Leaves of Grass · Chapter
In Paths Untrodden explained
The narrator retreats from societal conventions and public life to a secluded natural setting, where he embraces a new, unpublished standard of living centered on the soul and comradeship.
What happens
The narrator retreats from societal conventions and public life to a secluded natural setting, where he embraces a new, unpublished standard of living centered on the soul and comradeship. He resolves to sing songs of manly attachment and athletic love, celebrating the need for comrades and revealing the secret of his nights and days.
Themes in this chapter
Comradeship and Love
The chapter explicitly celebrates 'manly attachment' and 'athletic love,' emphasizing the importance of comradeship as a new standard for the soul.
Individuality and Self
The narrator asserts his individuality by escaping from 'the life that exhibits itself' and embracing a personal, unpublished truth.
Characters to notice
- Narrator
The speaker who escapes from conventional life to discover and celebrate comradeship.
- Comradeship and Love
The theme of manly attachment and athletic love is personified as the central focus of the chapter.
Key passages
“Clear to me now standards not yet publish’d, clear to me that my soul, That the soul of the man I speak for rejoices in comrades”
I now understand new, unspoken principles: my soul and the soul of the man I represent find joy in companionship.
The narrator discovers a personal truth about the soul's need for comrades.
“Resolv’d to sing no songs to-day but those of manly attachment, Projecting them along that substantial life, Bequeathing hence types of athletic love”
I am determined to sing only songs of male bonding, spreading them through this real life and leaving behind examples of vigorous love between men.
The narrator commits to celebrating a specific form of love and attachment.