Travel Essays · Chapter
Father Apollinaris explained
The narrator continues his journey through the valley of the river, approaching the Trappist monastery of Our Lady of the Snows.
What happens
The narrator continues his journey through the valley of the river, approaching the Trappist monastery of Our Lady of the Snows. He encounters a medieval-looking friar, Father Apollinaris, who initially warns him that he may not be received but later, upon learning he is an author, offers to help. The narrator is eventually admitted to the monastery.
Themes in this chapter
Travel and Discovery
The narrator's journey through the valley and his approach to the monastery highlight the theme of travel and the discovery of new landscapes and people.
Human Connection and Community
The interaction with Father Apollinaris, who shows kindness and interest in the narrator, underscores the theme of human connection across cultural and religious divides.
Freedom vs. Confinement
The narrator's fear and hesitation as he approaches the monastery, a place of silence and religious discipline, contrasts with his secular, wandering life.
Characters to notice
- Modestine
The narrator's donkey, who shows reluctance to enter the monastery.
- Father Apollinaris
A Trappist monk who first appears fighting with a barrow of turfs; he converses with the narrator and helps him gain entry to the monastery.
- Father Michael
The Father Hospitaller who comes to the gate to speak with the narrator.
Key passages
“I had not gone very far ere the wind brought to me the clanging of a bell, and somehow, I can scarce tell why, my heart sank within me at the sound.”
The sound of the monastery bell made the narrator feel uneasy and fearful.
The narrator's emotional response to the bell reflects his anxiety about entering the religious community.
“He might have been buried any time these thousand years, and all the lively parts of him resolved into earth and broken up with the farmer’s harrow.”
Father Apollinaris looked so ancient and weathered that he seemed like a corpse from a thousand years ago.
The narrator's vivid description emphasizes the monk's otherworldly appearance.
“I must not speak to you down there... But try to see me as you go out again through the wood, where I may speak to you. I am charmed to have made your acquaintance.”
Father Apollinaris tells the narrator he cannot speak to him at the monastery but hopes to see him again in the woods.
The monk's sudden change in behavior highlights the strict rules of silence in the monastery.