Agency character
Braveheart
Writing & Narrative
Spirituality & Myth
Business & OrganizationsWho is Braveheart in the Agency editorial?
Braveheart is the lone hiker of The Finger and the Moon, the short story that opens Issue.4 of the Agency editorial. She is sitting on a rock at the top of the Andes, observing the moon, when the old monk Shifu arrives. Their conversation ends with his lesson about not mistaking the finger for the moon.
In short
Braveheart is a character of the short story The Finger and the Moon, in Issue.4, where the cast line presents her as a lone hiker. The story has no relation to a film: Braveheart is the name the character gives herself. She tells the monk Shifu: "My friends call me Braveheart." She comes to the top of the Andes every now and then just to gaze at the moon, and she finds the monk's talk confusing. When he points at the moon and asks what she sees, she answers that she sees a finger pointing at the moon. He tells her not to mistake one for the other. Later, Issue.4 says we have been doing precisely what he told Braveheart not to do: staring at the moon.
Key facts
- In which edition does Braveheart appear?
- Only in Issue.4, in the short story The Finger and the Moon, which the edition labels a Zen koan. The cast line presents her as a lone hiker.
- What does Braveheart do in the story?
- She watches the moon from the top of the Andes, talks with the monk Shifu, doubts his words and hears from him the lesson about the finger and the moon.
- How does Issue.4 use Braveheart afterwards?
- Section 4.2 says we have been doing precisely what the monk told Braveheart not to do, which is staring at the moon, and calls the reader back to action.
Who is Braveheart in The Finger and the Moon?
The story lists two characters: Shifu, a Buddhist monk, and Braveheart, a lone hiker. She is the woman the monk finds sitting on a rock while observing the moon. She says she would never expect to meet a monk at the very top of the Andes and introduces herself: "My friends call me Braveheart." The monk calls the name curious and addresses her as daughter and young lady. The edition does not say where the name comes from.
What does Braveheart do in Issue.4?
Braveheart tells Shifu that the place is the most perfect spot on earth and that she comes there every now and then just to gaze at the moon. When he says he comes to feel the weight of the mountain on his feet, she asks where the fun in that is and whether he is trying to bamboozle her. He points to the moon and asks what she sees. She describes a massive, shiny and beautiful moon, and then a finger pointing at it, and admits she is getting confused.
The monk answers that she should not mistake the finger for the moon, and she repeats the sentence as a question. The story stops there with a note that it is to be continued. In section 4.2, the edition returns to her name: it says we have been doing precisely what the monk told Braveheart not to do, staring at the moon, when it is time to act.
Source editions
Where this entry comes from in the Agency editorial.