Figures of Earth · Chapter
III explained
The narrator compares the two epic cycles of Poictesme, Les Gestes de Manuel and La Haulte Histoire de Jurgen, noting that Manuel is portrayed from the outside with a strange aloofness, while Jurgen is rendered fully.
What happens
The narrator compares the two epic cycles of Poictesme, Les Gestes de Manuel and La Haulte Histoire de Jurgen, noting that Manuel is portrayed from the outside with a strange aloofness, while Jurgen is rendered fully. The narrator suggests that Manuel's nature may be tainted by his father the water-demon, and that the old poets never fully loved or sympathized with him. The chapter concludes by embracing this external treatment as a reflection of how we must deal with all people in real life.
Themes in this chapter
Appearances vs. Reality
The chapter emphasizes that we only know Manuel through external actions and appearances, never his inner thoughts, mirroring how we must deal with all people in real life.
The Artist and the Creation
The narrator discusses how the old poets of Poictesme handled their national hero, revealing the artist's struggle to fully understand or sympathize with a character who succeeds in everything.
Characters to notice
- Dom Manuel
Compared to Achilles; portrayed from the outside with aloofness and ambiguity; his nature is tinctured with the cool unhumanness of his father the water-demon.
- Jurgen
Compared to Ulysses; rendered fully in body and mind in his own cycle.
Key passages
“Dom Manuel is the Achilles of Poictesme, as Jurgen is its Ulysses.”
Manuel is the great warrior hero of Poictesme, while Jurgen is the clever, wandering hero.
Codman's comparison of the two protagonists to classical Greek heroes.
“Manuel did thus and thus, Manuel said so-and-so, these legends recount: yes, but never anywhere have I detected any firm assertion as to Manuel’s thoughts and emotions, nor any peep into the workings of this hero’s mind.”
The legends tell us what Manuel did and said, but never reveal what he thought or felt.
The narrator observes the lack of interiority in Manuel's portrayal.