Moving the Mountain · Chapter
I explained
The narrator, John, is found on a Tibetan plateau by his sister Nellie after being lost for thirty years.
What happens
The narrator, John, is found on a Tibetan plateau by his sister Nellie after being lost for thirty years. He had fallen into a remote valley, been cared for by Buddhist peasants, and lost all memory of his past life. Nellie brings him back to civilization, and he begins to re-educate himself, learning about the vast changes that have occurred in the world, particularly regarding women's roles and social structures. He struggles to reconcile his old beliefs with the new reality, and Nellie suggests he write down his experiences to aid his re-education.
Themes in this chapter
The Outsider and Cultural Disorientation
John's return to a world he no longer recognizes highlights the profound disorientation of an outsider confronting a transformed society.
Gender Roles and Women's Liberation
The chapter directly confronts the changes in women's roles, as John is shocked to find his sister as a college president and reads stories about independent women.
The Power of Ideas and Consciousness
John's loss and recovery of consciousness, and his subsequent re-education, underscore the power of ideas and the process of mental awakening.
Characters to notice
- Brother John
The narrator, found in Tibet after thirty years, now re-learning the world.
- Nellie Robertson
John's sister, who found him in Tibet and is now guiding his re-education.
- Uncle Jake
Mentioned as one of the few remaining family members, still alive.
Key passages
“When one loses his mind, as it were, for thirty years, and finds it again; when one wakes up; comes to life; recognizes oneself an American citizen twenty-five years old— No. This is what I find it so hard to realize. I am not twenty-five; I am fifty-five.”
The narrator struggles with the jarring reality that he is mentally 25 but physically 55, having lost 30 years of his life.
This highlights the central theme of disorientation and the challenge of reconciling his past and present selves.
“If there is anything on earth I always hated and despised, it is a strong-minded woman! That is—it was. I certainly cannot hate and despise my sister Nellie.”
John admits his former prejudice against independent women has been challenged by his sister's example.
This shows his initial struggle with the new gender roles.
“It was a story about women—two women who were in business partnership, with their adventures, singly and together. I looked through it carefully. They were not even girls, they were not handsome, they were not in process of being married—in fact, it was not once mentioned whether they were married or not, ever had been or ever wanted to be. Yet I had found it amusing!”
John is surprised to find a story about women that doesn't revolve around marriage or romance, and that he enjoyed it.
This illustrates his growing awareness of the changed social landscape.