Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

The chapter begins with the narrator having the recurring dream about the glass door, but in greater detail. The narrator finally addresses the shadowy figure who was previously preventing him from opening the door. Doing so, he realizes that the figure is cowering, and is actually afraid of him. The narrator lunges at the figure, choking it and attempting to reveal its face, only to be woken up by Chris before he can open the glass door.

Chris is afraid and crying, and tells the narrator that he has been yelling in his sleep about killing someone, and Chris thought the narrator wanted to kill him. The narrator, rattled, tries to calm Chris down, explaining that it was only a dream. He realizes, however, that the dream signifies that Phaedrus is actually returning, waking up. In the dream, the shadowy figure is actually the narrator—he is the cowardly shadow—and Phaedrus is the angry dreamer trying to reach Chris. Realizing this fully, the narrator accepts this outcome, but feels sorry about it, especially for Chris.