Monday 28 July 2008

In Coelho's The Alchemist, where does Santiago go to have his dreams interpreted?

In 's
, Santiago has a recurring dream. He travels with his sheep to a village
called Tarifa, in the "region of Andalusia." While there, he plans to get a new book,
a shave and haircut, and some more wine. Thinking about the town, he recalls that there is
"an old woman who interpreted dreams."

He goes to see this Gypsy
woman. Based on stories he has heard, he anticipates that he may not be able to trust what the
woman says:

People said that Gypsies spent their lives
tricking others.

Santiago has heard a great many other
stories about the terrible things Gypsies are said to do: engaging in pacts with the devil,
kidnapping children, etc. So Santiago is nervous, fearful and distrustful. When she takes his
hands to pray (what sounds to him like a Gypsy prayer), his hands begin to shake. It is in this
moment that he has second thoughts:

He thought for a
moment that it would be better to pay her fee and leave without learning a thing, that he was
giving too much importance to his recurrent dream.

The
old woman knows why Santiago has come before he even states his purpose. She explains that
"dreams are the language of God." But she also warns that she will
only understand if God speaks in their language. The
language of the soul only Santiago will be able to comprehend.


He still does not trust the Gypsy, but he decides to "take a chance." After
all, he concedes, risks are things that make the life of a shepherd exciting. So he tells the
Gypsy woman about his dream. In holding his hands and listening to his dreams, she decides she
will not collect her usual fee from him.

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