# XXIII explained — The Demi-Gods

> Chapter companion for The Demi-Gods by James Stephens.

## What happens

Patsy Mac Cann recounts a story of how he and Mary were stripped naked by two strange men on the road to Dublin, then retaliated by stealing clothes from a passerby and a woman, leaving them a bursted goose and a black bag as payment. Caeltia hints he knows more about the people involved, but Patsy asks the other storyteller to continue.

## Themes in this chapter

### Freedom and Outlawry

Patsy and Mary's lawless response to being robbed—stripping strangers of their clothes—reflects a survivalist defiance of social norms.

### Nature and Survival

The raw, physical struggle for clothing and dignity in a rural setting underscores the harshness of their existence.

## Character check-ins

### Patsy Mac Cann

Tells a vivid story of being stripped naked by two men and then stealing clothes to cover himself and Mary.

### Mary Mac Cann

Present during the incident, she fought the attackers with a stick and later stripped a woman of her clothes.

### Billy the Music

Listens to Patsy's story and reacts with amusement, making a remark about the sight of Mary naked.

### Caeltia Mac Dea

Smiles and claims to know more about the people involved in Patsy's story, but defers to the ongoing tale.

## Key lines

> Before you could whistle, mister, they had me stripped to the buff, and before you could whistle again they had the girl stripped, and the pair of them were going down the road as hard as ever they could pelt with our clothes under their oxters.

In an instant, the two men had stripped both Patsy and Mary naked and fled with their clothes.

_Highlights the speed and humiliation of the robbery._

> I peeped over the hedge and there was a man coming along the path. He was a nice-looking man with a black bag in his hand and he was walking fast. When he came exactly opposite me I jumped the hedge and I took the clothes off him

Patsy ambushed a passing man and stole his clothes to replace his own.

_Shows Patsy's pragmatic and opportunistic retaliation._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_demi_gods_se/chapters/xxiii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_demi_gods_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_demi_gods_se/chapters