Il monte ou il descend selon que l’on s’en va ou que l’on arrive.

The expression “Il monte ou il descend selon que l’on s’en va ou que l’on arrive” describes the road to Comala as rising for the person who leaves and descending for the one who arrives. Its significance lies in that reversal: the path does not have a single felt direction, but changes according to the traveler’s relation to the village.

Wording and Structure

The saying begins with the road’s alternating movement—up, then down—and resolves it through a contrast between leaving and arriving: “Pour qui s’en va il monte ; pour qui arrive, il descend.” The two halves describe the same route from opposing positions. Rather than treating ascent and descent as fixed properties of the landscape, the expression makes them depend on whether a traveler is going away or coming toward Comala.

Place in the Journey

The expression occurs as Comala comes into view during Juan Preciado’s journey. He has come because of the hope he has built around Pedro Páramo, his mother’s husband; the approach takes place in the burning days of August, amid a wind described as tainted by the putrid smell of the savonniers. In that setting, the road’s directional paradox frames arrival not as a neutral change of place but as a movement into the village from a particular point of view.