# XVII: They Come Through the Woodland to the Thirsty Desert explained — The Well at the World’s End

> Chapter companion for The Well at the World’s End by William Morris.

## What happens

Ralph and Ursula journey through a wildwood, pausing to express their love under an oak. They then enter a salt-encrusted desert where they encounter numerous preserved corpses of past travelers, including a woman who appears to have taken her own life. Despite fear and doubt, they press onward, trusting in the token given by the Sage and the love of the Innocent People, determined to reach the Well at the World's End.

## Themes in this chapter

### Quest and Adventure

Ralph and Ursula continue their perilous journey through a deadly desert, encountering the remains of previous seekers, yet pressing on toward the Well at the World's End.

### Sacrifice and Loss

The desert is littered with the preserved bodies of those who died seeking the Well, including a woman who killed herself, evoking themes of sacrifice and the cost of the quest.

### Love and Desire

Ralph and Ursula reaffirm their love under the oak, weeping for joy, and their bond sustains them through the horrors of the desert.

## Character check-ins

### Ralph of Upmeads

Ralph expresses fear that the Well may not exist and that death may separate them, but is reassured by Ursula. He shows compassion for the dead in the desert.

### Ursula

Ursula comforts Ralph, kisses the oak tree, and interacts with a tame robin. She encourages him to continue, citing the token and the Sage's guidance.

## Key lines

> Now are we two once again all alone in the uttermost parts of the earth, and belike we are not very far from the Well at the World's End; and now I have bethought me that if we gain that which we seek for, and bear back our lives to our own people, the day may come when we are grown old, for as young as we may seem, that we shall be as lonely then as we are this hour, and that the folk round about us shall be to us as much and no more than these trees and the wild things that dwell amongst them.

Ralph reflects that even if they find the Well and return home, they may still feel as isolated as they do now, surrounded by people who are strangers to them.

_Ralph voices a fear of future loneliness despite achieving the quest._

> But I say that well will it be in those days if I love the folk then as well as now I love these trees and the wild things whose house they are.

Ursula responds that she would be content if she could love the people of the future as deeply as she now loves the natural world around them.

_Ursula counters Ralph's fear with a hopeful perspective on love and belonging._

> The man is dead, come anigh.

Ralph calls to Ursula, telling her the figure they saw is a corpse.

_Discovery of the first dead body in the desert._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_well_at_the_world_s_end_se/chapters/xvii-they-come-through-the-woodland-to-the-thirsty-desert
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