The Prophet · Chapter
The Coming of the Ship explained
Almustafa, after twelve years in Orphalese, sees his ship arriving and prepares to depart, feeling both joy and sorrow.
What happens
Almustafa, after twelve years in Orphalese, sees his ship arriving and prepares to depart, feeling both joy and sorrow. The people gather to entreat him to stay, and Almitra asks him to speak his truth before he leaves.
Themes in this chapter
Joy and Sorrow Duality
Almustafa's joy at the ship's arrival is intertwined with sadness at leaving the city and its people.
Freedom and Responsibility
Almustafa feels called to embark on his journey, yet he is burdened by the responsibility of leaving behind those who love him.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“And in the twelfth year, on the seventh day of Ielool, the month of reaping, he climbed the hill without the city walls and looked seaward; and he beheld his ship coming with the mist.”
After twelve years, on a specific day in the harvest month, Almustafa went up a hill outside the city and saw his ship arriving through the mist.
This marks the pivotal moment of the ship's arrival, initiating the departure sequence.
“But as he descended the hill, a sadness came upon him, and he thought in his heart: How shall I go in peace and without sorrow?”
Coming down from the hill, Almustafa felt sad, wondering how he could leave peacefully without feeling sorrow.
Illustrates the theme of joy and sorrow duality as Almustafa grapples with mixed emotions.
“And there came out of the sanctuary a woman whose name was Almitra. And she was a seeress. And he looked upon her with exceeding tenderness, for it was she who had first sought and believed in him when he had been but a day in their city.”
A woman named Almitra, a seeress, came out of the sanctuary. Almustafa looked at her with great tenderness because she was the first to seek and believe in him when he first arrived.
Introduces Almitra as a key character who has a special bond with Almustafa.
“Yet this we ask ere you leave us, that you speak to us and give us of your truth. And we will give it unto our children, and they unto their children, and it shall not perish.”
Before you go, we ask that you share your truth with us, so we can pass it down through generations.
Almitra's request sets the stage for Almustafa's subsequent teachings.