Nordenholt’s Million · Chapter
XII: Nuit Blanche explained
The narrator, guided by Glendyne, ventures into a lawless and degenerate London under the full moon.
What happens
The narrator, guided by Glendyne, ventures into a lawless and degenerate London under the full moon. They witness cannibalism, Voodoo rites, a mad alchemist invoking Jahveh, and a pétroleuse setting fires. Lady Angela appears as a feral, blood-splashed figure. The journey reveals the collapse of civilization and the rise of brutal hedonism.
Themes in this chapter
Human Nature and Brutality
The chapter vividly portrays the descent into savagery, with cannibalism, ritual murder, and arson becoming commonplace as moral restraints vanish.
Survival and Catastrophe
The narrator's journey through London illustrates the extreme measures people take to survive, including cannibalism and the formation of armed patrols.
Religion and Fanaticism
The mad alchemist's invocation of Jahveh and the Voodoo priest at Piccadilly Circus show how religious fanaticism fills the void left by collapsed institutions.
Characters to notice
- Glendyne
Acts as the narrator's cynical guide through the ruins of London, explaining the new rules of survival and the absence of law.
- Lady Angela
Encountered in Duchess Street, she appears as a tigress-like figure with torn clothing and blood on her breast, defiantly embracing the saturnalia.
- Flint
The narrator, referred to as Flint by Glendyne, is shocked by the revelation of cannibalism and the moral decay he witnesses.
- Jahveh
A mad alchemist who claims to make gold, invoking Jahveh and offering riches for food, before fleeing to prepare the streets of the new Jerusalem.
Key passages
“Can’t you understand that nothing counts nowadays. There isn’t any law, or order, or public opinion or anything else that might restrain brutes.”
Glendyne explains that all social constraints have dissolved, leaving only brute force as the governing principle.
This encapsulates the theme of human nature and brutality in the absence of civilization.
“There was a new public opinion based on the principle of “Eat, Drink, for tomorrow we die”; and the collective spirit of these crowds urged humanity on to excesses which no single individual would have dared.”
A hedonistic mob mentality has replaced former moral codes, driving people to commit acts they would never attempt alone.
Highlights the transformation of public opinion into a force for depravity.
“Jahveh has laid a great task upon me. I can make gold! Give me food, even the smallest scrap, and you shall be richer than Solomon.”
A deranged man claims divine mission to transmute base materials into gold, offering wealth in exchange for sustenance.
Illustrates the intersection of religious delusion and desperate survival bargaining.