# Prologue explained — The Madman > Chapter companion for The Madman by Khalil Gibran. ## What happens The Madman recounts how he became a madman after waking to find his seven masks stolen, leading to a transformative moment where the sun kisses his naked face and he embraces his maskless state, finding freedom in loneliness and safety from being understood. ## Themes in this chapter ### Masks and Authenticity The central event of the chapter is the theft of the seven masks, symbolizing the shedding of false selves and the embrace of authentic identity. ### Solitude and Aloneness The Madman finds 'freedom of loneliness' and 'safety from being understood,' highlighting the paradoxical comfort in isolation. ## Character check-ins ### The Madman Narrates his own origin story of becoming a madman after his masks are stolen. ## Key lines > I woke from a deep sleep and found all my masks were stolen—the seven masks I have fashioned and worn in seven lives I awoke to discover that all the personas I had created and used throughout my existence were gone. _Describes the moment of awakening to the loss of constructed identities._ > the sun kissed my own naked face for the first time and my soul was inflamed with love for the sun, and I wanted my masks no more The sunlight touched my bare face for the first time, igniting a passion within me that made me reject all pretense. _Symbolizes a moment of pure, unmediated connection with reality and self-acceptance._ > I have found both freedom of loneliness and the safety from being understood, for those who understand us enslave something in us I have discovered liberation in solitude and protection from the captivity that comes with being fully known by others. _Reflects on the paradoxical benefits of isolation and the cost of being understood._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_madman_se/chapters/prologue - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_madman_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_madman_se/chapters