Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

CWSA 27

Fragment ID: 6920

Comments on Specific Lines and Passages of the Poem [36]

The Mask is mentioned not twice but four times in this opening passage [Book Two, Canto Seven, pp. 202 – 03] and it is purposely done to keep up the central connection of the idea running through the whole. The ambassadors wear this grey Mask, so your criticism cannot stand since there is no separate mask coming as part of a new idea but a very pointed return to the principal note indicating the identity of the influence throughout. It is not a random recurrence but a purposeful touch carrying a psychological meaning.

1948