The Iron Heel · Chapter
XXII: The Chicago Commune explained
Avis Everhard recounts the Iron Heel's counterplot to provoke a premature revolt in Chicago, where she and other agents-provocateurs are sent to ignite the uprising.
What happens
Avis Everhard recounts the Iron Heel's counterplot to provoke a premature revolt in Chicago, where she and other agents-provocateurs are sent to ignite the uprising. Despite efforts by comrades like Dr. Galvin to warn Chicago, the city is sacrificed. Hartman confides his suspicion that Knowlton is a traitor, a suspicion later confirmed when Knowlton is executed. The chapter details the elaborate revolutionary plan and how the Iron Heel deliberately manufactured the revolt to crush it.
Themes in this chapter
Ideology, Propaganda, and the Control of Thought
The Iron Heel manipulates newspapers and spreads false rumors to create the illusion of a nationwide revolt, controlling the narrative to provoke the Chicago uprising.
Revolution and Personal Sacrifice
Avis and other comrades knowingly walk into a trap; Chicago is deliberately sacrificed to teach a lesson, highlighting the personal and collective costs of revolution.
Corruption of Institutions (Church, State, Labor)
The Iron Heel corrupts the secret services and uses agents-provocateurs to undermine the revolutionary movement from within.
Characters to notice
- Avis Everhard
Narrator and agent-provacateur sent to Chicago; receives orders from an oligarch and tries to warn comrades.
- Hartman
Depressed comrade who suspects Knowlton of treason; warns Avis to watch him.
- Knowlton
Suspected traitor; later executed by comrades in Milwaukee.
- Comrade Galvin
Surgeon-in-chief at Emergency Hospital in New York; already aware of the counterplot and passes word to keep comrades quiet.
- Ernest Everhard
Mentioned as the planner of the First Revolt; last heard in Boston or New Haven.
Key passages
“The fine hand of the Iron Heel was apparent in every column. Glimmerings of weakness in the armor of the Oligarchy were given. Of course, there was nothing definite. It was intended that the reader should feel his way to these glimmerings.”
The Iron Heel's manipulation was obvious in the newspapers, which hinted at Oligarchic weakness without stating anything concrete, guiding readers to infer a false narrative.
Illustrates the theme of propaganda and control of information.
“I flatter myself that I maintained my composure under the keen eye of the oligarch, but my heart was beating madly. I could almost have shrieked and flown at his throat with my naked hands before his final, cold-blooded instructions were given.”
Avis kept her calm outwardly while receiving orders from an oligarch, but inside she was furious and barely restrained herself from attacking him.
Shows the intense emotional strain of working undercover for the enemy.
“Chicago is to be sacrificed, but it shall be Chicago alone.”
Dr. Galvin tells Avis that the Iron Heel has targeted Chicago for destruction, but the rest of the revolution will be preserved.
Highlights the theme of sacrifice and the strategic decision to let one city fall.