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Summary and Analysis Prologue

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biggykhair
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23 views1 page

Summary and Analysis Prologue

Uploaded by

biggykhair
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Summary and Analysis Prologue

Summary
An unnamed alchemist reads a variation on the Greek myth of Narcissus, the
beautiful boy so enchanted by his own reflection in the surface of a lake that he falls
into the water and drowns. In this version, the lake in turn is in love with its own
reflection, in the eyes of Narcissus before he dies.
Analysis
This short episode introduces the reader to the character of the alchemist, who will
be central to the action of the novel named for him. It also may serve as a warning to
the reader, at the start of what could be called a self-help novel, about the hazards of
self-love.

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