De regenboog als beeld van de zoektocht

The rainbow as an image of the quest is expressed through a story Tirillo tells Tiuri and Piak: a traveler sets out for the place where a rainbow seems to touch the earth, only to discover that the destination holds no special wonder. The journey, however, has filled his life with things seen, experienced, and learned. Tirillo later applies the parable to Tiuri’s completed mission, shifting the measure of success from the message’s hidden meaning to the faithfulness with which it was delivered. The image thus joins an imagined destination, the knowledge acquired on the way, and the difficult return to ordinary responsibilities.

The Parable and Its Reversal

Tirillo tells the story while sitting with Tiuri and Piak in a garden overlooking the river and the city beyond. A man sees a rainbow arching across the sky like a high bridge, its ends appearing to touch the earth. He imagines that reaching one end will let him cross to the other side of the world, and so he leaves on a long journey. The rainbow is at first both a visible wonder and a promise: it makes a particular destination seem capable of delivering a life beyond the familiar.

The traveler crosses cities and villages, fields and deserts, flowing rivers and dense forests. He looks forward to what lies ahead, and the closer he comes to the apparent endpoint, the more eagerly he anticipates its beauty. But when he arrives, the rainbow has vanished; the place where it had seemed to meet the earth looks like any other place. The ending directly overturns the expectation that the goal will be extraordinary simply because it has guided the traveler. His first response is sorrow, not triumph.

The reversal does not make the journey worthless. The man remembers the beautiful things he has seen and what he has experienced and learned. His understanding changes: the important thing was not the rainbow itself, but seeking it. He returns home with a glad heart, and another rainbow appears over his house. The story’s pattern therefore does not end in permanent departure or in possession of the promised marvel. It moves from longing, through disappointment and recognition, to a homecoming in which the possibility of wonder remains.

Tirillo’s Lesson to Tiuri

Piak responds that he once wanted to try the same journey, and asks how the story ends. After Tirillo says it is over, Tiuri asks why he told it, sensing that the jester has a purpose. Tirillo calls it an old, familiar story and says that jesters tell the same things repeatedly. The exchange leaves the meaning to emerge from the story’s placement and from what Tirillo says afterward, rather than from a direct explanation of the parable.

Tirillo then names Tiuri’s state: his task is finished, he has no new assignment, and he feels strange and lost. He also identifies Tiuri’s lingering question about the message he has carried for so long. But, Tirillo tells him, its meaning is not what matters most. What matters is that Tiuri delivered it properly—faithful to his promise, courageous, and persistent despite danger. Tiuri recognizes the truth of this and feels his lostness disappear, becoming calm. The parable has moved from a traveler’s belated insight to a concrete account of Tiuri’s own mission: completion need not bring a fresh command or reveal every consequence of the message in order for the work to have mattered.

Journey, Relief, and Return

The motif recurs after Tiuri and Piak have spent time in Unauwen Capital. On the White River, Tirillo rows while Tiuri holds the rudder; Piak is told he need do nothing until he has overcome his fear, though he insists that he is not afraid and enjoys himself. The water glitters in the sun, and Tiuri feels light and happy, far from responsibility and assignments. This moment gives the journey a bodily pause: unlike the long road toward a distant objective, the boat ride asks Tiuri to steer and lets him experience temporary release from his duty.

That release does not become an excuse to remain. Standing on a bridge over the White River, Tiuri and Piak consider a young squire who had carried a message from Sir Andomaar into Unauwen. Tiuri realizes that another messenger had undertaken a similar task and may have known comparable fears and satisfaction. He wonders whether the squire had found as faithful a friend as Tiuri found in Piak. Piak looks west and says that the sea must lie in that direction and that he would like to sail there. Tiuri shares the wish, but as he says that they would go if they had time, he suddenly understands that he has no more time to spare: King Dagonaut is waiting, and nothing prevents his return.

The homeward decision brings the parable’s movement into Tiuri’s present without making the two journeys identical. The traveler returns after discovering that the sought-for place is ordinary; Tiuri turns back because his task is complete and his king awaits him. He reflects that Dagonaut’s land feels very far away and wonders whether everything there will have changed, although not even a month has passed since his departure. Piak first bids farewell to Unauwen Capital, but Tiuri replaces the finality of farewell with the expectation that they will come again. The rainbow image consequently holds together achievement and continuation: the quest has ended, yet the friendship, the memory of what was learned, and the prospect of another journey remain.