The Night Came Slowly

Written in the late 19th century, “The Night Came Slowly” embraces many of the time’s emerging ideas. Chopin was an early adopter of feminism and environmentalism, highlighting both issues in many of her works. Although “The Night Came Slowly” is very short, like her other writing, it’s a complex piece with richly layered symbolism.

The short piece opens by emphasizing The Allure of Gentleness in contrast to the abrasiveness of man. It is not so much nature itself that entices the narrator, but the manner in which nature communicates. Humans tend to “chatter” (Paragraph 5). The worst of them, like the “detestable” Bible teacher, have “coarse manner and speech.” They are “fools [who] cumber the Earth” (Paragraph 6). Nature, in contrast, caresses and sings, and the night in particular approaches “slowly, softly” (Paragraph 2).

Part of this gentleness of communication is a calm self-possession that humans lack; in other words, man’s noise and coarseness stem from his urge to feed his ego. The Ugliness of Man’s Hubris is on display throughout the piece. The adage noted in the opening suggests that man himself is worthy of study, with each man worth 10 entire books. The adage originated from “some one” (Paragraph 1), that is, another human—man suggesting the study of man himself. In the end, the Bible teacher seems convinced of the value of his own voice, speaking with a bluster that influences his physical appearance: “with his red cheeks and bold eyes” (Paragraph 6). In short, humans are convinced of the “significance of their lives and their actions” (Paragraph 1). Here, too, nature provides a stark contrast that the narrator appreciates. Whereas man clamors for the narrator’s attention, katydids sing the narrator to sleep. Whereas man urges the narrator to study him, the night sneaks into place, content “thinking I did not notice” (Paragraph 2).

This alluring gentleness, in turn, contributes to The Divinity of Nature. This short piece is not necessarily religious in nature, but it does concern questions of the mysterious forces beyond human understanding. The symbol of the night is especially important in examining this third theme. The multilayered symbol of the night hints at death, or at least an awareness of one’s own mortality, and at the mystery associated with what living men do not know. The narrator is therefore a mortal foiled in their effort to see fully beyond the veil, in this case, the canopy of maple leaves overhead. The narrator is a mortal, effectively, on the cusp of transcending: the “death” of an old perception is at hand.

However, this transformation is cut short by the rude interruption of “a man’s voice” (Paragraph 6). This interruption could be taken, in part, to represent that the narrator is still tied to mortality, limited by the same limits as other mortals. It is not yet time for the narrator to “sleep, sleep, sleep” (Paragraph 5). Given the immediate transition to the Bible teacher, though, it could also be taken to represent how the hubris of man holds humans back. The interruption is due to the worst of what humanity has to offer—the “fools [who] cumber the Earth” (Paragraph 6). This hubris undermines our efforts at communing with the divine.

Notably, the phrasing of the piece, which somewhat obscures the exact timing and order of events, also offers another layer to how insidious this hubris is. It is not necessarily clear if the narrator is currently under a maple tree, watching the night arrive, or if the narrator is recalling this moment. It is not necessarily clear either if the Bible teacher is there in the moment, or if by “to-day” (Paragraph 6) the narrator means earlier in the day—perhaps that is why the narrator sits under the maple tree now, reflecting, and the interrupting man’s voice only triggers their memory of the Bible teacher. The result is the suggestion that the Bible teacher’s voice—representing the hubris of man, perhaps even flawed understandings of Christ—does not even need to be physically present. The voices of such “fools” are internalized (Paragraph 6), existing inside our minds whether we wish them to or not, and these voices can disrupt our efforts to grow closer to what is truly divine.

The maple tree is a helpful symbol that ties these interpretations together. Like the narrator, the tree is bound to the mortal world by its roots. Yet also like the narrator, it reaches toward the sky, where the only remaining light after nightfall resides. As a representative of nature, though, it also maintains the veil—the leaves exist between the narrator and the light. Through this veil, the narrator observes the stars, and the stars observe the narrator, just as they observed Christ.

Chopin was a forerunner of literary feminism. Even though the narrator in “The Night Came Slowly” is not gendered, applying a feminist lens to the piece has much to offer. Chopin’s experiences as an educated woman in the 19th century likely contribute to the narrator’s growing disinterest in man’s focus on himself. That men and books “make me suffer” would have been very much true (Paragraph 2). For example, during Chopin’s life, psychology was in its infancy and heavily influenced by misogynist beliefs. “Truth,” even in scientific books, was based on prejudice.

In addition, “The Night Came Slowly” speaks to the relationship between humans and the Earth. As a proto-modernist writer, Chopin was ahead of her time and would become a foundational part of American literature. Her short story strives to understand how humans have failed to embrace the wisdom of the natural world and the intimate connection that comes from accepting the mystery and wonder that surrounds each person. In less than 1000 words, Chopin manages to explore themes of feminism, environmentalism, and religion. The overarching message of her work is finding wisdom in nature, beyond the conventional sources of wisdom people seek.