The Glass Mountain (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Donald Barthelme
- First Published: 1970
- Type of Plot: Metafiction
- Time of Work: 1970
- Setting: Manhattan
- Principal Characters: The narrator, The enchanted symbol, The eagle
- Genres: Short fiction, Metafiction
- Subjects: 1970’s, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, New York City, Fantasy, Castles, Birds, Mountains, Fairy tales, Princes or princesses, Fables, Eagles
- Locales: Manhattan, NY
The Story
Above a mob of acquaintances, the narrator climbs against a bitter wind, inching up the glass mountain toward a castle of pure gold that is guarded by an eagle. In it sits the beautiful enchanted symbol of happily-ever-after fairy tales. The narrator is two hundred feet above the street. Below him, his rapine acquaintances pillage among groaning knights and horses—who are apparently failed climbers of the mountain.
These acquaintances pass around a brown bottle, speak inanities, and jeer crudely at the climber. As he climbs six feet higher, it becomes evident...
[The entire page is 1423 words long]
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