XXXII explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Rebellion and Revolution

  The revolutionary meeting at Clodomir's tavern, where angels plan the conquest of heaven, underscores the theme of rebellion against divine tyranny.

• Human Nature and Folly

  Maurice's mockery of religious figures and Arcade's critique of human language as 'angry or plaintive sounds' highlight human folly and the limitations of mortal understanding.

• Art and Beauty

  Nectaire's flute playing, which compresses cosmic time into a moment of beauty, exemplifies the transformative power of art.

Characters to notice

• Maurice d'Esparvieu

  Convalescing from his wound; mocks Abbé Patouille by claiming his guardian angel has forgotten his catechism; accompanies Arcade and Zita to Clodomir's.

• Arcade

  Drives away Madame de la Verdelière with a crude analogy; enjoys an outing with Maurice and Gilberte; is rebuked by Zita for his dalliance; attends the revolutionary meeting.

• Madame de la Verdelière

  Visits Maurice to solicit a subscription for French churches; leaves in indignation after Arcade's offensive remarks.

• Abbé Patouille

  Visits Maurice to offer counsel and exhort him to return to his family; is met with mockery.

• Gilberte des Aubels

  Accompanies Maurice and Arcade on a drive to the Bois; enjoys a peaceful, innocent outing.

• Zita

  Rebukes Arcade for his idleness and reminds him of the impending revolution; leads him to the meeting at Clodomir's.

• Nectaire

  Attends the meeting; plays his flute, causing a cosmic vision; toasts Dionysus; vanishes afterward.

• Prince Istar

  Present at the meeting at Clodomir's; gives an account of the forces assembled against Ialdabaoth.

Key passages

• “Our churches, she said, our beloved country churches—what is to become of them? Arcade gazed at her angelically and sighed. They will disappear, Madame; they will fall into ruin. And what a pity! I shall be inconsolable. The church amid the villagers’ cottages is like the hen amidst her chickens. Just so! exclaimed Madame de la Verdelière with a delighted smile. It is just like that. And the spires, Madame? Oh, Monsieur, the spires! … Yes, the spires, Madame, that stick up into the skies towards the little Cherubim, like so many syringes.”

  Madame de la Verdelière asks Arcade about the fate of rural churches. Arcade, feigning sorrow, compares a church to a hen among chickens, then crudely likens church spires to syringes aimed at cherubim, shocking her into leaving.

  Arcade uses a vulgar metaphor to drive away a pious visitor, showing his disdain for religious sentiment.

• “Never, said he, have I had such faith. And never have I been in such need of it. Just imagine, Monsieur l’Abbé, I have to teach my guardian angel his catechism all over again, for he has quite forgotten it!”

  Maurice tells Abbé Patouille that his faith is stronger than ever because he must re-educate his guardian angel, who has forgotten Christian doctrine.

  Maurice mocks the Abbé by implying that his angel has become a heretic, subverting the expected confession.

• “A great action, Arcade, is made up of a multitude of small ones; the most majestic whole is composed of a thousand minute details. Let us neglect nothing.”

  Zita advises Arcade that grand achievements require attention to countless small tasks, urging him not to overlook any detail in their revolutionary plans.

  Zita emphasizes pragmatism and thoroughness in the preparation for the rebellion.

• “Hail to thee, Dionysus, greatest of the Gods! cried old Nectaire, raising his glass on high. I drink to thee who wilt restore the Golden Age, and give again to mortal men, who will become heroes as of old, the grapes which the Lesbians used to cull, long since, from the vines of Methymna; who wilt restore the vineyards of Thasus, the white clusters of Lake Mareotis, the storehouses of Falernus, the vines of the Tmolus, and the wine of Phanae, of all wines the king. And the juice thereof shall be divine, and, as in old Silenus’ day, men shall grow drunk with Wisdom and with Love.”

  Nectaire toasts Dionysus, praising the god who will bring back the Golden Age and restore legendary vineyards, so that humanity may become intoxicated with wisdom and love.

  Nectaire invokes pagan mythology as a counterpoint to the Judeo-Christian God, aligning with the revolutionary theme.

• “That flame was a whole universe which fulfilled its destiny in less than a minute. Suns and planets were formed therein. Venus Urania apportioned the orbits of the wandering spheres in those infinite spaces. Beneath the breath of Eros—the first of the gods—plants, animals, and thoughts sprang into being. In the twenty seconds which hurried by betwixt the life and death of those worlds, civilizations were unfolded, and empires sank in long decline. Mothers shed tears, and songs of love, cries of hatred, and sighs of victims rose upward to the silent skies.”

  Nectaire's flute music describes a miniature universe born from a flame, where entire civilizations rise and fall in seconds, mirroring the vast cycles of the cosmos.

  The flute's song compresses cosmic time into a moment, illustrating the relativity of existence and the power of art.