# In the Valley of the Tarn explained — Travel Essays

> Chapter companion for Travel Essays by Robert Louis Stevenson.

## What happens

The narrator travels through the Valley of the Tarn, reflecting on the landscape and the spirit of the Camisards. He finds a small plateau to camp, but is anxious about discovery. The night is filled with mysterious rustlings, and he wakes to find peasants nearby, forcing a hasty departure.

## Themes in this chapter

### Nature and the Sublime

The valley of the Tarn is described with towering cliffs, chestnut trees like 'herded elephants,' and a landscape that inspires higher thoughts of Nature's powers.

### Freedom vs. Confinement

The narrator camps in fear of discovery, hiding like a hunted Camisard, contrasting the Camisards' confident freedom in their faith.

### Human Connection and Community

The Camisards are depicted as a community bound by psalm-singing and mutual support, even in war.

## Character check-ins

### Modestine

The narrator's reluctant donkey, who is goaded and kicked up to the campsite and fed corn and bread.

### The Camisards

Their spirit and history are compared to the Scottish Covenanters; they are described as having bright visions and a light conscience.

### Séguier

Mentioned as having a soul like a garden, representing the Camisard spirit.

### Cavalier

Referenced in a tale of the Camisards dining in the woods with box-tree garlands.

### Captain Poul

Mentioned as a soldier feared by the Camisards, in a comparison to the narrator's fear of peasants.

## Key lines

> The soul of Séguier, let us not forget, was like a garden.

Séguier's inner self was pure and nurturing, like a well-tended garden.

_Highlights the contrast between the Camisards' bright spirituality and the gloom of the Scottish Covenanters._

> We flew, when we heard the sound of psalm-singing, we flew as if with wings.

The Camisards felt an uplifting, almost physical exhilaration when they heard psalms.

_Illustrates the intense spiritual fervor that sustained the Camisards during their struggles._

> I concealed myself, for all the world like a hunted Camisard, behind my fortification of vast chestnut trunk.

I hid behind the large chestnut tree as if I were a Camisard fleeing from soldiers.

_The narrator draws a parallel between his own fear of discovery and the historical persecution of the Camisards._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/travel_essays_se/chapters/in-the-valley-of-the-tarn
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/travel_essays_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/travel_essays_se/chapters