A traditional medieval quest, MacIntyre argues, is not “a search for something already adequately characterized, as miners search for gold or geologists for oil.” Rather, it is through “encountering and coping with the various particular harms, dangers, temptations and distractions” that “the goal of the quest is finally to be understood.” The quest “is always an education . . . in self-knowledge.” It entails a journey that forces the quester to be present in ways he or she might prefer not to be, and it does not necessarily involve triumph—although some part of me had always thought it did.
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