De Botton proposes that merely looking at the real landscape incites boredom and a lack of interest. By metaphorically comparing journeys as “the midwives of thought,” de Botton emphasizes how new thoughts and perspectives create imagined landscapes which gives contentment and allows individuals to become both physically and mentally engaged with the landscape. His personification of his mind and body as ‘temperamental accomplices’ who could not appreciate the values in the landscape suggests how the pleasure individuals derive from travel is perhaps more reliant on the mindset than the destination. De Botton utilises Edward Hopper’s paintings to explore how people travel landscapes prescribed with emotions and morals in order to “reflect upon our lives” and overcome the feelings these landscapes represent. Similarly to the guide, William Wordsworth, de Botton indicates the effect of landscapes to nurture the soul and heal individuals from the restrictions of
De Botton proposes that merely looking at the real landscape incites boredom and a lack of interest. By metaphorically comparing journeys as “the midwives of thought,” de Botton emphasizes how new thoughts and perspectives create imagined landscapes which gives contentment and allows individuals to become both physically and mentally engaged with the landscape. His personification of his mind and body as ‘temperamental accomplices’ who could not appreciate the values in the landscape suggests how the pleasure individuals derive from travel is perhaps more reliant on the mindset than the destination. De Botton utilises Edward Hopper’s paintings to explore how people travel landscapes prescribed with emotions and morals in order to “reflect upon our lives” and overcome the feelings these landscapes represent. Similarly to the guide, William Wordsworth, de Botton indicates the effect of landscapes to nurture the soul and heal individuals from the restrictions of