26 pages • 52 minutes read
Thomas WolfeThe Far and the Near
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1935A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Relentless Passage of Time
In “The Far and the Near,” Thomas Wolfe explores the transformative effect of time on characters, relationships, and memories across a 20-year period. Wolfe uses imagery and events as markers of passing time in a fast-paced world just beyond the engineer’s ritualistic and consistent lifestyle aboard the train. This theme directly reflects the period in which this short story was created—amidst industrialization and a rapidly evolving society capable of creating an unnerving sense of disconnection with reality.
The passing of time is consistently acknowledged in the engineer’s memories of his career aboard the train. Through imagery, Wolfe emphasizes the deceptive nature of familiarity in the face of time’s progression. The train itself, repeating its daily trek with familiar sounds and movements, catapults through time every day as it passes through the town, both moving forward steadily and simultaneously creating a stagnant atmosphere for the engineer. Every time the train passes the cottage, the women wave and otherwise display signs of maturity and aging. Time is also marked in the negative experiences the engineer has aboard the train, including the many deaths he experiences. These tragedies are listed as he recounts them, marking moments in time in which he needed to call upon his positive association with the women and the cottage for solace. The engineer’s frequent passing of the house and his deep connection to it create an illusion of constancy in his life as something that is “beautiful and enduring, something beyond all change and ruin, and something that would always be the same” (Paragraph 5).
Another way in which Wolfe captures the change that comes with the passing of time is through the internal journey of the dedicated and loyal engineer, brimming with confidence and a sense of purpose. With the tense shift and the first active scene in the story, the engineer steps off of the train and into an unsettling, fast-paced world that strips him of his ignorance and former sense of peace. As the story progresses, his encounter with the house and the women who had been a constant in his life makes him “sick with doubt and horror” and prompts a realization of his aging and the accompanying sense of disillusionment (Paragraph 14). As the engineer departs from the house after his long-awaited visit, he stammers a farewell, signifying his difficulty in accepting the reality before him. This newfound self-awareness leads to a profound shift in his perception of himself, as he walks away fully aware of his old age, which contrasts with the brave and confident heart he once possessed (Paragraph 14). This realization brings forth a feeling of doubt and horror as he perceives the unfamiliar and unexpected nature of the world around him. The engineer’s experience reflects the relentless inevitability of change over time and the fleeting nature of the familiar.
Idealized Perception Versus Reality
This short story explores the sometimes harsh contrast between idyllic interpretation and reality. Through the experiences of a train engineer who develops a sentimental attachment to a house and its inhabitants, the author delves into the complexities of human perception and the disillusionment that can occur when reality does not align with one’s imagination. The first half of the story sets up the fantasy the engineer has immersed himself in, and the second half of the story rapidly dismantles his perspective, creating a jarring sense of unease and detachment.
In the first half of the story, the engineer’s idealized perception of the world is established. The house he passes daily is described as picturesque, evoking a sense of tranquility and comfort. This house becomes a symbol of constancy and permanence in the engineer’s life, a source of extraordinary happiness that remains unaffected by the tragedies and hardships he witnesses in his profession. The engineer’s perception of the two women who live in the house becomes equally endearing. He sees them as beautiful and unchanging, transcending time and ruin. The author portrays the engineer’s attachment to the house and its occupants as profound, akin to a man’s love for his children. The engineer builds this perception over time as he witnesses the changing seasons and imagines their lives in detail.
However, when the engineer finally decides to visit the house after retirement, his perception changes drastically. The landscape he had passed through countless times now feels like the backdrop of an unpleasant dream. As he approaches the house, his trepidation grows, and he becomes plagued by confusion, doubt, and hopelessness. Reality shatters the engineer’s perception upon meeting the woman who had waved to him. The woman’s appearance and demeanor do not align with the idealized image he had constructed. Wolfe describes her face as harsh, pinched, and weary, devoid of the warmth and affection he had imagined. The disconnect between his perception and reality fills him with bitter loss and grief.
The encounter with the women in the house highlights the limitations of human perception and the fallibility of our idealized constructions. The engineer, in his monotonous day-to-day routine, became lost in his own perceptions and clung to his fantastical version of the truth for comfort, leading to a stark contrast between his expectations and the reality he faces. Truth ruins the once-vibrant image of the house and the women waving to him, and the engineer’s perception of the world is forever changed. He feels older and has lost his sense of emotional safety in the idea of the women and the cottage, as this was ripped away from him the moment he reached the house in person. His journey exposes the fragility of perception and the potential for disappointment when reality fails to align with one’s perception.
The Value and Impermanence of Human Connection
“The Far and the Near” explores the theme of human connection and the fleeting nature of relationships. The protagonist, the engineer, develops a perceived relationship with the women in a house that he has passed for over 20 years. Seeing the woman, her daughter, and her home brings him extraordinary happiness and symbolizes constancy and beauty in his life. By the end of the story, however, he realizes his connection is false, and his understanding of his life for the past 20 years is shattered.
The two women and the house become a source of solace and familiarity amidst the chaos and unpredictability of his job. Wolfe writes:
Every day for more than twenty years, as the train had approached this house, the engineer had blown on the whistle, and every day, as soon as she heard this signal, a woman had appeared on the back porch of the little house and waved to him (Paragraph 3).
This quotation highlights the daily ritual of connection between the engineer and the woman who first had a small child who then grew into a woman. The act of waving creates a sense of acknowledgment and familiarity, suggesting a relationship that has developed over time. Wolfe also reveals that the engineer cared for them with “such tenderness as a man might feel for his own children” (Paragraph 7). The engineer “felt that he knew their lives completely” (Paragraph 7). He has invested significant emotional energy into the image of the woman, her daughter, and their home, associating them with deep affection and a sense of belonging. He constructs a narrative of comfort and companionship based on his assumptions rather than genuine knowledge of her life. This aspect of the story underscores the idea that real connection requires more than assumptions and superficial observation.
When the engineer finally decides to visit the women after retiring, he experiences a profound disillusionment: “[H]is sense of bewilderment and confusion grew” (Paragraph 8). The engineer’s confusion and doubt reflect the disconnect between his perception of the women and the actual circumstances of their lives. It emphasizes the engineer’s failure to know the women despite his continuous observation indeed, underscoring the limitations of perception and the complexities of understanding another person’s inner life. Despite his expectations, their meeting does not guarantee genuine connection or understanding.
In reality, the woman who used to wave to him appears aged and worn, with a mean and pinched face. The warmth and affection he had attributed to her gestures vanished in the face of her mistrustful and unfriendly demeanor. The daughter is likewise disenchanted, uninterested in his presence and only complying out of formality. The engineer’s initial enthusiasm turns into regret and despair as he learns the vast disparity between his romanticized perception and the actual women he meets: “And he knew that all the magic of that bright lost way, the vista of that shining line, the imagined corner of that small, good universe of hope’s desire, could never be got again” (Paragraph 14). The idyllic vision he had crafted in his mind proves unattainable, reinforcing that genuine human relationships are built on reality instead of external observation and romanticized perceptions.
