The Informer · Chapter
XV explained
After Gypo's escape, Commandant Gallagher panics and organizes a manhunt.
What happens
After Gypo's escape, Commandant Gallagher panics and organizes a manhunt. He then has a tense, emotional conversation with Mary McPhillip, revealing his inner turmoil, his reliance on fear to command, and his philosophical musings on death and danger. Their intimate moment is overshadowed by Gallagher's obsessive focus on the threat Gypo poses.
Themes in this chapter
Guilt and Paranoia
Gallagher's terror and frantic orders after Gypo's escape, and his later confession of fear, highlight the pervasive paranoia within the organization.
Loyalty and Comradeship
Gallagher's cynical view that fear, not love, drives his men's loyalty, and his manipulation of Mary's devotion, underscore the theme.
Fate and Inevitability
Gallagher's meditation on death as a 'second stage of birth' and his sense of waiting for an unknown outcome reflect a fatalistic outlook.
Characters to notice
- Commandant Dan Gallagher
Panics after Gypo's escape, organizes pursuit, then reveals his vulnerability and philosophical reflections to Mary.
- Mary McPhillip
Screams during the escape, clings to Gallagher, and later shares an intimate but troubled conversation with him.
- Bartly Mulholland
Rushes in to report the escape, is grabbed by Gallagher, and is ordered to lead the pursuit.
- Dart Flynn
Is carried down with a broken jaw after the escape attempt.
- Comrade Hackett
Appears at the top of the stairs, panting, after the escape.
- Tommy Connor
Leaps down the stairs to report no sight of Gypo and assists with Mary.
Key passages
“Comrades, our lives are at stake. What's more, the Organization is in danger. The cause is in danger. Comrades—that—man—must—be—found. That man must be found if it costs a hundred men.”
Gallagher tells his men that their lives, the organization, and the cause are all at risk, and that Gypo must be captured at any cost.
Gallagher's rallying cry emphasizes the existential threat Gypo poses to the revolutionary movement.
“It's waiting like this that's hard. I don't mind dying. It's not that I mind. It's waiting without a chance of knowing what's going to happen.”
Gallagher confesses that the uncertainty of waiting is more difficult than the prospect of death itself.
Reveals Gallagher's psychological strain and his philosophical struggle with uncertainty.
“If the boys knew that I get the wind up now and again, they wouldn't be afraid of me. And then. … He drew his hand across his windpipe.”
Gallagher admits that if his men knew he sometimes panics, they would no longer fear him, and that fear is what keeps him safe.
Highlights Gallagher's reliance on a fearsome reputation to maintain control.