Name : Azminatul Alfay Rohmah

NIM / Class : 18020084059 / 2018-B

The Zahir
by Paulo Coelho
Intrinsic Factors
1. Theme : The Zahir told us about love and obsession. This novel told us
about the strength of the Narrator’s love to his wife, Esther. Eventhough he felt in
love with the other women, his love for Esther could not be changed. The
Narrator had bad experience because he was abandonment by his previous wives,
which is why he didn’t want to hope to Esther very much. Esther became a
woman who always stays in his mind although he had affair with the other
women. The Narrator’s obsession about Esther made him write books which draw
his entire feelings to Esther.

2. Characters
a. The Narrator : The narrator is a protagonist and very loyal person. It is
stated in the story when he waited for his wife for ten years. He began a journey
to find his wife, and also find himself. He traveled around the world, and became
a success novelist.
b. Esther : Esther is the narrator’s wife. She is smart, brave and calm.
She loved her husband so much. In the story, Esther encouraged her husband to
go to Santiago and becoming writer who was genius for her husband.
c. Mikhail : Mikhail is Esther’s translator. He is a good person. He
was supposed if he had special affair with Esther. He spent time with narrator, and
helped him to find Esther. He helped the Narrator and Esther back.
d. Maria : Marie is the person whom the narrator falls in love with
after Esther’s loss. She is kind but a little arrogant.

3. Settings
a. Place : France, Spain, Croatia, Kazakhstan.
b. Situation : Nostalgic and obsessive.
 4. Point of View : The first person
5. Plot : The story starts when the Narrator discussing freedom as he is
being let go by the police. He saw another woman when his wife was missing. He
imagined freedom as free to live whenever he wants. He moves one and takes
another one to be loved, but he keep missing his wife, Esther. The Narrator realizes
that if he wants to meet Esther, he must be himself. Through the Narrator’s adventure
from Paris to Kazakhstan, he finds many meaning of love. This story tells us about
invisible thing that always appear in human’s heart which called love.
6. Message : This story taught us to be loyal to the person whom we love. It
doesn’t matter where we go, the true love will always back to the right people.

Extrinsic Factor
1. Belief
The writer writes the Narrator character as Theseus character in which he
believes. His wife, Esther, has given him the freedom to travel and do adventure
while having a string that leads him back to her again. In the end of the novel, the
writer no longer write the Narrator character as Theseus, but he writes as a
character in another Greek story, Ulysses. Just like Ulysses, the Narrator changes
his name to make it through his journey in finding his wife. Both character of
Theseus and Ulysses are similar in the sense that they both have lovers waiting for
them at the end of the journey. Those characters are believed as the image of the
characters’ ego. They work hard to keep their love.
2. Culture
The story represents about the relationship between the Narrator and
Esther. Their love is adapted by Mongolian Creation Story in the novel who talks
about a wild dog and a doe. Those animals are very different, but they force their
love to be one. They need each other to be completed. The way that they will
learn how to love is by ceasing to be who they currently are. Love grows out in
their difference.