Rene Daumal and Daphne Du Maurier bring forth an interesting aspect of mountains. That is the kind of religious and spiritual part of mountains, and that they are far more than just these far reaching peaks that stretch above the earth. Rather, both of these authors bring to the minds of readers the ethereal nature of mountains, wherein those who venture to climb will engage in an experience that allows them to attain something higher than what may be found below the mountains. In Mount Analogue, Daumal writes of mountains, “It is the path by which humanity can raise itself to the divine and the divine reveal itself to humanity,” (p. 31). Similarly, Du Maurier puts forth the idea that those who go to Monte Verita find something that they would not be able to find or that they would never know in the valleys and lower places (p. 338) and “that in the mountains we come closest to whatever Being it is that rules our destiny,” (p. 268). It’s almost as if mountains represent truth and knowledge, or the attainment thereof. These stories put forth the idea that mountains provide something that cannot be provided anywhere else. Perhaps it is the mountains themselves that represent this kind of divine revelation.

Another interesting takeaway from both of these readings is the personification of mountains. Du Maurier writes about mountains, “not as an enemy to be conquered, but as an ally to be won,” (p. 272). There can really be a lot in regards to what that means. First off, it is like the mountain is interacting with climbers just as much as the climber is interacting with the mountain. It holds this idea that the there has to be a respect of the mountain, that it might treat someone just as friendly as they treat the mountain. Daumal does not necessarily personify a whole mountain, but he does bring this personification to part of the mountain when he describes glaciers. “For glaciers are living creatures, their substance renews itself by a constant periodic process. The glacier is an organized creature, with a head, its permanent snowpatch, which grazes on snow and swallows rocky debris, a head neatly separated from the rest of the body by the rimaye; then an enormous stomach in which snow is transformed into ice, a stomach furrowed by deep crevices and rivulets, which act as excretory canals for surplus water; and in its lower parts, it expels the waste from its food in the form of moraine. Its life has a seasonal rhythm,” (p. 71). This life of mountains, or at least parts of mountains, helps to bring more awe and respect to mountains as they are understood to be something more than just rocky peaks.

What really comes out in these readings is a unique perspective of mountains, wherein there is more to them than just the fact that they are there and they can be climbed. There can be a sort of relationship between mountain and man, as they bring to people truth and understanding, because they are a living being that people can interact with. The readings bring more to what mountains are, and the connection between people and mountains.