Reality and Religion in Cold Mountain Essay

Reality and Religion

Ada begins to contemplate her own views of the world and rejects Monroes belief that the objects on earth are gifts from another world, in Fraziers novel, Cold Mountain. She finds comfort in the predictable elements of life, such as natures cycles, after she sees how useless intangible items are to her, such as reading and learning languages. Thus, she denies the importance of invisible items. However, Inman, disgusted by the images of war burned into his mind, seeks refuge in the spiritual world he cannot necessarily see, much to the contrast of Ada, who now only finds comfort in concrete items. Forced to separate because of the war, Inman and Ada can no longer rely on each other to fill their voids. Inman needs to find religion on his own and Ada must experience reality before they reunite. Ultimately, Inman and Ada walk different paths to the same destination.

While grazing heifers with Inman at age sixteen, a Cherokee boy named Swimmer declares that above the blue vault of heaven there was a forest inhabited by a celestial race.in that high land the dead spirit could be reborn (Frazier 23). After pondering this declaration, Inman concludes that he cannot abide by a universe composed of only that he could see, especially when it was so frequently foul. So he held to the idea of a better place, and he figured he might as well consider Cold Mountain to be the location of it as anywhere (23). Swimmer lays the spiritual foundation Inman builds upon later in life. The day before he leaves for the war, Inman repeats this tale to his love, Ada. To him, Ada embodies all the peaceful and heavenly attributes of Cold Mountain, therefore, when the horrors of war prove too much for Inman to handle, he crawls his way back to Ada in hopes of spiritual redemption.

Everyday during the civil war, Inman wakes up only to kill people for a cause he does not believe in. General Lee looked on war as an instrument for clarifying Gods obscure will, while Inman worries that following such logic would soon lead one to declare the victor of every brawl and dogfight as Gods certified champion (12). The brutalities of reality turn into nightmares haunting Inman where, the aurora blazed and the scattered bloody piecesarms, heads, legs, trunksslowly drew together and re-formed themselves into monstrous bodies of mismatched parts (14). Consequently, after witnessing the atrocities men commit upon each other, Inman deserts the war effort. He is off to return to Ada at Cold Mountain, where God is present, and, for him, the line between good and evil is not blurred. Inman turns to the invisible spirit of God for recovery because all the visible things he has recently witnesses, only disheartens him. As far as Inman is concerned, once he reaches Cold Mountain, he will find peace in Ada, and will be able to achieve spiritual harmony by embracing her fathers sermons. Furthermore, so desperate for a connection with something, even if Ada rejects him, Inman will stay determined and search for the religious sanctuary that the Cherokee tribe preaches about. Inman longs to find meaning in what appears to be a senseless existence by regaining the ideals Monroe represents. Ironically, the women he is looking for is slowly dismissing these principles.

While living with Monroe, Ada has the luxury of money. She learns how to read and write and fills her spare time with painting and music. Of course, she attends her fathers church and acquiesces to his preaching as she has no experiences which challenge them. However, when Monroe dies, her world turns upside down. Having no choice but to fend for herself, she learns to value the predictable and tangible elements of life, like perfectly rotating seasons and home-grown food. After all, religion will not quell the rumbles of hunger overwhelming her stomach. On that note, Ada begins to question Monroes sermons, and revealing her changed views, And Ada had then agreed. But now, as she looked out at the view, she held the opinion that what he saw was no token but was all the life there is (144). All along Ada longs for Inman to return, writing, come back to me is my request, but when he does return, she is independent enough to live without a mans assistance (344). Each on their own, Ada learns the work necessary to survival and Inman opens his eyes to religion. Now that they have personally grown, they come together, each as a transformed person.

When reality becomes too overwhelming for Inman, he turns to religion to counteract the horrors of war and provide a balance. The opposite is true for Ada. When religion proves useless in satisfying her hunger, she exploits the earths ability to produce physical goods. Ironically, after learning the ways of survival, Ada begins to find fault in Monroes theoretical preachings while Inman sees Monroes sermons as motivation and embraces them in hopes of erasing psychological battle scars. Inman needs something disconnected with the physical world to find peace in. Unbeknownst to the other, they are mentally moving in conflicting directions, yet when Ada and Inman finally fulfill both their religion and reality quotas, they meet again in Fraziers Cold Mountain. Confirming their full transformation, when they reunite, previously dainty Ada is hunting game and Confederate Inman is finally near Cold Mountain, the place where dead spirit could be reborn (23). Before they embrace, Inman accepts Adas disbelief and thinks, A wandering pilgrim in my own place. Such is the price Ill pay for the past four years. Firearms standing between me and everything I want (405). Even so, being apart has made the two lovers independent and rounded as people. They no longer acquiesce to others orders, or sermons, as they have individually overcome enough challenges to formulate their own opinions. Now they are whole, and now they are together.

Frazier, Charles. Cold Mountain. New York: Grove Press, 1997.