Previous
Part 1, Chapter 9
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Forty Rules of Love, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Love and Spirituality
Connections Across Distance and Time
Appearances vs. Reality
Storytelling and Truth
Summary
Analysis
Shams. Baghdad, December 18, 1243. Shams observes the messenger who comes for Baba Zaman. It’s snowy out, and only a messenger with a very important letter would come from so far away this time of year. Baba Zaman summons Shams and all the other dervishes to discuss the letter. Without revealing Rumi’s name, Baba Zaman explains that a scholar is coming in search of someone to join him on a spiritual journey. He explains how dangerous the journey will be, and Shams knows right away that Shams himself will be the only one to volunteer.
The fact that the messenger braves such snowy conditions shows how difficult it can be to communicate with people but how it is ultimately worth the effort. Although Shams is a bit of a misfit in the dervish lodge, he proves himself to in many ways be the most spiritual one in the group by showing the dangers that he is willing to risk in order to help someone else find fulfillment.
Active
Themes
Baba Zaman refuses to send Shams because he’s just a guest, not a member of the lodge. He ends the meeting abruptly, which is unlike him. Time passes, and it remains a harsh winter, although there are signs that spring is coming. Baba Zaman finally announces that because Shams was the only one to volunteer, he will wait six months, until autumn, to announce who will go on the journey. Shams is disappointed by the delay. But he waits the allotted time, and eventually Baba Zaman relents. He reveals that the scholar is Rumi and that Shams should go meet him in Konya. Shams isn’t familiar with Rumi, but something about the name excites him with possibilities.
Active
Themes
