# XXII: Bulika explained — Lilith > Chapter companion for Lilith by George MacDonald. ## What happens Mr. Vane, lost and impatient, follows a stream of what seems like blood but turns out to be water, which guides him to the ancient city of Bulika. He observes the city's desolation, its unfriendly inhabitants, and the absence of children. After being harassed and fleeing, he returns at night and witnesses a strange procession: a shadow-like man followed by a gleaming leopardess. Vane is determined to understand the woman he revived and to protect the Little Ones from her. ## Themes in this chapter ### Illusion and Reality The stream that appears as blood but is water, and the shadow-man who casts no shadow, blur the boundaries between appearance and truth. ### Power and Corruption Bulika's society is corrupt, with laws that tax deformity and sickness, and the princess's rule is heartily approved for making poverty serve wealth. ### Innocence and Growth Vane's concern for the Little Ones highlights the theme of protecting innocence from corrupting forces. ## Character check-ins ### Mr. Vane Vane arrives at Bulika, observes its hostile inhabitants, and resolves to investigate the woman he revived and protect the Little Ones. ### Lilith Referenced as the woman Vane brought to life; he suspects her of evil and fears for the Little Ones. ### The Little Ones Vane is concerned for their safety, believing Lilith is their enemy. ### The Shadow A shadow-like figure seen in Bulika, followed by a leopardess; Vane observes it with unease. ## Key lines > I had lost all notion of my position, and was walking about in pure, helpless impatience, when suddenly I found myself in the path of the leopardess, wading in the blood from her paw. Vane, completely disoriented and frustrated, unexpectedly steps into a stream that appears to be blood from a leopardess's paw. _Highlights Vane's confusion and the surreal nature of the world._ > I must see, if but once more, the woman I had brought to life! I did not desire her society: she had waked in me frightful suspicions; and friendship, not to say love, was wildly impossible between us! Vane feels compelled to confront the woman he revived, despite his deep suspicions and the impossibility of any positive relationship. _Reveals Vane's internal conflict and motivation for entering Bulika._ > I had reinstated an evil force about to perish, and was, to the extent of my opposing faculty, accountable for what mischief might ensue! Vane believes he has revived an evil being and feels responsible for any harm she may cause. _Emphasizes Vane's sense of guilt and moral duty._ > to the citizens of Bulika, as to house-dogs, poverty was an offence! Deformity and sickness were taxed; and no legislation of their princess was more heartily approved of than what tended to make poverty subserve wealth. In Bulika, poverty is treated as a crime, and the princess's laws are designed to exploit the poor for the benefit of the rich. _Critique of the city's corrupt social system._ > Over his shoulder, every other moment, he glanced at the animal behind him, but neither spoke to it, nor attempted to drive it away. At a place where he had to cross a patch of moonlight, I saw that he cast no shadow, and was himself but a flat superficial shadow, of two dimensions. A man walks through the city followed by a leopardess, glancing back but not interacting; Vane notices the man casts no shadow and appears two-dimensional. _Introduces the eerie shadow figure and the leopardess, deepening the mystery._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/lilith_se/chapters/xxii-bulika - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/lilith_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/lilith_se/chapters