“The villages are inhabited by charcoal burners. Life is hard there. Families, crowded together in a climate as harsh in summer as in winter, seethe with conflicting egoisms. Ambitions swell to wild proportions among them, so desperate and unrelenting is the desire to escape.” 

The narrator describes the effect of living in such a desolate, vegetation-free zone on the local populace. To him, a place without natural growth is symbolic of a place without hope, and the few residents who remain there act accordingly, leading empty and desperate lives that often end in homicide or suicide. Moreover, the “charcoal burner” occupation represents the opposite of Bouffier’s work, given that it involves burning trees rather than creating them.

“He thought it must be common land, or perhaps it belonged to people who weren’t interested in it. He wasn’t interested in who they were. And so, with great care, he planted his hundred acorns.”

Bouffier expresses the notion that land and natural resources are common goods that belong to all. Although this idea has found some support in recent years thanks to urgent concerns over climate change and resource depletion, in 1913 and for most of the 20th century land was viewed through the prism of private property rights in the Western world. In addition, the environmental stewardship that Bouffier practices with such focus and vigor was still in its infancy in the early 20th century, making him a pioneer in the field.

“He’d been planting trees in this wilderness for three years. He’d planted a hundred thousand of them. Out of those, twenty thousand had come up. Of the twenty thousand he expected to lose half, because of rodents or the unpredictable ways of Providence. That still meant ten thousand oaks would grow where before there had been nothing.” 

The narrator indicates the immense odds against which Bouffier endeavors to reforest the valley. Yet these odds only render his efforts even more inspiring, as Bouffier continues his work despite the risk of mathematically colossal failure.