# XXX: The Procession explained — The Elusive Pimpernel

> Chapter companion for The Elusive Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy.

## What happens

The chapter describes the National Fête in Boulogne on a day in September 1793, celebrating the capture of the Scarlet Pimpernel. The townspeople, relieved from the threat of the guillotine, engage in a raucous, grotesque procession featuring a triumphal car carrying Désirée Candeille as the Goddess of Reason. The festivities contrast with the grim presence of the guillotine and the fearful figures hiding along the ramparts, awaiting the amnesty at seven o'clock.

## Themes in this chapter

### Revolution and Terror

The chapter juxtaposes the joyous, chaotic procession with the looming guillotine and the fear of those hiding, illustrating the terror underlying revolutionary celebrations.

### Deception and Disguise

The masquerade costumes, masks, and the role of Candeille as the Goddess of Reason highlight the theme of disguise and false appearances in the revolutionary context.

## Character check-ins

### Désirée Candeille

Serves as the Goddess of Reason in the procession, reflecting on her role in bringing the Scarlet Pimpernel to France and feeling apprehension amidst the revelry.

### Citizen Chauvelin

Mentioned as having ordered Candeille to participate in the fête and having informed her that the Blakeneys are under arrest.

### Marguerite Blakeney

Thought of by Candeille with sympathy; she is imprisoned as an English spy.

### Sir Percy Blakeney

Recalled by Candeille for his gallant manners; he is also under arrest as an English spy.

## Key lines

> In the cart the goddess reclined on a crimson-draped seat, she, herself, swathed in white, and wearing a gorgeous necklace around her neck.

Désirée Candeille, dressed as the Goddess of Reason, sat in a decorated cart, wearing white and a striking necklace.

_Describes Candeille's appearance in the procession._

> The crowd had turned its back on the guillotine, and the trumpets now changed the inspiriting tune of the 'Marseillaise' to the ribald vulgarity of the 'Ça ira.'

The revelers ignored the guillotine as the music shifted from the patriotic 'Marseillaise' to the crude 'Ça ira.'

_Highlights the shift in mood from revolutionary fervor to crude celebration._

> At seven o'clock, so 'twas said, the cannon would boom from the old Beffroi. The guard would throw open the prison gates, and those who had something or somebody to hide, and those who had a great deal to fear, would be free to go whithersoever they chose.

It was announced that at seven o'clock the cannon would signal the release of prisoners, allowing those in hiding to flee.

_Explains the amnesty promised due to the capture of the Scarlet Pimpernel._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_elusive_pimpernel_se/chapters/xxx-the-procession
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_elusive_pimpernel_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_elusive_pimpernel_se/chapters