# Pride explained — The Book of Jade

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

## What happens

The speaker describes a procession of emotions and experiences—Desire, Love, Anguish, Distress, Shame, Despair—that pass before their soul like phantom crowds. These are portrayed as mournful, cursing, and loathsome, yet the speaker's soul remains unmoved, looking down from a high pride of power, much like the calm evening star gazing upon a turbulent sea.

## Themes in this chapter

### Ennui and Existential Dread

The speaker's weary observation of life's 'poor processional' and the mournful, cursing voices evoke a deep sense of existential weariness.

### Vanity of Human Endeavor

The fleeting, phantom-like nature of Desire, Love, and other emotions underscores the vanity and transience of human experience.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The speaker who observes the procession of emotions and maintains a detached, proud stance.

## Key lines

> They come and go, they pass before my soul, Desire and Love, weak Anguish and Distress, Shame and Despair: in phantom crowds they press, Life’s poor processional, Time’s lowly dole.

Emotions and experiences like Desire, Love, Anguish, Distress, Shame, and Despair drift past my soul like ghostly crowds—a pitiful parade of life, a meager gift from Time.

_The speaker lists personified emotions as a fleeting, mournful procession._

> My changeless soul from her high pride of power Looks down unmov’d.

My immutable soul, elevated by pride, observes without being affected.

_The speaker asserts a detached, superior stance above the turmoil of emotions._

> So the calm evening star Upon the wallowing peaceless sea looks down, Set far aloft within the heaven’s crown.

Just as the serene evening star gazes down from its lofty place in the sky upon the restless, churning sea.

_The speaker compares their soul's detachment to the distant, calm star overlooking a turbulent ocean._

## Links

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