4.
Inman meets a lot of different people on his way to Cold Mountain that help him change to become a more humane and compassionate person. The first time one can see that Inman is changing is his run in with Veasey who was about to throw a girl off a cliff. Though Inman considers the preacher damnable and can see merit in killing him Inman chooses to let him live and chooses to let the community choose the penalty for Veasey. This shows that Inman has changed and become more kind-hearted since his confrontation with the three men at the town crossroad.
The goat woman helped Inman change in many different ways, such as openly admitting for the first time that he loves Ada and plans to spend his life with her. Inman respects the goat woman’s decision to live a hermetic existence. He even thinks of living the same way but he comes to the conclusion that he would be too lonely. Later Inman meets Sara, a young widow whose husband had died fighting in Virginia. Inman feels sympathy for her and tries to comfort her by lying in bed with her. The next day Federal soldiers come and take Sara’s hog and chickens. Inman then kills them and returns the chicken. Though Inman once again resorts to violence this time it was to save Sara and her sick baby from starving to death themselves.
Section 2
Ada
1.
As a consequence of her upbringing in the Charleston society Ada is a true lady. She spent much of her time in Charleston reading, drawing and also playing piano. Her father had insisted that her education extend beyond that which females would usually be given. This knowledge made her an interesting companion for him. Her father had protected her from the rigours of hard work by hiring workers to do the hard tasks. Being well read and having a reasonable understanding of French, Latin and Greek did not however, make her a popular dinner guest in the Charleston society. Her outspoken comments about marriage often left a room in silence.
“As a result of such behaviour, it became not an uncommon opinion among their acquaintances to think Monroe had shaped her into a type of monster, a creature not entirely fit for the society of men and women.” (p.61)
Ada’s relationship with Monroe has made her eccentric compared to those around her. Her education has sheltered her from the real world and she has difficulty relating to others. She tends to have a bristly nature which has eventuated in most of her friends leaving her friendship circle. This lack of close relationships and then her pride are what stop her from going back to Charleston after Monroe’s death. She does not intend going back to people who do not like her and having to accept whatever financially help and friendship they are inclined to send her way. Whilst loving her father and missing him dearly, she also recognises flaws in the relationship. Late in the tale she tells Inman of one terrible thing,
“…that he had tried to keep her a child and that, with little resistance from her, he had largely succeeded.” (p.411)
The death of her mother when she was born has meant that her relationship with Monroe has been of a singular dimension with neither person needing close relationships with others. On the way to Cold Mountain she is overcome with the strength of emotion she feels for the man and says,
“I would follow this old man to Liberia if he asked me to do so” p.50
It is because of this that she initially has great trouble dealing with Monroe’s death and making the life decisions she now has to do alone. Having been used to Monroe providing all the required solutions, both financially and with hired help, she has no ability to now solve her present dilemma.
Her close relationship with Monroe has also made her a caring person, possibly due to that fact that she accompanied Monroe on his missionary visits. An example of this compassion is when she insisted that Ruby put padding on the trap in the case that the robber was a human.
Whilst not having any of the practical skills which are useful for her present situation, the desire for self improvement and self reflection which she learnt with Monroe are the attributes which help her overcome her present situation. Once Ruby arrives and helps her with the basics, Ada begins the journey on her new path of self improvement, learning as much as she can about the land and how to work with it and make it work for her. It is this openness for knowledge which she learnt as a daughter of Monroe, that now makes her receptive to the introduction of new skills and knowledge.
2.
Ruby and Ada came from vastly different backgrounds. Ada had learnt to read and write and was very academic whilst Ruby was illiterate. Ruby possessed life skills and could live independently on the mountain, something that Ada’s upbringing had not taught her how to do. Ruby is curious about everything around her, she notes the changes during the seasons, her surroundings and reasons for animal behaviour. Ada’s upbringing has left her insular, comforted when she is buried in a book. When they met they were co-dependant in that Ruby needed a place in which to live and Ada needed practical help on the farm. Ruby makes sure that Ada understands that she is there as an equal, or in her words,
“with both us knowing everybody empties their own night jar.”
In Ruby, Ada finds a friend to admire and she is the person Ada wishes to resemble. And so begins the transformation of both women. They share stories of their past lives, Ruby telling of the cruel and demanding times spent with her father and Ada of times spent with her father, including the amazing discovery when he told her that her creation had been the product of passion and not some unplanned addition to a staid friendship between two aging people. Sharing these deep memories of their past brings the two women into a deep and respectful relationship. By the end of the book we see the lives of the two women so linked that it is a condition of Inman and Ada being together that he must accept Ruby as her friend and equal.
“- And there’s something you need to know about Ruby, Ada said. Whatever comes to pass between you and me, I want her to stay in Black Cove as long as she cares to. If she never leaves I will be glad, and if she does I’ll mourn her absence.” (Page 411)
They also share skills and interests which shape the character of each other. From Ruby, Ada learns the practical skills needed to run her farm and is able by the end to read the land and seasons, to work hard throughout a day and to be prepared for hard times. She is peaceful and in tune with the cycles of nature. Ruby’s change is different but just as dramatic. It too is as a consequence of her relationship with her friend. At the start of the story she is almost a hermit having no need of friends or company. At the close she is the centre of her family, the hub holding her husband, father and children together.
3.
By the closing chapters of the book, Ruby’s connection with the land has also become a part of Ada’s psyche. Because of Ruby she has become more practical and she is able to work her property and follow the signs of nature. She can be self sufficient by using her land successfully. She is also a much more open person. She no longer needs to hide by burying her head in a book but is quite comfortable sharing her thoughts and emotions. She has found a place for herself in the Black Cove community and she does not wish to be a solitary person again. Even after the death of Inman she is able to feel secure and comforted. She has Ruby’s family and her daughter around her and she also has her domestic routines to give her comfort and a sense of peace.
Section Three
Minor Characters
Sara
Because of the war Sara is now a widow as her husband was killed in battle. She is a young eighteen-year-old woman who offers Inman food and shelter. He later feels bound to help when Federal soldiers steal her hog, the only thing she and her baby have to live on. She characterizes the resilience of many people in the novel whose lives have been blighted by the war. She has had animals and objects stolen and has battled to provide a life for herself and her child. Sara has become older than her age. She has had to become self sufficient in her mind as well as her daily life, not only managing for herself and the baby but also having to deal with the raiders. Her singing to the baby one night is to Inman, “about the bravest thing he had ever witnessed” (Page 309). Her life is full of despair and resentment and her singing reflects this. She asked Inman to lie with her in bed, as if to pretend to be husband and wife lying together happily. Her telling of her troubles to another human being seems to ease some of the weight from her shoulders and give her some peace. In return, her gentle touching of Inman’s scar reminds him that he is not the creature he thaught he’d become and that he likes the gentle feel of another human.
Junior
Inman and Veasey meet Junior when travelling together. They see him trying to remove a bull from a drinking pond. Junior tells of his roving youth where he followed the cock fighting circuit. He had been a lady’s man and he “told also of how women flung themselves at him in his travels...”(Page 200). He complained about his current situation with his wife and her sisters who have moved in and how he was unable to divorce his wife. They learn that he is a very violent man from the story his wife’s sister tells of how he beheaded a man and his dog. Also because Junior told them that the only way he could fix his sad live is if he cut all their throats when they were sleeping. For Junior the war had been a source of income for he sold deserters to the Home Guard for $5 each. Because of his choice to sell off Inman he dies as Inman then comes back for revenge and kills him by hitting him with his pistol.
Teague
Teague is the leader of a band of Home Guard. He is a violent and ruthless sadist who is mentioned by Swangers with fright and hatred, his execution of Pangle and other outliers in the novel show this. The war had let him do these terrible things without vengeance from the community as most of the men were out fighting the war. Teague may have joined the Home Guard as he was too scared to join in the actual war in case he had been injured or killed. His crimes do come back to get him though as when he confronts Inman, Inman kills him.