# IV explained — The Gadfly > Chapter companion for The Gadfly by Ethel Voynich. ## What happens Montanelli's intervention leads to the Gadfly's chains being removed, but the Gadfly is left in a state of nervous and physical collapse. He discovers a file hidden in bread, a sign of an escape plan, but his body begins to fail him with pain and fever. He attempts to file through the bars of his cell but collapses in the courtyard, unconscious. Montanelli is haunted by a nightmare of Arthur and is awakened to news of the failed escape. ## Themes in this chapter ### Suffering and Redemption The Gadfly's physical and mental suffering is depicted in detail, as he struggles with pain and exhaustion while attempting to escape, reflecting a search for relief or redemption. ### Betrayal and Deception The escape plan involves deception through the hidden file in the bread, and the Gadfly's distrust of priestly favours highlights themes of betrayal. ### Identity and Transformation The Gadfly's internal conflict and his refusal to accept help from Montanelli underscore his transformed identity as a revolutionary separate from his past as Arthur. ## Character check-ins ### The Gadfly The Gadfly is in a state of nervous excitement and physical decline, attempting to escape by filing through his cell bars but collapsing from illness. ### Canon Montanelli Montanelli intervenes to have the Gadfly's chains removed, and later suffers a nightmare about Arthur before being informed of the failed escape. ### Martini Martini is mentioned as part of the escape plan, waiting with a smuggler for the Gadfly. ### Gladys Gladys appears in Montanelli's nightmare, associated with a grave and the theme of sacrilege. ### Arthur Burton Arthur appears in Montanelli's nightmare, rising from the sea and claiming ownership of it. ## Key lines > He protested so emphatically against the manner in which the Gadfly had been chained that the unfortunate Governor, who by now was at his wit's end, knocked off all the fetters in the recklessness of despair. Montanelli's strong objections to the Gadfly's chains forced the desperate Governor to remove them all. _Shows Montanelli's influence and the Governor's frustration._ > The meeting with Montanelli had strained his endurance almost to breaking-point; and his final brutality about the variety show had been uttered in sheer desperation, merely to cut short an interview which, in another five minutes, would have ended in tears. The encounter with Montanelli pushed the Gadfly to his limit, and his harsh comment about the variety show was a desperate attempt to end the conversation before he broke down. _Reveals the Gadfly's emotional fragility and his use of cruelty as a defense._ > He had passed, after the vehement emotion of the morning, into a strange, half-apathetic state, in which his own misery was hardly more to him than a dull and mechanical weight, pressing on some wooden thing that had forgotten to be a soul. After the intense emotions of the morning, he became apathetic, feeling his misery as a dull, mechanical weight on a numb soul. _Describes the Gadfly's psychological numbness following emotional strain._ > He looked with disgust at the stale, foul-smelling, half-cold mess, and turned his head away. He was feeling bodily ill as well as depressed; and the sight of the food sickened him. He felt disgusted by the stale, smelly food and turned away, as he was both physically ill and depressed. _Highlights the Gadfly's physical deterioration and revulsion._ > All the conspirator awoke in the Gadfly; he had guessed at once that there was something hidden in the bread. The Gadfly's conspiratorial instincts immediately told him that the bread contained something hidden. _Shows the Gadfly's alertness and experience as a revolutionary._ > He sat down and began to eat some of the bread. It at least did not disgust him like the rest of the prison food, and he must eat something to keep up his strength. He ate some of the bread because it was less disgusting than the other food and he needed strength. _Indicates his practical decision to sustain himself for the escape attempt._ > But he, for his part, would never consent to it. Anything rather than that! If he escaped, it should be his own doing and that of his comrades; he would have no favours from priests. He refused to accept any escape plan involving Montanelli's help, insisting it must be his own and his comrades' work, not a priest's favor. _Reveals the Gadfly's pride and rejection of priestly assistance._ > He started up. No, he had not been asleep; he had been dreaming with open eyes—dreaming of filing, and it was all still to do. There stood the window-bars, untouched, strong and firm as ever. He suddenly realized he had been daydreaming about filing the bars, but they were still intact and untouched. _Shows his mental exhaustion and the daunting task ahead._ > He stood up again and spoke to himself, aloud and distinctly: 'I am not ill; I have no time to be ill. I have those bars to file, and I am not going to be ill.' He stood up and told himself firmly that he was not ill and had no time to be ill, as he had to file the bars. _Demonstrates his determination and denial of his physical condition._ > He filed and filed, and every grating scrape of the iron was as though someone were filing on his body and brain. Each scrape of the file felt like it was cutting into his own body and mind. _Illustrates the intense pain and identification with the task._ > I wonder which will be filed through first,” he said to himself with a little laugh; “I or the bars?” He laughed bitterly, wondering whether he or the bars would break first. _Shows his dark humor and awareness of his failing health._ > He was still filing, though the hand was stiff and swollen and would hardly grasp the tool. No, he dared not stop to rest; if he once put the horrible thing down he should never have the courage to begin again. He continued filing despite his stiff, swollen hand, afraid that stopping would rob him of the courage to continue. _Highlights his relentless willpower and fear of giving up._ > He was in a long, subterranean corridor, a low, vaulted passage that seemed to have no end. It was lighted with glaring lamps and chandeliers; and through its grated roof came the sounds of dancing and laughter and merry music. In his nightmare, he wandered through an endless underground corridor lit by bright lamps, hearing festive sounds from above. _Describes the surreal and oppressive quality of Montanelli's nightmare._ > Oh, for a place to hide and sleep; some little place, were it even a grave! He longed for any place to hide and sleep, even a grave. _Expresses his desperate need for rest and escape from torment._ > Then Arthur rose up from the deep, and cried aloud: 'This sea is mine!' Arthur emerged from the sea and declared it his own. _Arthur's claim in the nightmare symbolizes unresolved conflict and identity._ > Rivarez has all but succeeded in escaping. Rivarez nearly managed to escape. _The Governor's report to Montanelli about the failed escape._ > He was found in the courtyard, right against the little iron gate. When the patrol came in to inspect the courtyard at three o'clock this morning one of the men stumbled over something on the ground; and when they brought the light up they found Rivarez lying across the path unconscious. The patrol found Rivarez unconscious in the courtyard near the iron gate at three in the morning. _Details the discovery of the Gadfly's collapsed state._ > He just half comes to himself from time to time and moans, and He occasionally regains partial consciousness and moans. _Describes the Gadfly's semi-conscious state after his collapse._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_gadfly_se/chapters/part-iii-iv - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_gadfly_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_gadfly_se/chapters