Cold Mountain is a tragic yet a very profound story of love, searching, and intuition which happens in an environment terrorized by war in 1864 (Buchanan). The story is set on the troubled plains and mountains of nineteenth century America where Inman, the main character, decided to leave the battlefield as he yearned and searched for his lover. In a nutshell, the story basically revolves around a tale of love which bound two people together amidst distance, chaos, and isolation.
This debut novel of Charles Frazier has definitely redefined love in ways, portrayed as a powerful force which enables people to overcome dangers and even life threatening situations just to reunite with a loved one.
In several ways, the novel reflects the importance of faith as well as love despite isolation, distress, and confusion that an individual faces. Central Theme of the Novel The main feature of the novel which an average reader may notice would be the war of the 19th century America.
It tells the story of how distressing and miserable life during war is and how hopeless it gets most of the time.
Inman, identified as the main protagonist of the story, was a part of the confederate army before he went on to his venture of coming back to his long lost lover, Ada. His life in the confederate army made him realize that it is indeed a lot worse to lose something a person already has than fail to get what that person currently wants. The war made the character feel all the isolation and alienation any person would never want to experience.
Through this isolation, Inman felt the need to come back home.
However, amidst the distress and pains brought by the war, Inman’s spirit was kept alive by his love and yearning for Ada. The epic describes how more painful Inman’s longing is for Ada compared to the pains he felt because of his wounds. The author illustrated Inman’s longing as miserable as if, “his wounds gave hi, just reason to doubt that he would ever heal up and feel whole of a piece again” (Frazier 25). Although the epic was largely about battles, what Inman felt because of his separation from Ada gave the story a soft, emotional, and sentimental effect.
This aspect of the story depicts a reality that no matter how harsh a person’s environment may seem, there will always be some spark of compassion and love inside his or her heart to encourage him or her to live. The story also illustrates that compassion and love will always be strong forces that will bind two people regardless of how far they are from each other and irrespective of how tough and immovable the barricade between them may be. Ada’s love, on the other hand, is illustrated in her patience and faith in Inman.
Despite their distance, she never stopped waiting for Inman and believing in him. Her faith and belief that everything between them will be alright is reflected in her notes as a response to Inman’s letter which said: “This you must know: that despite your long absence, such is the light in which I view the happy relation existing between us, that I will never conceal a single thought from you” (Frazier27). The story was basically split between Inman and Ada’s life events which proved that beyond borders, their love will always unite and hold them together.
Incorporating such a sentimental theme in a distressing genre such as war was an amazing feat that Frazier was able o successfully portray in his novel. However, upon further analysis of the novel, one may realize that it is from these painful and trying times that the need for love and compassion emerges, since this is the time when people are more likely to feel alienated and lost. It is also from these hard times when the need for someone to love and to be loved back is stronger.
Thus, it may appear understandable and explicable why Inman had such a strong desire to come back home and turn his back from the grueling and miserable face of war. Nevertheless, Frazier was also able to present the realities of war in a very compelling manner. The alienation which Inman felt was also very believable which made it possible for the readers to empathize with the main character. Conclusion Cold Mountain is a realistic and compelling epic of a warrior who did not only fight for his state but also for him to come home to the one he loved.
In this novel, Frazier was able to blend well the very different concepts of hostility, isolation, alienation, faith, and love. Yet, the author was able to present these ideas in a very realistic manner through the characters of the story. The epic can be considered as a good representation of how powerful love can be inside a person’s heart in times of desolation and loneliness. As reflected in the story, it can indeed be the driving force which can help a person to survive the harsh elements in his environments just to come home to the arms of his or her lover.
Similarly, the story also portrays well the impacts of alienation and isolation to an individual and what alterations these impacts can cause to a person’s life and points of view. Thus, if there is anything that this epic would send the readers as a message, it would be that, amidst isolation, distress, and chaos, faith and love can help a person survive the odds and the tough challenges.
Works Cited Buchanan, Catherine. “Cold Mountain: Context. ” Spark Notes. 2009. 15 Apr. 2009. <http://www. sparknotes. com/lit/coldmountain/context. html>. Frazier, Charles. Cold Mountain. New York: Grove Pres
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