the north wind, providing a contrasting account to Diamond's.
Key passages
“When he came to himself after he fell, he found himself at the back of the north wind.”
After falling, Diamond regained consciousness and discovered he was in the mysterious land behind the North Wind.
This marks Diamond's arrival in the otherworldly country.
“He could not say he was very happy there, for he had neither his father nor mother with him, but he felt so still and quiet and patient and contented, that, as far as the mere feeling went, it was something better than mere happiness.”
Diamond wasn't exactly happy because he missed his parents, but he felt a deep sense of stillness, patience, and contentment that surpassed ordinary happiness.
This describes Diamond's emotional state in the country at the back of the north wind.
“Nothing went wrong at the back of the north wind. Neither was anything quite right, he thought. Only everything was going to be right some day.”
In that land, nothing was wrong, but nothing was perfectly right either; everything was in a state of becoming right in the future.
This reflects Diamond's perception of the imperfect but hopeful nature of the otherworld.