CHAPTER VII
THE DUAL MOTHER RÔLE
After the disappearance of the assailant, Chiwantopel
begins the following monologue:
"From the extreme ends of these continents, from the farthest
lowlands, after having forsaken the palace of my father, I have
been wandering aimlessly during a hundred moons, always pursued
by my mad desire to find 'her who will understand.' With
jewels I have tempted many fair ones, with kisses I have tried
to snatch the secret of their hearts, with acts of bravery I have
conquered their admiration. (He reviews the women he has
known.) Chita, the princess of my race . . . she is a little fool,
vain as a peacock, having nought in her head but jewels and
perfume. Ta-nan, the young peasant, . . . bah, a mere sow, no
more than a breast and a stomach, caring only for pleasure. And
then Ki-ma, the priestess, a true parrot, repeating hollow phrases
learnt from the priests; all for show, without real education or
sincerity, suspicious poseur and hypocrite!. . . Alas! Not one
who understands me, not one who resembles me, not one who
has a soul sister to mine. There is not one among them all who
has known my soul, not one who could read my thought; far
from it; not one capable of seeking with me the luminous summits,
or of spelling with me the superhuman word, love."
Here Chiwantopel himself says that his journeying and
wandering is a quest for that other, and for the meaning
of life which lies in union with her. In the first part of
this work we merely hinted gently at this possibility. The
fact that the seeker is masculine and the sought-for of
