# Song of India explained — The Book of Jade

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

## What happens

The speaker, now in India with Zulaikha, reflects on leaving the weary North behind and finding peace and exotic fulfillment beside the Ganges. He praises Zulaikha's beauty and the sensual, dreamlike atmosphere, invoking opium, hashish, and oriental luxuries as symbols of escape and eternal rest.

## Themes in this chapter

### Orientalism and Exotic Escapism

India is portrayed as a dreamlike paradise of heavy scents, languid afternoons, and sensual pleasures, contrasting with the weary North.

### Eroticism and the Femme Fatale

Zulaikha is described with intoxicating beauty, her caresses compared to opium and hashish, embodying a femme fatale who offers oblivion.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The speaker who has journeyed from the North to India and now addresses Zulaikha.

### Lo

Zulaikha is addressed as the beloved, embodying exotic beauty and sensual escape.

## Key lines

> Now at the last, Zulaikha, all my sorrows olden Are farther off than Europe or than China seem

Finally, Zulaikha, my past sorrows feel as distant as Europe or China.

_The speaker emphasizes the complete separation from his former life._

> Thou art the fragrant wine, the paradisal lotus, Thou art the opium.

You are the sweet wine, the heavenly lotus, and the opium.

_Zulaikha is equated with intoxicating and narcotic substances, symbolizing sensual escape._

> The caravan departeth to the desert slowly, There far afar to seek through endless time the holy Mirages of their dreams.

The caravan slowly leaves for the desert, forever chasing the sacred illusions of their dreams.

_The caravan's journey mirrors the human quest for unattainable spiritual or sensual fulfillment._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_book_of_jade_se/chapters/part-ii-song-of-india
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_book_of_jade_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_book_of_jade_se/chapters