# XXXV explained — Krakatit

> Chapter companion for Krakatit by Karel Čapek.

## What happens

The old Hagen's paralysis worsens, and the Princess, in a state of emotional turmoil, seeks out Prokop in the park. She confesses intimate details of her past, revealing her fears, her romantic history, and her struggle with love and vulnerability. Later, in the laboratory, she is agitated and passionate, seeking refuge in Prokop's presence, even performing a menial act of repentance. The chapter explores her inner conflict between her aristocratic pride and her growing, almost desperate, love for Prokop.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Sacrifice

The Princess's confession reveals her lifelong fear of love and her eventual surrender to it, even as she contemplates a 'terrible' act, showing the sacrificial nature of her passion.

### Identity and Self-Destruction

The Princess's self-analysis and confession highlight her struggle with her own identity, oscillating between her aristocratic persona and her raw, vulnerable self, which she finds both liberating and destructive.

## Character check-ins

### Engineer Prokop

Waits for the Princess in the park, is the recipient of her confessions, and is both disturbed and moved by her self-analysis and passion.

### The Princess

Emotionally volatile, she confesses her past, fears, and desires to Prokop, oscillating between passionate affection and distant preoccupation, and ultimately seeks refuge in his presence.

### Uncle Rohn

Sent for as the old Hagen's condition worsens, and later has a long conversation with the Princess, the content of which she keeps from Prokop.

### Mr. Holz

Present in the park, but completely ignored by the Princess as she rushes to Prokop.

### Mon Oncle Charles

Mentioned as being sent for due to the old Hagen's decline, and the Princess makes hardly any allusion to him.

## Key lines

> Until the last moment I thought that I wouldn’t go to you. Do you know that I am nearly thirty? When I was fifteen I fell terribly in love with our chaplain.

The Princess admits she almost didn't come to Prokop, revealing her age and confessing a childhood infatuation with a chaplain.

_Highlights the Princess's vulnerability and her tendency to confess intimate details._

> I always imagined that love was something vulgar and⁠ ⁠… terribly revolting. You see, I still can’t deal with it; at the same time it frightens me and masters me.

The Princess confesses that she once saw love as vulgar and repulsive, but now it both frightens and overwhelms her.

_Reveals her internal conflict between her past beliefs and her current feelings for Prokop._

> Darling, I shall do something terrible, but you mustn’t leave me. Swear to me, swear to me.

The Princess pleads with Prokop to promise he won't leave her, hinting at a drastic action she plans to take.

_Foreshadows a potential crisis and underscores her desperation._

> Now I’m thoroughly hidden. Nobody can find me, and I’m rough, like the bottom of that chair; an ordinary woman, not thinking about anything, only being soothed.

The Princess expresses contentment in feeling hidden and ordinary, finding peace in her vulnerability with Prokop.

_Shows her desire to escape her royal identity and find solace in simplicity._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/krakatit_se/chapters/xxxv
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/krakatit_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/krakatit_se/chapters