The Slaves of the Padishah · Chapter
XX: The Victim explained
After saving the Princess, Azrael crosses the Danube alone to Margaret Island, where she sets fire to the kiosk and immolates herself.
What happens
After saving the Princess, Azrael crosses the Danube alone to Margaret Island, where she sets fire to the kiosk and immolates herself. Feriz Beg watches the flames from his window, and the next morning finds only ashes. Meanwhile, Yffim Beg arrives at Hassan Pasha's fortress with a message from Transylvania, only to discover Hassan's severed head, presented by Olaj Beg.
Themes in this chapter
Fate and Death
Azrael's self-immolation is a deliberate embrace of death as a release from sin and suffering.
Love and Sacrifice
Azrael's sacrifice saves the Princess and fulfills her promise to Feriz Beg, even at the cost of her own life.
Power and Corruption
Hassan Pasha's brutal end and the political maneuvering of Olaj Beg highlight the corrupting nature of power.
Characters to notice
- Azrael
Sacrifices herself by burning the kiosk, choosing death over a life of sin.
- Feriz Beg
Keeps vigil at his window, watching the fire consume the island, unaware of Azrael's fate.
- Yffim Beg
Arrives at the fortress with a message, only to find Hassan Pasha's severed head.
- Olaj Beg
Reveals Hassan Pasha's head to Yffim Beg, indicating a shift in power.
Key passages
“The Princess was saved, but she who had saved her was doomed.”
Although the Princess escaped, the woman who rescued her was destined to die.
Sets the tone for Azrael's tragic fate.
“Fear not, when you carry me,” Azrael said to him, and her eyes hung upon a star which shone above her head, shining through the tatters of the scurrying clouds.”
Azrael reassured the frightened boatman, her gaze fixed on a star visible through the stormy clouds.
Shows Azrael's calm resolve and spiritual focus.
“But they shall all perish. And if they all perish, if these symbols of sin and the hundredfold more sinful body itself become dust, then surely the soul will remember them no more?”
She believed that if all these reminders of sin and her own body were destroyed, her soul might be freed from the memory of her transgressions.
Reveals Azrael's motivation for self-destruction.
“And then she fired the heaped-up materials at all four corners, and, as if she were ascending her bridal bed, mounted her cushions with a smiling, triumphant face, and lay down among them, closing her eyes with a happy smile.”
She set the pyre alight and lay down on the cushions with a joyful expression, as if going to a wedding bed.
Describes Azrael's serene acceptance of death.
““There he is—speak to him!” said Olaj Beg gently.”
Olaj Beg pointed to the severed head and calmly told Yffim Beg to deliver his message to it.
Highlights the brutal political reality and Olaj Beg's cold demeanor.