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Narcissus
The Lake appears in the brief prologue to the novel, in the context of a story read by the alchemist. In a twist on the original Greek legend, the lake mourns for Narcissus because she has lost the opportunity to see her own beautiful reflection in his eyes. The prologue functions as a cautionary tale against self-love.
The Lake Quotes in The Alchemist
The The Alchemist quotes below are all either spoken by The Lake or refer to The Lake. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Prologue
Quotes
“I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that Narcissus was beautiful. I weep because, each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see, in the depths of his eyes, my own beauty reflected.” “What a lovely story,” the alchemist thought.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Alchemist LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Lake Quotes in The Alchemist
The The Alchemist quotes below are all either spoken by The Lake or refer to The Lake. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Prologue
Quotes
“I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that Narcissus was beautiful. I weep because, each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see, in the depths of his eyes, my own beauty reflected.” “What a lovely story,” the alchemist thought.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
