The Alchemist (1988) was originally published in Portuguese language by the Brazilian author Paulo Coelho. This book became a widely translated international bestseller. Paulo Coelho’s novel The Alchemist describes the expeditions of a young Andalusian shepherd, named Santiago who after having a recurring dream of a treasure, travels to Egypt and his personality develops with each expedition, exploration and experience and he becomes the true
alchemist. The objective of this paper is to show how his recurring dream is a result of his suppressed desire that instructs him to follow his passion which is to travel the world and to discover one’s true self and finally the experiences of the journey that transformed him into an alchemist. In the journey Santiago was introduced with many people who guide him or teach
him many life lessons in the journey, which helps Santiago to find his true self and his true
love Fatima also, who becomes a source of inspiration for him to go on in his journey. The
paper collaborates the basic theories of dream given by Sigmund Freud (1900) and Carl Jacov
Jung (1989) in order to show the co-relation between dreams, destiny, self-evaluation and
formation of identity through the expedition of the protagonist, Santiago.
The Alchemist is a novel that tells the story of an Andalusian shepherd named Santiago
who actually has become an inspiring figure for everyone. The protagonist of this novel
Santiago's parents wanted him to become a priest but he wanted to explore the world and so he
became a shepherd. Reading books and travelling to many places around the world can make
one wise. Santiago, as a shepherd, had been to many places thereby learned a lot from life. He
keeps a book with him; a book that gives him company during his journey. One day he saw a
Pyramid in his dream. In which a child took him to the Egyptian pyramid and tells him about
a hidden treasure. The child says, "If you come here, You will find a hidden treasure." (Coelho
13). But every time the child was about to show the exact location, Santiago wakes up.
One meaning of this dream was interpreted by the Gypsy woman. According to her, the
meaning of Santiago's dream is to tell him about the hidden treasure, which is buried under the
pyramid of Egypt as dreams are the language of God. She says, "You must go to the Pyramids
of Egypt. I have never heard of them, but if it was a child who showed them to you, they exist.
There you will find a treasure that will make you a rich man" (Coelho 14). In the end of the
novel, her interpretation was proven wrong because the treasure was not under the Egyptian
pyramid, but under sycamore tree of France, the starting point of his journey.
Another meaning of Santiago's dream can be seen through the point of view of Sigmund
Freud and Carl Jacov Jung's theory of dream. According to which, it can be said that he was
having this dream again and again as a result of his suppressed desire which is to travel the
world and to transform his personality and discover his true self. The dream-analytical theory
of Sigmund Freud (1900) considers dream to be the royal road to the unconscious as it is in
dreams that the ego’s defences are lowered so that some of the repressed material comes
through to awareness, albeit in distorted form. Dreams perform important functions for the
unconscious mind and serve as valuable clues to how the unconscious mind operates. Thus,
Freud interpreted his dream as wish-fulfilment. The same can be said for the dreams of the
protagonist which can be interpreted as his unconscious desires for adventure and world tour.
In the novel, the author says that Santiago always wanted to travel the world and this is the
reason that he chose to become a shepherd instead of a priest. According to Freud’s theory of
dream, because of this suppressed desire of Santiago, he was having a recurring dream in which
he saw a child transported him to the Pyramids of Egypt, so that he could embark on a journey
to the Pyramids of Egypt and can follow his passion.
Another definition of dream was given by Carl Jacov Jung. Jung saw dreams as the
psyche’s attempt to communicate important thingsto the individual, and he valued them highly,
perhaps above all else, as a way of knowing what was really going on. Dreams are also an
important part of the development of the personality – a process that he called individuation.
In the novel, Santiago's personality develops with each and every expedition and exploration
that he encounters in the journey in order to find the meaning of his recurring dream.
On his expedition to find glory, Santiago starts to gain new experience with every
person he meets and every place he explores. The first person he meets is a mysterious old
man, Melchizedek who claims to be the King of Salem. Melchizedek acknowledges his dream
and provides him with information regarding the good and bad omens. He also persuades
Santiago to go on the journey to find his Personal Legend, and gifts him Urim and Thummim
(two stones to read omens). He says, “…whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when
you really want something, it's because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It's
your mission on earth."(Coelho 21)
Following Melchizedek’s advice, the protagonist sells his flock and purchases a boat
ticket to Tangier (Northern Africa), but unfortunately, Santiago gets robbed off all his money
and asset by a stranger. He entrusts the person who later cheats him leads to the development
in the character of Santiago. Hence, the protagonist meets the second person in his expedition
who teaches him a lesson about being gullible and the harsh reality of life, and he is forced to
self-evaluate and learn an important lesson about trusting others and himself, which is Coelho's
introduction to the development and formation of identity of the protagonist.
In Tangier, the third person that Santiago encounters is a crystal merchant from whom
he regains a new outlook and discovers optimistic view which leads him to his legends. He
indicates Santiago that his destiny is written in stars by using the Arabic word, “Maktub,”
which means, “God has written one’s destiny, and whatever we experience, it occurs because
it is meant to be.” So, he drops the idea of returning to his homeland and has to continue with
his journey to the pyramids of Egypt. In this meeting, Santiago is introduced with the other
aspects of the personality required for survival, namely optimism, trust in oneself, dedication
and adaptability.
The fourth person that Santiago meets during his journey to Al-Fayoum with the
caravan is an Englishman who was obsessed with learning the secret of alchemy (to turn any
metal into gold) from a famous alchemist who lived near the pyramids at an oasis. The
Englishman’s character thwarts to Santiago’s character, where the one is interested in reading
while the other in observation. Later, both of them develop a companionship, despite their
differences. The Englishman states that everything that a human being learns comes from
books not from life experience. While conversing with Santiago about his involvement in the
crystal shop, the Englishman makes a statement, “When you want something with all your
heart, that’s when you are closest to the Soul of the World. It’s always a positive force"(Coelho
75). Here Coelho elaborates upon the growth of perception of the travelling protagonist as he
starts to listen, interpret and understand the desert and the Soul of the World through his
adaptability, open-mindedness and friendly behaviour.
Santiago meets the fifth company on his expedition, as journeying with the caravan,
Santiago befriends the guide and the camel drivers accompanying the travellers, and he comes
to know of their experiences in life, their optimistic mindset and their concept of living in the
present, which motivates him even more to achieve his goal, as they represented the lives of
hermits: being happy, optimistic, self-content, and believers of God and fate. “We are afraid of
losing what we have, whether it’s our life or our possessions or our property. But this fear
evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written
by the same hand.” (Coelho 73)
During his stay at the oasis, Santiago falls in love with an Arabian girl named Fatima,
and the relationship persuades to rethink his future plans of finding the treasure, but Fatima
motivates him to move ahead and to fulfil his dream of finding the treasure and attain self-
content rather than living an unsatisfactory life with her, without the realization of his dream
of finding the treasure. Here Santiago understands sacrifice, unconditional love and the
importance of finding the treasure.
The next person that Santiago encounters is the Alchemist of the Oasis, as Santiago was
wandering in the dreary desert to find peace and clarity of mind regarding his future decisions
and confronts another omen. He sees two hawks fighting in the sky. He interprets the incident
as an attack on the oasis by another army which would lead to war. Out of concern for the
people living in the oasis, he shares the interpretation of his vision with the tribal chieftain
(according to whom attacking an oasis was a violation of the rules of the desert), and averts the
war and saves many innocent lives. During the battle, the boy is introduced to the alchemist.
He asks the alchemist to instruct and help him in his journey. The alchemist offers to guide him
in his quest, which will take him across the Sahara Desert and the pyramids. As they were
travelling through the desert both the men confronted another danger, as they mistakenly
entered an area of intense tribal warfare, and were captured and called for interrogation. The
alchemist urges Santiago to engross himself in the desert and listen to his heart. He instructs
the boy he should keep himself away from the worldly attractions and should concentrate on
pursuing his quest. He differentiates personal legend with the one who lacks it. He states if one
wants to become a true alchemist, then he must follow his heart and listen to the soul of the
world. The words of the alchemist had a lot of impact on the boy; he decides to follow his heart
and performs a miracle. He transforms himself into the wind, which proves him that he is
suitable to become an alchemist. Hence, Coelho introduces another factor pertaining to human
thought which is limited and deters from possibilities and change.
In his final destination after a long journey through the desert, finally when he reaches
the site of the Egyptian pyramids and starts digging, but he finds himself surrounded by robbers
and his assets are taken away by them. But when he hears of the robber's dream of a buried
treasure in the sacristy of an abandoned church, he finally comes to understand the true
interpretation of his dream and returns to Andalusia where he finds his treasure buried in the
church under the same tree where he had had the strange dream.
To conclude, it can be said that the reason behind Santiago’s recurring dream is his
suppressed desire to travel the world and to help the dreamer to discover his true potential as a
human being. It contradicts the interpretation of dream given by the Gypsy woman who said
the meaning of Santiago’s dream was to tell about the treasure, which was buried under the
pyramids of Egypt. So, he should follow his dream since dreams are the language of God. The
paper also showed how each expenditure helped in the development of the protagonist’s
personality and at the end he became a true alchemist. The purification process of the metal in
fire can be compared with Santiago’s exploration and expedition through the dreary desert, and
final residual of alchemy, the gold (pure metal) can be compared to Santiago’s self-contented
heart and soul being his treasure, at the end of the story. “The Alchemists spent years in their
laboratories, observing the fire that purified the metals. They spend so much time close to the
fire that gradually they gave up the vanities of the world. They discovered that the purification
of the metals had led to a purification of themselves.” (Coelho 77)
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