The Conclusion, in Which Nothing Is Concluded explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• The Choice of Life

  Each character articulates a distinct scheme of happiness, yet all acknowledge that none can be obtained, underscoring the difficulty of choosing a fulfilling life.

• The Vanity of Human Wishes

  Despite their varied aspirations, the characters recognize that their wishes are unattainable, highlighting the vanity of human desires.

• The Illusion of Perfect Places

  Pekuah's idealization of the Convent of St. Anthony and the Princess's vision of a college reflect the illusion that a perfect place can bring lasting happiness.

Characters to notice

• Rasselas

  Desires a little kingdom to administer justice personally, but cannot fix its limits.

• Imlac

  Content to be driven along the stream of life without directing his course to any particular port.

• Nekayah

  Thinks knowledge is best; desires to learn all sciences and found a college of learned women.

• Pekuah

  Wishes to fill the Convent of St. Anthony with pious maidens and become its prioress.

• The Astronomer

  Content to be driven along the stream of life without directing his course to any particular port.

Key passages

• “Pekuah was never so much charmed with any place as the Convent of St. Anthony, where the Arab restored her to the Princess, and wished only to fill it with pious maidens and to be made prioress of the order.”

  Pekuah was most delighted by the Convent of St. Anthony, where she had been reunited with the Princess, and desired nothing more than to populate it with devout women and become its prioress.

  Pekuah's wish for a fixed, unvariable state reflects her weariness with uncertainty.

• “The Princess thought that, of all sublunary things, knowledge was the best. She desired first to learn all sciences, and then proposed to found a college of learned women, in which she would preside.”

  The Princess believed knowledge was the greatest earthly good; she wanted to master every science and then establish a college for women, where she would serve as head.

  Nekayah's scheme emphasizes the pursuit of wisdom and its transmission to future generations.

• “The Prince desired a little kingdom in which he might administer justice in his own person and see all the parts of government with his own eyes; but he could never fix the limits of his dominion, and was always adding to the number of his subjects.”

  The Prince wanted a small realm where he could personally dispense justice and oversee every aspect of governance, yet he could never decide on its boundaries and kept expanding his imagined population.

  Rasselas's inability to set limits mirrors the theme of unattainable desires.

• “Imlac and the astronomer were contented to be driven along the stream of life without directing their course to any particular port.”

  Imlac and the astronomer were satisfied to let life carry them forward without aiming for a specific destination.

  Their passive acceptance contrasts with the active schemes of the others.

• “Of those wishes that they had formed they well knew that none could be obtained.”

  They fully understood that none of the wishes they had conceived could ever be realized.

  This acknowledgment underscores the futility of their aspirations.

• “They deliberated awhile what was to be done, and resolved, when the inundation should cease, to return to Abyssinia.”

  After some discussion, they decided that once the floodwaters receded, they would go back to Abyssinia.

  The resolution to return marks a circular conclusion to their journey.