The title The Waste Land is strung on a thread of connection first to Weston's analysis of the Grail tradition and then to Frazer's The Golden Bough. In Weston's words, the physically barren nature of The Waste Land reflects the weakened and unstable condition of the Fisher King. It proves to be more than merely an empty or ruined landscape, but something possessing an almost-sentience. Weston describes the tightly intertwined relationship between the land and the king: when the ruler is wounded sick, or suffering from age, the land becomes infertile. When the hero finds success in his quest, the land becomes fertile once more. Weston references the latest edition of Frazer's The Golden Bough, tracing this nature-human connection back to an older ritual logic in which one singular life force affects humans, animals, and vegetable fertility. Frazer's influence on Weston's analysis is especially significant because the aforementioned ritual logic follows a distinct pattern of death and eventual rebirth through the symbol of a "Vegetation Deity" who dies and is revived. By titling his work The Waste Land, Eliot implies that the modern world is not dissimilar to the mythic Waste Land; both share spiritual and emotional qualities that leave the impression of emotional sterility. Eliot, however, departs from older ritual logic by moving away from a predictable, certain regeneration, introducing the question of whether or not a damaged civilization can ever reach the point of no return.