ABSTRACT
The distinction between historical or external time and psychological time can be considered one of the fundamental insights of Western philosophy and literature. It traces back (at least) to Augustine’s thesis that the individual’s mind is not well attuned to historical time but does have the potential to reflect Divine eternity. Studies of premodern travel narratives reveal that emotionality and temporality are, in fact, curiously interrelated. So timelessness highlights emotion, emotion highlights timelessness and through their interconnectivity they mark a cultural alterity which ultimately cannot be easily integrated into Alexander’s life. So again, an apparent timelessness while travelling is related to emotionality; only this time, it works the other way around. The experience of love remains untouched by the timelessness of adventure and travelling.
