Inman is in need of absolution from his past but does
not know how to find relief. Inman cannot forget the atrocities
that he has witnessed, particularly those that occurred in battle
at Fredericksburg. Although he tells the blind man some of his war
experiences, he does not share details of a recurring dream in which
piles of human limbs reform themselves into “monstrous bodies of
mismatched parts.” Inman dreads the stare of a cadaver who speaks
his name, leaving him to wake up “in a mood as dark as the blackest
crow.” In this chapter, the crow symbolizes Inman’s independence,
when he throws his hat out of the window as a boy, and it also symbolizes
his internal disorder, when it is used as a simile for his dark
mood. The crow reappears many times in the novel as an omen of doom,
a symbol of independence, and a portent of change.
Inman is a man constantly on the move, a man who wishes
to be reunited with his lover and who searches for the solace of
human company. Despite his aversion to the “metal face of the age,”
Inman battles his own despair. He moves from his bed to the outside
world, goes into town, returns to the hospital, and finally passes
beyond its confines by stepping through the window. Frazier returns
to this theme of crossing boundaries throughout the novel as Inman
enters and exits different earthly and spiritual realms. Inman’s
flights of imagination and memories of a happier past are powerful
tools that he uses to distance himself from the anguish he feels.
Inman’s love of Bartram’s Travels, a book that
he opens at random and gains comfort from, indicates his profound
affinity for the natural world and for the movements of his book’s
“lone wanderer” author.
Frazier’s contrasting descriptions of bloody battles
and summer vistas underscore Inman’s troubled and divided worldview.
Despite his horrific experiences, Inman hopes for a better future.
Inman abhors the idea that the soul is weak and mortal since he
learned it by “sermon and hymn.” This viewpoint juxtaposes Christian
doctrine with a belief system formed from an individual’s own experiences
and desires. Inman assimilates or rejects other people’s beliefs—be
they the blindman’s, Swimmer’s, or Balis’s—on the basis of whether
or not they accord with his personal philosophy. The individual’s
evaluation of an idea’s truth is important throughout the novel,
as questions of religious and philosophical truth resonate with
Inman as he searches for his own spiritual conclusions.
The first chapter is an aggregate of Inman’s memories
and experiences. It focuses on Inman’s past, his search for answers,
his yearning for a better life. Hope, or the tentative search for
hope, is forcefully conveyed in this chapter and will emerge as
one of the most powerful themes within the novel.
