The Revolt of the Angels · Chapter
XVI explained
Maurice, frustrated by his failed attempts to find his angel through orthodox means, turns to occultism and consults the seeress Madame Mira.
What happens
Maurice, frustrated by his failed attempts to find his angel through orthodox means, turns to occultism and consults the seeress Madame Mira. He obtains a talisman—a Lucretius volume from the library—which the angel had touched. Meanwhile, Zéphyrine bursts in to report that Michel Guinardon has abandoned her for Octavie. Later, Maurice retrieves the Lucretius from Madame Mira, but the librarian Sariette, distracted by the day's events, inadvertently allows the binder Amédée to take the precious book away, leading to its loss.
Themes in this chapter
Human Nature and Folly
Maurice's irrational jealousy and desperate pursuit of the angel, Sariette's obsessive yet careless guardianship, and Zéphyrine's furious betrayal all illustrate human folly.
Knowledge and Enlightenment
Maurice's turn to occultism and the use of the Lucretius—a symbol of Epicurean philosophy—highlight the search for hidden knowledge.
Characters to notice
- Maurice d'Esparvieu
Desperate to find his angel, he consults Madame Mira and retrieves the Lucretius talisman.
- Monsieur Julien Sariette
The librarian, weakened and anxious, reluctantly lends the Lucretius to Maurice and later loses it to the binder.
- Gilberte des Aubels
Maurice asks her for a talisman; she confesses the angel's indiscretions, sparking Maurice's jealousy.
- Zéphyrine
Bursts into the library in a rage, denouncing Michel Guinardon for abandoning her.
- Madame Mira
The seeress consulted by Maurice; she provides vague revelations but cannot fully help him.
- Léon
The child playing soldiers on the landing, whom Sariette suspects of taking the Lucretius.
Key passages
“Disappointed at his failure to enlighten an ecclesiastic renowned for his clarity of mind, and frustrated in the hope of finding his angel again on the high road of orthodoxy, Maurice took it into his head to resort to occultism and resolved to go and consult a seer.”
Having failed to get help from the church, Maurice decides to try occultism and visit a fortune-teller.
Maurice's shift from orthodox religion to occultism.
“The blows of fate are ineluctable; no man shall evade his doom. There is no counsel, no caution that avails against destiny.”
Fate is unavoidable; no amount of caution can prevent what is destined to happen.
Narrator's reflection on the inevitability of Sariette's loss of the Lucretius.