The Tunnel · Chapter
XXII explained
Miriam experiences a profound moment of happiness and self-awareness during a seaside outing with friends.
What happens
Miriam experiences a profound moment of happiness and self-awareness during a seaside outing with friends. She reflects on the nature of happiness, the disconnect between men and women in social life, and the rare moments of perfect, timeless joy that transcend ordinary existence. Waking from a nap on the cliffs, she feels a deep connection to her childhood memories and a sense of being 'outside life,' free and untouched.
Themes in this chapter
Female Consciousness and Autonomy
Miriam explores the inner life of women, the hidden happiness they experience, and the disconnect between men and women in social and life relationships.
Alienation and Identity
Miriam feels alienated in social settings, struggling to keep up with the cleverness of others, yet finds a profound sense of self and freedom in solitary moments.
The Search for Meaning and Beauty
Miriam seeks and finds transcendent moments of beauty and meaning, connecting her present experience with childhood memories of perfect, timeless joy.
Characters to notice
- Miriam
Miriam reflects on her capacity for happiness, her feelings of alienation in social settings, and experiences a transcendent moment of joy and clarity while waking on the cliffs.
- Mag
Mag is mentioned as someone who understands the hidden happiness in life, though she engages with people and their complaints.
- Jan
Jan is referenced as the person Mag talks to about happy things, part of the intimate pair who 'sit down intelligently to life.'
- Harriett
Harriett appears in Miriam's childhood memories, specifically in the context of quarrelling in the nursery.
Key passages
“the beauty, it would not come back. The weariness of keeping things up went on.”
The beauty of the moment is lost, and Miriam feels the exhaustion of maintaining appearances.
Miriam's struggle with the effort of social performance and the fleeting nature of beauty.
“Men and women never meet. Inside the life relationship you can see them being strangers and hostile; one or the other or both, completely alone.”
Men and women are fundamentally unable to truly connect, even in intimate relationships, leaving each person isolated.
Reflection on the inherent loneliness and miscommunication between genders.
“You know, little child, you have an extraordinary capacity for happiness.”
Someone tells Miriam she has a remarkable ability to be happy.
Miriam acknowledges her own intense capacity for joy, which she feels is hidden beneath social complaints.
“Waking in the day time is perfect happiness. To wake suddenly and fully, nowhere; in paradise; and then to see sharply with large clear strong eyes the things you were looking at when you fell asleep.”
Waking up during the day brings perfect happiness, as one awakens fully present and sees the world with fresh clarity.
Miriam describes the bliss of waking from a nap, feeling completely alive and connected to her surroundings.