Summary
The alchemist watches from Al-Fayoum as the caravan arrives. The village
around Al-Fayoum buzzes with excitement, but the alchemist has seen many people come
and go so he pays no attention. Omens have made the alchemist aware that someone
traveling with the caravan will learn from him, and the alchemist wonders how
capable his new apprentice will be.
Al-Fayoum, a desert oasis, amazes Santiago. The place appears larger than many
Spanish towns. Curious children crowd the caravan and women accost the caravan’s
merchants. The camel driver tells Santiago that they are safe in Al-Fayoum. Warring
tribes avoid it because mostly women and children inhabit the place. The caravan
leader explains that the group will remain in Al-Fayoum until the war ends, and that
they must hand over their arms and stay in tents with locals and fellow travelers.
Santiago sleeps in a tent with five other young men his age. The next morning, he
regales his roommates with stories of his life as a shepherd in Spain, but the
Englishman interrupts him to ask for help finding the alchemist.
The pair searches all day for the alchemist’s tent without luck. Santiago asks
an old man about the alchemist, and the old man replies that even tribal chieftains
can’t meet with him. Santiago decides to ask one more person before giving up, and
approaches a young woman at a well. As soon as he sees her, he falls deeply in love
with her. The girl introduces herself as Fatima, and explains that the alchemist
communicates with desert spirits and lives in the south of Al-Fayoum. The Englishman
disappears to pursue the alchemist and Fatima leaves after getting water. Santiago
remains where he stands, love-struck.
The next day, Santiago returns to the well, hoping to see Fatima again. He
finds the Englishman there as well. The Englishman explains he waited all day for
the alchemist. When the alchemist finally arrived, the Englishman asked how to turn
lead into gold. The alchemist only responded that he must “go and try.” The
Englishman feels annoyed to get such vague instructions after his long journey, but
he resolves to try.
Fatima arrives after the Englishman leaves, and Santiago tells her he loves
her. As the war drags on and the caravan remains in Al-Fayoum, Santiago meets Fatima
at the well every day. Santiago tells Fatima about his Personal Legend which leads
him to the pyramids, but he says he wants to stay in Al-Fayoum with her. One day,
Fatima tells Santiago that she has been waiting for him her entire life, but insists
that he continue on to Egypt after the war to pursue his Personal Legend. She says
if they are meant to be together, they will meet again.
After this conversation, Santiago seeks out the Englishman and discovers he
has built a furnace. The Englishman explains that he has abandoned his fear of
failure and will attempt the Master Work.
Analysis
In this section, we finally meet the alchemist. He watches the caravan arrive
from afar, instead of greeting it along with the tribal chiefs. He acts more like an
observer than an involved member of the power structure of Al-Fayoum. In fact, as
the old man that Santiago speaks to explains, the chieftains can’t even meet with
the alchemist unless he consents. Like Melchizedek, the alchemist appears to possess
magical powers. He knows in advance that an apprentice will arrive and has
supposedly lived for much longer than a typical human lifespan. When Santiago and
the Englishman begin asking local residents about the alchemist, the locals react
strangely, telling the pair to leave or give up. Some aren’t even sure that such a
man exists, or at least they try to make the pair believe that he doesn’t exist. It
remains unclear why the alchemist possesses such a reputation, but he appears to be
a powerful and mysterious figure.
Santiago has no purpose for remaining at the oasis, but he ends up benefiting
from his time there. Although he knows the alchemist lives there, he doesn’t have as
much interest in the alchemist as does the Englishman. At first, he even considers
the delay in Al-Fayoum a major impediment to his quest for his Personal Legend and
evidence that his “beginner’s luck” has run out. But Santiago comes to realize that
each challenge he faces on the way to his destination forms part of God’s plan.
Rather than worry about a schedule he cannot control, he contents himself with
remaining at the oasis and opens himself to new experiences. Santiago then meets
Fatima. As soon as Santiago approaches her, he notices her beauty, and he feels
instantly in love with her. Once the two begin speaking, the delay at the oasis
allows them to become friends, and Santiago even starts to worry that one day he
will have to leave. He comes to recognize the time as a part of his journey rather
than an obstacle, suggesting that fate predestined the delay.
The love affair between Santiago and Fatima moves very quickly, but this
abruptness makes sense given the novel’s allegorical style. Santiago goes from
meeting Fatima to proposing to her in just a few pages. The novel skips any
realistic description of their affair that would develop and explain their love to
the reader. Instead, the book regards Santiago’s and Fatima’s relationship more as a
symbolic step in Santiago’s larger quest for his Personal Legend. He explains their
love, for instance, by comparing it to the pure “Language of the World,” which
allows people (and things) to communicate with each other and with the Soul of the
World. The novel treats their love as part of this mysterious process, evident when
Santiago recognizes without even speaking to Fatima that he loves her. Consequently,
Santiago’s and Fatima’s relationship serves to reiterate the novel’s broader themes
of interconnectedness and Santiago’s growing connection with the forces that bind
the world together.
