The Last Man · Chapter
VIII explained
Adrian, Lionel, Clara, and Evelyn journey through the Alps and into Italy, seeking solace in nature and each other's company amid a desolate world.
What happens
Adrian, Lionel, Clara, and Evelyn journey through the Alps and into Italy, seeking solace in nature and each other's company amid a desolate world. They descend from Chamonix, loiter through Switzerland, and cross into Italy, where they pass through Milan and eventually reach a villa near Como. Evelyn dies and is buried under a cypress, and Clara, grief-stricken, begs to leave. They bid farewell to the villa and Evelyn's grave, departing for Rome.
Themes in this chapter
Grief and Memory
The chapter is suffused with grief over Evelyn's death and the loss of the old world, yet memory of past joys provides bittersweet consolation.
Nature and Humanity
Nature is both a source of sublime beauty and a reflection of their desolation; the Alps and Italian landscapes are central to the characters' emotional journey.
Isolation and Solitude
The small group is isolated in an empty world, finding happiness only in each other's company amid universal desolation.
Characters to notice
- Adrian
Speaks of their duties to bestow pleasure and love, proposes descending to Italy for Clara's sake, and is a source of consolation and philosophy.
- Lionel Verney
Narrates the journey, reflects on their happiness and grief, and cares for Clara and Evelyn.
- Clara
Referred to as the 'little queen of the world,' she tends to Evelyn, dresses in splendid robes, and after Evelyn's death begs to be taken away from the villa.
- Evelyn
The little boy who dies and is buried under a cypress; his death deepens the group's grief.
Key passages
“Thus are we left," said Adrian, "two melancholy blasted trees, where once a forest waved. We are left to mourn, and pine, and die.”
Adrian compares their small group to two withered trees in a place that was once a thriving forest, emphasizing their isolation and grief.
Highlights the theme of isolation and the loss of the human community.
“We placed his remains under a cypress, the upright mountain being scooped out to receive them.”
They buried Evelyn in a grave carved into the mountain beneath a cypress tree.
Marks the death of Evelyn and the deepening of the group's sorrow.
“Thus tottering on the dizzy brink, we were happy.”
Despite living on the edge of disaster and loss, they found moments of happiness.
Captures the paradoxical joy they experience in the midst of desolation.