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.