Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark · Chapter
Letter XXV explained
Wollstonecraft describes the French theatre at Altona and notes that Hamburg's theatres are not yet open.
What happens
Wollstonecraft describes the French theatre at Altona and notes that Hamburg's theatres are not yet open. She decides to sail for England with the first fair wind, abandoning her planned tour through Germany to Switzerland due to the French army and the advancing season. She expresses weariness with travel and, upon seeing Dover cliffs, finds them insignificant compared to those of Sweden and Norway. She concludes by preparing for her journey to London, struggling with heavy thoughts.
Themes in this chapter
Travel and Self-Discovery
Wollstonecraft decides to end her journey, reflecting on the vanity of constant travel and the emotional weight of returning home.
Nature and the Sublime
She contrasts the grandeur of Scandinavian cliffs with the insignificance of Dover cliffs, highlighting her altered perception of the sublime.
Characters to notice
- Mary Wollstonecraft
Narrator and protagonist; decides to return to England, expresses fatigue with travel and emotional turmoil.
Key passages
“I am weary of changing the scene, and quitting people and places the moment they begin to interest me. This also is vanity!”
She is tired of constantly moving and leaving behind people and places just as they start to matter to her, calling it a form of vanity.
Expresses emotional exhaustion and a critique of restless travel.
“at the sight of Dover cliffs, I wondered how anybody could term them grand; they appear so insignificant to me, after those I had seen in Sweden and Norway.”
Upon seeing the cliffs of Dover, she finds them unimpressive compared to the grander cliffs of Sweden and Norway.
Highlights her changed perspective on nature after her Scandinavian travels.