Seven Pillars of Wisdom · Chapter
XLII explained
Lawrence and his Arab force cross the railway near Wadi Diraa, demolish rails and cut telegraph wires, then journey through the harsh desert of El Houl under a brutal khamsin wind, enduring extreme heat and desolation as they head toward th
What happens
Lawrence and his Arab force cross the railway near Wadi Diraa, demolish rails and cut telegraph wires, then journey through the harsh desert of El Houl under a brutal khamsin wind, enduring extreme heat and desolation as they head toward the Howeitat camp.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Endurance
The men endure extreme heat, thirst, sand, and physical exhaustion during the khamsin.
War and Guerrilla Tactics
The party crosses the railway, sets charges, cuts wires, and evades Turkish patrols.
Futility and Meaning
Lawrence reflects on the desolate plain and the tiny, futile effort of their progress.
Characters to notice
- T.E. Lawrence
Leads the crossing and demolition, describes the khamsin with personal relish.
- Auda abu Tayi
Delighted by dynamite, composes poetry; guides the march and names the landscape.
- Sherif Sharraf
Warned the party about enemy patrols before the crossing.
- Ibn Dgheithir
In charge of the main body, leaves a connecting file for Lawrence's group.
Key passages
“Auda had not before known dynamite, and with a child's first pleasure was moved to a rush of hasty poetry on its powerful glory.”
Auda was seeing dynamite for the first time and, like a delighted child, burst into spontaneous poetry about its mighty splendor.
Auda's poetic reaction to the explosive.
“I always rather liked a khamsin, since its torment seemed to fight against mankind with ordered conscious malevolence, and it was pleasant to outface it so directly, challenging its strength, and conquering its extremity.”
Lawrence actually enjoyed the khamsin because its deliberate, hostile assault on humans felt like a fair fight, and he took pleasure in confronting and overcoming its harshness.
Lawrence's paradoxical fondness for the khamsin.
“We, ourselves, felt tiny in it, and our urgent progress across its immensity was a stillness or immobility of futile effort.”
In that vast emptiness, we felt insignificant, and our hurried journey seemed like a motionless, pointless struggle.
Lawrence's reflection on the futility of their crossing El Houl.