Those Barren Leaves · Chapter
XIII explained
Calamy lies in bed, wrestling with the conflict between his desire for spiritual contemplation and his physical entanglement with Mary Thriplow.
What happens
Calamy lies in bed, wrestling with the conflict between his desire for spiritual contemplation and his physical entanglement with Mary Thriplow. He recognizes that his affair with her is a distraction from the 'great secret' and 'mystery' he longs to explore, yet he feels enslaved by his own appetites. After a tense internal debate, he resolves to go to her, but is momentarily interrupted by Mr. Falx's sudden appearance in the corridor before he slips into Mary's room.
Themes in this chapter
Desire and Self-Deception
Calamy knowingly uses his affair with Mary Thriplow to avoid confronting the deeper spiritual mystery, deceiving himself that he can pursue both pleasure and enlightenment.
Authenticity vs. Performance
Calamy's internal struggle between his authentic desire for contemplation and the performative, distracting nature of his romantic entanglement highlights this theme.
Modernity and Meaninglessness
Calamy's rejection of the 'dreary and fatiguing routine of pleasure' and his search for meaning in a world of noise and bustle reflects a modern sense of existential emptiness.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Calamy
Lies in bed contemplating the mystery and beauty above him, torn between his spiritual aspirations and his physical desire for Mary Thriplow. He ultimately decides to go to her, despite his better judgment.
- Mary Thriplow
The object of Calamy's desire; he imagines her lying in his arms, and his thoughts of her torment him as he struggles with his decision to visit her.
- Mr. Falx
Appears briefly, rushing down the corridor in his nightshirt with a pained expression, interrupting Calamy's departure.
Key passages
“Up there, just above me, floats the great secret, the beauty and the mystery.”
Calamy feels that the ultimate truth and beauty are close at hand, just beyond the darkness.
Captures his spiritual yearning and the central conflict of the chapter.
“The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Weak in pain, but weaker still, he thought, more inexcusably weak, in pleasure.”
Calamy reflects that physical desire can corrupt the spirit even more than physical suffering.
Highlights his self-criticism and the theme of desire versus higher purpose.
“If I were free, he thought, I could surely do something; nothing useful, no doubt, in the ordinary sense, but something that for me would be of the last importance.”
Calamy believes that if he could break free from his desires, he could achieve something personally profound, even if not conventionally productive.
Reveals his longing for liberation and the personal significance of his quest.