At last, MacDonald explains that the Fairy Land was meant all along to be a parallel and a metaphor for the real world, as I quote:
And just as that explains the metaphor of Fairy Land, I believe that with this quote MacDonald summarizes much of the story of this book: "Thus I, who set out to find my Ideal, came back rejoicing that I had lost my Shadow."
Or must I live it all over again, and learn it all over again, in the other forms that belong to the world of men, whose experience yet runs parallel to that of Fairy Land?
Another great quote that draws together more aspects of the book: "I have come through the door of Dismay; and the way back from the world into which that has led me, is through my tomb. Upon that the red sign lies, and I shall find it one day, and be glad."
And the last quote, which I copy here for the sake of repetition, is thus: "What we call evil, is the only and best shape, which, for the person and his condition at the time, could be assumed by the best good. And so, FAREWELL."
With that is the end of the book. There's not much I can write now, as I have written much in all of my past posts about the various chapters in the book. I will edit this post and add additional comments as they come to me. For now, I will need to spend more time pondering the conclusions of this book.
No comments:
Post a Comment