The Innocents Abroad · Chapter
Chapter LVIII explained
The narrator reflects on the Sphynx as a symbol of memory and retrospection, describing its grandeur and the pathos of its ancient gaze.
What happens
The narrator reflects on the Sphynx as a symbol of memory and retrospection, describing its grandeur and the pathos of its ancient gaze. He recounts an incident where a relic-hunter tries to chip a specimen from the Sphynx but is stopped. He then lists many things he will not describe, including Cairo, the Great Caravan, and the railway, but offers vivid details about Egypt's ancient civilization, its achievements, and the journey back to Alexandria. The chapter ends with a farewell to the oldest land on earth and a tribute to Egypt's enduring legacy.
Themes in this chapter
The Past vs. the Present
The Sphynx embodies the contrast between ancient grandeur and modern triviality, as seen in the relic-hunter's attempt to chip it.
Colonialism and Otherness
The narrator's observations of Egypt's customs and people reflect a Western perspective on an exoticized land.
Satire of Tourism
The relic-hunter's behavior and the narrator's ironic refusal to describe common tourist sights satirize the tourist impulse.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Describes the Sphynx and reflects on Egypt's ancient civilization.
- Jack
Mourns the lost comrade in the smoking-room with Moult.
- Mr. Blucher
Implied as part of the group; left behind in Alexandria to return to Europe.
Key passages
“It was Memory — Retrospection —wrought into visible, tangible form.”
The Sphynx is a physical embodiment of memory and looking back.
The narrator interprets the Sphynx as a symbol of human reflection.
“One of our well meaning reptiles—I mean relic-hunters—had crawled up there and was trying to break a 'specimen' from the face of this the most majestic creation the hand of man has wrought.”
A tourist was trying to chip off a piece of the Sphynx as a souvenir.
Satirizes the destructive behavior of tourists seeking relics.
“We were glad to have seen the land which was the mother of civilization—which taught Greece her letters, and through Greece Rome, and through Rome the world.”
Egypt is the origin of civilization, passing knowledge to Greece, Rome, and the world.
The narrator acknowledges Egypt's foundational role in human history.