Perspective

"My Journey to Lhasa" is a first-person account of David-Neel's secret journey into the interior of Tibet, told from her own personal experience. Her primary perspective is as an educated western explorer describing a largely unknown Asian culture and geographical region to a western readership.

David-Neel has a profound respect for Tibet and its people and has devoted much of her life in studying Tibetan culture and observing Tibetan Buddhism. Required to live among the Tibetans and pass for one of them during her journey, David-Neel is able to observe the culture very closely and describe it vividly for western readers.

David-Neel intentionally avoids bringing a political perspective to her narrative, claiming she wants nothing to do with politics. She cannot avoid the subject completely, however, since it is the political situation that requires her to hide from the Tibetan government officials. She also does not hesitate to...