What was the purpose of Chapter 1 in the writing life by Annie Dillard

The author's exploration of what it takes and/or means to be a writer begins with what might seem, to some, a rather harsh take on the process. Her comparisons of a piece of writing to a line of words and of the creation of that piece to following the line are both elegant and poetic, and foreshadow further metaphoric exploration of how that line functions in Chapter 7. However, her commentary on what is often (sometimes?) necessary for a writer to do while following that line is almost violent in its implications that the process is painful, all-consuming, and not for the faint of heart. Then one must ask (although the author does not) what of any worth is not? In this context, her comparison between the work of the shoe salesman and the work of the writer is particularly telling. It is the drive, the desire, and commitment to that evocation of meaning and feeling that propels the writer (and perhaps by extension all artists) into a field that no-one in their fully right mind (could? should? would?) reasonably contemplate. For further metaphoric exploration of the writer's drive see Chapter 6, while for further metaphoric consideration of the manifestations of surrendering to that drive, see Chapter 7.