Melmoth the Wanderer · Chapter
XXXVIII explained
Melmoth the Wanderer appears to Monçada and young Melmoth, revealing that his destiny is accomplished and his wanderings are over.
What happens
Melmoth the Wanderer appears to Monçada and young Melmoth, revealing that his destiny is accomplished and his wanderings are over. He reflects on his failed temptations, drinks water as his last mortal act, and falls into a profound sleep during which he dreams of a fiery precipice and a dial marking 150 years. Monçada concludes the tale of the Indian victim and prepares to disclose darker narratives, but the chapter ends with the Wanderer's sudden, terrifying arrival.
Themes in this chapter
Damnation and Salvation
The Wanderer's final speech emphasizes that no one has consented to exchange destinies with him, underscoring the theme of individual salvation versus eternal damnation.
Supernatural and the Gothic
The chapter is saturated with Gothic elements: the Wanderer's supernatural appearance, his dream of a fiery abyss, and the eerie atmosphere of the stormy night.
Temptation and Faith
The Wanderer recounts his failed attempts to tempt Stanton, Monçada, and Walberg, highlighting the power of faith to resist ultimate temptation.
Characters to notice
- John Melmoth
Young Melmoth, present with Monçada, witnesses the Wanderer's appearance and listens to his final declarations.
- Juan di Monçada
Monçada is present with Melmoth, having just concluded the tale of the Indian victim, and is terrified by the Wanderer's arrival.
- Doña Isidora
Isidora is invoked by the Wanderer as the last and most terrible form he must encounter before his doom.
- Stanton
Stanton is mentioned by the Wanderer as one who did not exchange destinies with him, even in his cell.
- Walberg
Walberg is referenced by the Wanderer as another who refused to trade his soul for deliverance.
Key passages
“No one has ever exchanged destinies with Melmoth the Wanderer. I have traversed the world in the search, and no one, to gain that world, would lose his own soul!”
The Wanderer declares that despite his global search, no person has ever agreed to swap fates with him, because no one would sacrifice their soul for worldly gain.
This encapsulates the central moral of the novel: the refusal of all temptations.
“Your ancestor has come home; his wanderings are over!”
The Wanderer announces to young Melmoth that his long journeying has ended and he has returned to his ancestral home.
This marks the climax of the Wanderer's narrative arc.
“He dreamed that he stood on the summit of a precipice, whose downward height no eye could have measured, but for the fearful waves of a fiery ocean that lashed, and blazed, and roared at its bottom...”
In his dream, the Wanderer finds himself on a cliff above a blazing ocean of fire, where tormented souls rise and fall in endless agony.
This dream vision prefigures the Wanderer's own impending damnation.