The Nature of the Beast

“We have to face the truth of what we’re doing and why […] we’re demanding that a play not be produced not because it contains anything vile, but because we don’t like the man who wrote it.”

Myrna (one of the residents of Three Pines) says this when the community is discussing the ethics of staging the play after they have learned that it was written by a murderer. Myrna hesitates to conflate artists with their work because she fears that doing so could lead to a wider application of censorship and limit freedom of expression.

“Knowledge wasn’t always power. Sometimes it was crippling.”

This quotation occurs when Gamache reflects on the suffering he must endure because he can never forget the graphic details of Fleming’s crimes. Because of his privileged knowledge, Gamache has a unique awareness of the threat that Fleming poses, and this knowledge influences the decisions he makes during the investigation.

“He’d slid out between the bars. In the form of words. John Fleming was out in the world again. He’d come to play.”

The quotation shows Gamache’s suspicions that the play is going to somehow allow Fleming to influence events beyond the prison in which he is held. The quotation foreshadows the role that Fleming will play later in the plot, even though his past actions initially seem unrelated to Laurent’s murder and the discovery of the supergun. The quotation also creates a pun, for Fleming has already “come to play” in the form of his literal play, the presence of which divides the residents of the town. It also reflects Fleming’s malevolent talent for creating chaos and manipulating others, even when he is not physically present.

“Had he turned a little boy’s tragic death into murder, for his own selfish reasons? Had he bullied Jean-Guy into seeing what didn’t exist? Because he was bored? Because he missed being the great Chief Inspector Gamache?”

This quotation occurs when Laurent’s death is initially presumed to be an accident, and Gamache is the only one who suspects foul play. Gamache questions whether his suspicions reflect his strong instincts, or whether they reflect the psychological difficulties involved in transitioning to retirement. The quotation shows that Gamache is self-aware and skeptical about everything, including his own impulses.

“Gamache saw Laurent’s father pack up his home, take all his possessions, and move. To that other world. Where nine-year-old boys were killed. A world where nine-year-old boys were murdered. Armand Gamache was the moving man, the ferryman, who took him there.”

In this passage, Gamache suggests to Al Lepage that Laurent’s death may not have been an accident. The quotation uses vivid imagery and an oblique reference to Greek mythology by characterizing Gamache himself as “the ferryman,” for in Greek mythology, the ferryman Charon takes souls across the River Styx to the land of the dead. In this context, Gamache is a metaphorical “ferryman” who forces Al to confront the reality of not just death, but murder, and accept the fact that his son has been maliciously killed.

“Laurent was not killed by some serial killer, or some errant madman. There was purpose to this.”

This quotation occurs after Laurent’s death has been proven to be murder and the investigation has begun in earnest. Gamache makes this statement to the Three Pines community, explaining his suspicious about the nature of the murder. As he entreats the community for help, his talent for effortless leadership and team-building rises to prominence in the narrative.

“Gerald Bull was a whole other beast. He was beyond any form of control. He’d slipped below the official channels and was into the dark region of arms suppliers.”

Sean Delorme (one of the CSIS agents) makes this statement when he explains Gerald Bull’s true nature. By referring to Bull as a “beast,” the author employs heavy-handed symbolism that recurs throughout the novel and echoes the imagery inherent in the title itself. In fact, the narrative often alludes to the motif of beasts, particularly in reference to the Beast of Babylon and a variety of puns on the engineer’s name.

“Was Gerald Bull smart enough to design the Supergun? Or was he just the salesman? Was there another genius at work we don’t know about?”

Gamache makes this statement to Professor Rosenblatt when he deduces a key aspect of the mystery: the fact that Bull wasn’t working alone and was not responsible for designing the supergun. Once he arrives at this realization, Gamache is closer to solving the mystery, but this quotation also marks a moment in which the plot becomes significantly more complex.

“There wasn’t just a wound where Laurent had once been. This was a vacuum, into which everything tumbled. A great gaping black hole that sucked all the light, all the matter, all that mattered into it.”

This quotation occurs when Clara meets to console Evie Lepage, Laurent’s mother. Because Clara is grieving the loss of her husband, she quickly realizes that the loss of a child is another very specific type of pain. The quotation therefore uses the powerful metaphor of a black hole to describe Evie’s terrible sense of loss and grief and to convey the widespread impact of a young child’s tragic death.

“Creations are creatures, and they have lives of their own. That play is Fleming, and Fleming is a murderer.”

Ruth makes this statement when she insists that both murders can be traced back to Fleming’s evil influence. Ruth’s comment initially confuses others, because Fleming is in prison and cannot have killed either Laurent or Antoinette. Because Ruth has actually encountered Fleming and has been haunted by him ever since, she sees all the dark events unfolding in Three Pines as being attributable to Fleming’s corruptive influence.

“He was myopic. Shortsighted. He only saw the challenge, the scheme. He didn’t look beyond that, to what his plans would actually do.”

Rosenblatt makes this assertion as he explains his perception of Guillaume Couture, the man who really designed the supergun. Couture was not actively malicious, for he designed the gun as an intellectual challenge. However, he failed to account for the moral context of his actions. The quotation reflects the novel’s overall exploration of moral responsibility.

“The Whore of Babylon had been here, and then moved on. Leaving behind a graveyard of giant severed limbs.”

This quotation describes the moment in which Gamache explores the woods near Highwater and discovers another site at which a different supergun was assembled. The quotation uses visceral imagery and grimly poetic language to evoke the sense of horror that Gamache feels when he realizes that more than one gun has been assembled. By comparing the stray parts to severed limbs, the passage evokes the gun’s connection to violence and destruction.

“We now know Al Lepage’s capable of killing a child.”

Jean-Guy Beauvoir makes this statement after the police investigators realize that Al Lepage served with the US Army and participated in horrific war crimes, including killing unarmed civilians. Al has already been a significant suspect in Laurent’s death, and the information about his past makes him even more suspicious. The quotation is also an example of a red herring (a false or misleading clue) because Beauvoir and Gamache begin to focus on Al Lepage, who is not the actual killer.

“In his line of sight, forming a tableau, were the firing mechanism, the Son My Massacre, John Fleming’s play, and the words on the computer: ‘and what rough beast, its hour come round at last, / Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?’”

This quotation marks a pivotal moment in which Gamache finally understands how the intricate and confusing aspects of the plot all fit together. The plots around the supergun, Al Lepage, and John Fleming converge, confirming Gamache’s suspicion that these events are all connected. The quotation heightens the suspense in the final portion of the novel, because the author reveals that Gamache has gained new clarity about the case; however, the conclusions he has reached are not yet fully revealed.

“That sounded like the end of the story, but Gamache knew it was really just the beginning. They weren’t even at the end now, thirty years later. But he had a feeling they were approaching it.”

This quotation occurs as Gamache listens to Rosenblatt describe how work on Project Babylon seemingly concluded after a failed test. Most of the plot is driven by past events that come back to create dangers in the present, and the quotation shows that the past cannot be considered to be finished, especially when it was marked by secrets, lies, and deception.

“I saw the drawings in Laurent’s room, of the lambs […] the same hand did both. It’s unmistakable.”

Clara makes this statement when she provides information that significantly advances the plot and deepens the mysteries with the revelation that Al Lepage was involved in the supergun project. Clara is the only one who can contribute this information because she visits Evie Lepage and recognizes that the sketches of the lamb match the style of the artist who did the engraving on the gun.

“It came out of her like a blast furnace and she began pounding his chest, no longer making words but just sounds. Howling.”

This quotation describes the moment in which Evie Lepage learns that her husband has been lying to her for years. This betrayal is particularly brutal because it comes so soon after the loss of their son. The quotation shows the terrible impact of secrets and lies, especially because such secrets never vanish entirely and continue to have the capacity to hurt people.

“Armand Gamache sat in the sterile room and smelled old garden roses in summer, and heard laughter on the village green. He tasted strong café au lait, and felt the fresh morning mist on his face.”

This quotation describes Gamache’s efforts to stay calm while he meets with John Fleming in prison. In order to avoid becoming manipulated by Fleming’s aura of evil, Gamache evokes vivid, sensual imagery of his happy and peaceful life in Three Pines. The story shows Gamache’s ability to stay calm under pressure and demonstrates that the community of Three Pines helps him to feel safe and grounded.

“You think I don’t know he was probably lying, and even if he does know where the plans are, he almost certainly won’t tell us? I know that.”

Gamache makes this assertion to Jean-Guy after the younger man criticizes Gamache’s desperate plan to bring Fleming to Three Pines in hopes that Fleming will locate the plans for the supergun. Gamache shows his emotion and his fear, admitting that he knows the plan will likely fail. The quotation shows that Gamache is also now willing to try anything to solve the case.

“She was a coward. She’d have turned in the Jews hiding in her attic. She’d have named names to McCarthy. She’d have pointed out heretics to the Inquisition, to avoid the flames and save herself.”

This quotation uses multiple historical allusions to describe the deep shame that Ruth feels when she reflects on her choice to send John Fleming to see Al Lepage. Ruth thinks about important historical events (the Holocaust, the Communist witch-hunts, and the Spanish Inquisition) in which individuals often sacrificed others in order to protect themselves or were forced to choose between prioritizing their own security and combating injustice. The quotation therefore develops the novel’s theme of Compromises for the Greater Good.

“All they heard now was the shriek. And then it descended into a growl. Some rough beast.”

This quotation describes Gamache and his colleagues as they listen to the sounds made by a deeply frustrated John Fleming. Fleming erupts into rage when he realizes that Adam Cohen is turning around and returning him to the maximum-security prison. Because they are on the phone with Cohen, Gamache and his colleagues can hear the terrible, inhuman sounds that Fleming is making. The quotation confirms that Fleming is evil and dangerous and confirms the analogy between him and the mythical Beast of Babylon.

“The man who’d searched, like a pirate for treasure, like a leech for someone else’s blood, for decades. And when he’d finally found Project Babylon, all it brought was death.”

This quotation describes the moment in which Jean-Guy and Gamache finally catch the murderer responsible for killing Laurent and Antoinette. Before revealing that the murderer is Brian Fitzgerald, they summarize his motive: his obsession with finding the supergun, which preceded his relationship with Antoinette. This quotation marks the climax of the plot and the resolution of the mystery, since Gamache has now accosted the murderer and identified the motive for the crimes.

“He’d said his name. Monsieur Gamache. And John Fleming, in the backseat, would have heard.”

This quotation represents one of the loose ends that is left unresolved at the end of the novel. Adam Cohen admits that he accidentally revealed to Fleming that Gamache was the one to offer him a tantalizing taste of freedom and then take it back. While Fleming has been sent back to prison and peace seems to be restored, this detail adds a foreboding element to the novel’s conclusion.