The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel · Chapter
VI: One Crowded Hour of Glorious Life explained
During the Fraternal Supper, Robespierre appears and confronts the de Serval family after their companion Bertrand escapes.
What happens
During the Fraternal Supper, Robespierre appears and confronts the de Serval family after their companion Bertrand escapes. The crowd demands vengeance, but Robespierre orders them taken to the Commissariat. Citizen Rateau, a giant of a man, then appears on a balcony, hurls two bundles into a brazier, and disappears, only for the crowd to discover the bundles were rags, not the aristos. The mob is left furious and bewildered.
Themes in this chapter
Revolution and Tyranny
Robespierre's commanding presence and the mob's readiness to execute summary justice illustrate the tyrannical power wielded in the name of the people.
Deception and Disguise
Rateau's trick with the rag bundles and the hidden escape of Bertrand highlight the theme of deception as a survival tactic.
Fate and Superstition
The crowd's momentary belief in Rateau as a supernatural wraith reflects the superstitious mindset of the populace.
Characters to notice
- Robespierre
Appears at the Fraternal Supper, confronts the de Serval family, and commands the crowd to let justice take its course.
- Régine de Serval
Crouches with her family in terror, knowing Bertrand is hidden under the table.
- Madame de Serval
Huddles with her children, murmuring prayers for protection.
- Jacques de Serval
Clings to Régine in fear during the confrontation.
- Citizen Rateau
The giant who appears on a balcony, hurls dummy bundles into a brazier, and then vanishes, fooling the crowd.
- Couthon
Accompanies Robespierre and advises patience, warning against hastening the tyrant's hour.
Key passages
““And where is our eloquent orator of a while ago?” the great man asked quietly.”
Robespierre calmly inquired about the whereabouts of the speaker who had defamed him.
Robespierre's question sets the stage for the crowd's terror and the hidden Bertrand.
“Thus perish all conspirators against the liberty of the people, all traitors to its cause, by the hands of the people and for the glory of their chosen!”
Rateau declared that traitors would be destroyed by the people themselves in the name of liberty.
Rateau's proclamation is a dramatic call for mob justice, later revealed to be a ruse.
“The bundles were shapeless indeed. Rags hastily tied together to represent human forms; but rags only!”
The bundles thrown into the brazier were just rags tied to look like bodies, not real people.
The revelation that the bundles were fake underscores the deception and the crowd's humiliation.