The Iron Heel · Chapter
XXIV: Nightmare explained
Avis Everhard recounts her harrowing experiences during the Chicago Commune, wandering through streets filled with the dead and dying, witnessing the brutal suppression of the revolution, and being reunited with Ernest.
What happens
Avis Everhard recounts her harrowing experiences during the Chicago Commune, wandering through streets filled with the dead and dying, witnessing the brutal suppression of the revolution, and being reunited with Ernest. They escape the city, passing through scenes of devastation and learning of Bishop Morehouse's death, before heading to New York.
Themes in this chapter
Revolution and Personal Sacrifice
Avis and Ernest endure the horrors of the failed revolution, witnessing mass death and the loss of comrades like Bishop Morehouse.
The Dehumanizing Nature of Capitalism
The 'people of the abyss' are depicted as hunted helots, their bodies twisted by labor and their lives treated as expendable by the ruling class.
Love and Loyalty in Adversity
Ernest's tender care for Avis amid the chaos and her weeping for the lost Cause highlight their enduring bond.
Characters to notice
- Avis Everhard
Narrator and protagonist, wandering through the nightmare of the Chicago Commune, exhausted and traumatized.
- Ernest Everhard
Reunites with Avis in Chicago, cares for her, and escorts her out of the city.
- George Milford
Former acquaintance from Pell Street, shot and killed by a soldier in an automobile.
- Bishop Morehouse
Found dead among the casualties in the stockyards district, recognized by Ernest.
- Garthwaite
Mentioned as having not returned to the store where Avis was hiding.
Key passages
“I have faint memories of breaking a window and hiding in some shop to escape a street mob that was pursued by soldiers. Also, a bomb burst near me, once, in some still street, where, look as I would, up and down, I could see no human being.”
Avis recalls hiding in a shop to evade a mob chased by soldiers, and a bomb exploding in an empty street.
Illustrates the chaotic and surreal nature of the street fighting.
“Subjugation meant death, for no quarter was given, and they fought heroically to the last man.”
The revolutionaries were surrounded and killed without mercy, fighting to the end.
Highlights the brutal suppression of the Chicago Commune.
“Ernest sprang out. A familiar pair of shoulders in a cotton shirt and a familiar fringe of white hair had caught his eye. I did not watch him, and it was not until he was back beside me and we were speeding on that he said: 'It was Bishop Morehouse.'”
Ernest recognizes Bishop Morehouse among the dead in the stockyards district.
Marks the death of a key character and the personal cost of the revolution.