# Aubade explained — The Book of Jade

> Chapter companion for The Book of Jade by David Park Barnitz.

## What happens

A woman awakens before dawn in a state of desolation, finding no joy in love now that it has departed. The world around her appears strange and lifeless, and she reflects on the cold emptiness that follows the loss of love.

## Themes in this chapter

### Ennui and Existential Dread

The lady's awakening is marked by a profound sense of emptiness and disconnection from the world.

### Death and Decay

The imagery of dead stars, dying moon, and desolate garden evokes decay and the end of vitality.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The lady who awakens and laments the loss of love.

### Lo

Addressed in the speaker's exclamation of desolation.

## Key lines

> The lady awoke before the cold gray dawn, And had no joy thereof; —What joy is mine of all the joy of love, When love is gone?

She wakes before dawn but feels no happiness, questioning what joy remains now that love has left.

_Opening lines establishing the theme of lost love and emotional emptiness._

> Lo, all the air is strange unto mine eyes, Lo, all the stars are dead; Only the moon appeareth overhead As one that dies.

The familiar world has become alien, the stars are gone, and the moon appears to be dying.

_Imagery of cosmic desolation reflecting inner despair._

> Lo, all the garden lieth desolate, And very strange to see, Wherein, the roses and the grass for me Blossom’d of late.

The garden that once bloomed with roses and grass for her is now barren and unfamiliar.

_The garden symbolizes the lost love and the change from vitality to decay._

> Surely I have drunk full of love’s delight, But now my lips are cold, While the pale day in silence doth behold The dying night.

She has experienced the fullness of love's pleasure, but now she is cold and numb as the day watches the night fade.

_Final lines contrasting past joy with present coldness and the passage of time._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_book_of_jade_se/chapters/part-i-aubade
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_book_of_jade_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_book_of_jade_se/chapters