The major reason which makes Cold Mountain a modern classic is how closely the conflicts the characters have within themselves or others around them and those of what the readers might deal with as well. Some of these conflicts are very real problems that our reality faces today and here. For example, towards the middle of the story Ruby
tells Ada how when she was young, her father Stobrod often denied to being her father and “disclaimed her saying she had no man-father” (Frazier 194). Ruby recalled that
Stobrod was very abusive and neglectful to Ruby and it was inclined that her mother was somewhat of an alcoholic. Living in the environment that we do today, it is no news when we hear of domestic abuse or neglect. Ruby’s childhood is something most readers can sympathize and empathize with.
Another thing readers can understand is the hardship that Ada endured that included moving from her home in Charleston and the death of her beloved father. Most people can relate to the skepticism and reluctance that Ada experienced when she and her father were encouraged to move to Cold Mountain because of her father’s delicate health condition. Charleston was a place she knew, and obviously was more comfortable with. The fact that her Charleston friends described Cold Mountain as “a place of wilderness and gloom and rain” (Frazier 55) did not help in the slightest. Afterwards, when Ada’s father Monroe accompanied by his faithful daughter went about getting themselves acquainted with the locals, they were greeted with scorn and indifference. Ada then also suffered a loss when her father passed away. Ada had a very good relationship with her father and at one point she even declared “[she] would follow this old man to Liberia if he asked [her] to do so” (Frazier 54). For that reason, naturally, she was swept over with grief just like any person would be at the death of her father no matter how much she and
we know that death comes to take everyone at the end of their timeline. Charles Frazier wrote in the novel after Monroe’s death that “nature has a preference for a particular
order: parents die, then children die. But it was a harsh design, offering little relief from pain…” (Frazier 39) This type of misfortune adds to the novels appeal and timelessness
because through this tribulation that Ada undergoes, she appears to readers to be more human and real and relatable no matter who at what time is reading because this kind of grief is something that everyone throughout the ages will understand.
On a lighter note, there are warmer qualities that the characters have in the book. Inman is one of those characters. What sets Inman apart is his sense of honor and determination. Since the start of the story, as Inman lay there in the military hospital his thoughts were on Ada and returning to Cold Mountain, his home, and to her. Along the way he encounters a few chances in which he could have been tempted to take advantage of opportunities to be with a woman and forget about Ada. During his first encounter with Veasey the immoral preacher, he rescues Veasey’s lover who is with child from being murdered by Veasey and carries her back home. He also had a chance to stay with a woman named Sara whose husband died in the war after he helped her recover her hog from 3 federal soldiers which is her only livelihood to support her infant child and herself. However, even though she was kind and gentle to Inman and needed his protection, Inman remained true to Ada and continued on his long journey to return to her. He eventually succeeds in his goal and meets Ada finally.
Aside from the characters’ intent, the language of the book was superior. Frazier layers the novel with archetypes, themes, motifs, and vernacular. Inman’s journey to return home is the most obvious archetypes and the crow being another example. As for
themes and motifs, the main theme seems to be isolation as Inman travels alone and Ada is left alone in her home on Cold Mountain after her father passes away.
To express these, Frazier uses various writing techniques to introduce them. The technique he uses continuously throughout the novel is flashbacks. As the story of Ada and Inman unfurls, Frazier uses flashbacks to add necessary background information and to be able to further tell the story of all the characters in the story. Another effective writing technique Frazier uses is beginning the book in medias res. Beginning a story in medias res holds a more dramatic effect on the whole story. Additionally, Frazier writes all the dialogue between all the characters with the correct vernacular of the time and location. This gives them more of an identity and also adds to the overall artistic touch of the novel.
As a result of all the reasons provided as to why Cold Mountain is a modern classic, the most important reason why the novel is a modern classic which cannot be true if not for those reasons is that the novel is timeless. No matter how much time elapses between the time the novel is written and read, the novel remains universally known and loved. The journey, hardships, and romance are things that are understood and enjoyed by a majority and will continue to be printed, read, and enjoyed by readers generations to come.
