# Evening Song explained — The Book of Jade

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

## What happens

The speaker lies in a lily garden with his beloved, describing her beauty in cosmic and divine terms. He becomes so absorbed in her presence that he loses all concern for the world, time, or even God, expressing a complete surrender to erotic love and oblivion.

## Themes in this chapter

### Eroticism and the Femme Fatale

The beloved is portrayed as an overwhelmingly sensual and almost divine figure, whose beauty and erotic power eclipse the cosmos and lead the speaker to abandon all worldly concern.

### Nihilism and Spiritual Emptiness

The speaker declares he no longer cares if morning comes, stars set, or the world perishes, indicating a complete indifference to existence beyond the embrace of his beloved.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The speaker who lies between the breasts of his beloved in the lily garden, lost in a dream of slumber.

### Lo

The beloved whose face, hair, mouth, and breasts are described as surpassing stars, moon, and even God.

## Key lines

> Lo, all the passionate pale evening I lay between the breasts of my beloved, Among the lilies, in the lily garden.

Behold, throughout the intense, pale evening I reclined in the lily garden, nestled against my beloved's chest.

_Opening lines establish the intimate, dreamlike setting._

> And all her hair was golden chains to bind me, And all her mouth was crimson fire to burn me

Her hair was like golden fetters holding me captive, and her mouth was a burning crimson flame.

_Metaphors of binding and burning emphasize the beloved's overwhelming, almost dangerous allure._

> And now at last I care not if the morning Come at all, or the pale stars have setting, Nay I care not if the whole world perish

Now I am utterly indifferent to whether dawn arrives, the stars fade, or the entire world is destroyed.

_Climactic expression of nihilistic surrender to the moment of love._

> Yea, because her face is more than God is, Among the lilies, in the lily garden.

Yes, for her face surpasses even God, here in the lily garden.

_Final line elevates the beloved above the divine, completing the theme of erotic transcendence._

## Links

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