The myth of wandering through the quest for self in Le chercheur d'or by Jean Marie Le Clézio

In Le chercheur d'or, the theme of wandering is the cornerstone of a narrative dominated by images and the imaginary. Our work of memory is an attempt to understand Alexis L'étang's quest to find a lost treasure. Le Clézio's description of landscape is an ode to the magnificence of nature. And the myths he draws on help develop the main character's path. The imagery in the narrative lends a depth to the novel that can be perceived through the archetypes that dominate throughout the narrative. The sea, in particular, is the place where the journeys from one island to another take place. Le Clézio offers us an appreciation of inner space through outer space, through a progressive dissociation of two antagonistic yet complementary realities. Myth is the articulator of the narrative in The Gold Digger.