Hypatia · Chapter
XXIX: Nemesis explained
Philammon waits outside Hypatia's lecture room, having been warned by Raphael of a plot against her.
What happens
Philammon waits outside Hypatia's lecture room, having been warned by Raphael of a plot against her. When Hypatia emerges, he tries to warn her, but she accuses him of being an accomplice of witches. A mob seizes her and drags her to the Caesareum. Philammon later goes to Pelagia's tower to rescue her, but she refuses to leave her lover Wulf. A struggle ensues between Philammon and Wulf, and both fall from the tower. Philammon survives, and later meets Raphael, who tells him to flee the city. Philammon resolves to return to the desert, but first attempts to find Pelagia, only to be blocked by Miriam.
Themes in this chapter
Innocence and Disillusionment
Philammon's naive hopes are shattered as he witnesses the mob's violence and the failure of his attempts to save those he loves.
Religious Conflict
The mob's attack on Hypatia and the cry against 'Arian Goths' highlight the deadly sectarian strife of the era.
Love and Redemption
Pelagia's choice to stay with Wulf, despite the threat of damnation, underscores the power of love over religious fear.
Characters to notice
- Philammon
Desperate to warn Hypatia, then to rescue Pelagia, but fails in both; survives the fall and is told to flee.
- Hypatia
Accuses Philammon of treachery and is seized by the mob, dragged to the Caesareum.
- Raphael Aben-Ezra
Warns Philammon and later commands him to flee; seeks Miriam's lodging.
- Pelagia
Refuses to leave Wulf, choosing love over salvation; watches the fatal struggle.
- Miriam
Blocks Philammon's path to Pelagia, revealing her past as a nun and her determination to protect the girl.
- Wulf
Fights Philammon and falls with him from the tower.
Key passages
“Stop! Stay! You are going to destruction!”
Philammon desperately warns Hypatia that she is walking into a trap.
His warning is ignored, and she is seized moments later.
“I have thought of them this day: and I do not believe you! No—I do not! God is not so cruel as you say!”
Pelagia rejects Philammon's warnings of hell, trusting in a more merciful God.
She chooses love over fear of damnation.
“Arise, and flee for your life into the farthest corner of the desert, ere the doom of Sodom and Gomorrha fall upon this accursed city.”
Raphael urges Philammon to escape the city before divine judgment destroys it.
Raphael speaks with the authority of one who has seen the worst.