I Meet My Brother George at the Statues, on the Top of the Pass Into Erewhon explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Family and Legacy

  The narrator's journey is driven by his father's legacy, including settling the estate, retracing his steps, and meeting his brother George at the statues.

• Memory and Nostalgia

  The narrator repeatedly encounters traces of his father's journey, such as charred wood and lost belongings, evoking a sense of memory and continuity.

Characters to notice

• The Narrator

  The narrator prepares for his journey, buys gifts, carries gold bars, and travels to Erewhon, meeting his brother George at the statues.

• George

  George meets the narrator at the statues on the pass, expresses grief at their father's death, and explains his search for their father's lost belongings.

• My Father

  The narrator's father is deceased; his estate is settled, and the narrator retraces his journey, finding evidence of his campsites.

• Yram

  The narrator brings a pearl and diamond brooch for Yram as a gift.

• Mrs. Humdrum

  The narrator brings a brooch for Mrs. Humdrum's granddaughter but forgets a gift for Mrs. Humdrum herself.

• Mr. Baker

  Mr. Baker, the horse-dealer, provides the horse Doctor and expresses concern about the narrator's father's health.

Key passages

• “The winding-up of my father’s estate was a very simple matter, and by the beginning of September 1891 I should have been free to start; but about that time I became engaged, and naturally enough I did not want to be longer away than was necessary.”

  Settling my father's estate was easy, and I was ready to leave by September 1891, but I got engaged and wanted to minimize my time away.

  The narrator explains the delay in his journey due to his engagement.

• “I went as directly as I could to the port of which my father had told me, and reached it on November 27, one day later than he had done in the preceding year.”

  I traveled straight to the port my father mentioned, arriving on November 27, a day later than he had the previous year.

  The narrator follows his father's route, arriving slightly later.

• ““You are my brother,” said he to me. “Is my father with you?” I pointed to the crape on my arm, and to the ground, but said nothing. He understood me, and bared his head. Then he flung his arms about me and kissed my forehead according to Erewhonian custom.”

  George greeted me as his brother and asked about our father. I gestured to my mourning armband and the ground, and he understood, removing his hat and embracing me with a kiss on the forehead in Erewhonian fashion.

  George meets the narrator at the statues and learns of their father's death.