Chapter 43: 39. Notes – Summary and Analysis

[!WARNING] This page contains spoilers for Oathbringer Chapter 43 and earlier chapters. If you haven't read that far, proceed with caution.

Summary

In the shadow of Urithiru’s basement, Dalinar gathers his core Radiants—Jasnah, Kaladin, Shallan, Renarin, and Navani—to plot against the Voidbringers. Kaladin voices the grim reality: the Heralds are tortured traitors, the Fused are immortal, and the Almighty is dead. The discussion quickly splinters between Jasnah’s hard logic and Kaladin’s compassion for the common parshmen. Jasnah pushes for an all‑out military campaign and then drops a shocking proposal: locate the Heralds and kill them to see if the Oathpact can still imprison the Fused. Dalinar steers the conversation back to practical steps—retaking Alethkar via the Kholinar Oathgate—but agrees to plan for finding the Heralds.

Shallan, supposed to take notes, spends most of the meeting sketching Kaladin and growing distracted. After a tense break, Jasnah privately chastises her ward for neglecting her duties, keeping secrets, and behaving like a half‑interested pupil. Shallan feels the sting but cannot bring herself to reveal her Ghostblood dealings. As the meeting concludes, Pattern murmurs that the room “has memories,” a hint Jasnah vows to investigate. Returning to her quarters, Shallan finds a note from the Ghostbloods pinned to Veil’s coat, declaring her reward: the truth that her brother Nan Helaran was an acolyte of the Skybreakers, a Radiant order.

Key Events

  • Dalinar’s war council debates the true nature of the enemy—immortal Fused, broken Heralds, and unwilling parshmen foot soldiers.
  • Jasnah proposes killing the Heralds to force them back to Damnation, renewing the Oathpact.
  • A strike mission to infiltrate Kholinar and open the Oathgate is planned, led by Kaladin, with Adolin and Elhokar.
  • Jasnah reprimands Shallan for doodling instead of taking minutes, warning that the wardship is not over.
  • Pattern senses that the tower basement holds memories worth investigating in Shadesmar.
  • Shallan discovers a Ghostblood message rewarding her for confronting the Unmade—the note reveals her brother Helaran’s Skybreaker affiliation.

Character Development

Shallan continues to fracture internally. She resents Jasnah’s authority yet craves approval, and she hides behind Veil to escape scholarly obligations. Her attraction to Kaladin surfaces in her sketch, but she smothers those feelings just as she smothers the truth about Helaran’s death. The Ghostbloods’ reward deepens her conflict, offering painful family history that she has long avoided.

Jasnah operates with brutal pragmatism. She advocates killing Heralds without flinching, dismisses Kaladin’s sentimentality, and treats Shallan with a blend of affection and exasperation. Her insistence on note‑taking and scholarship underscores her belief that knowledge is a tool as vital as any Shardblade, and her authority over Shallan remains absolute until the ward proves herself.

Kaladin emerges as the group’s moral anchor. He refuses to dehumanize the parshmen and challenges Dalinar’s justifications for war. His willingness to speak bluntly to the Blackthorn shows how much his Ideals have reshaped his perception of duty.

Dalinar balances the competing voices with weary leadership. He tempers Jasnah’s proposals, promises to pursue negotiation after security is restored, and absorbs Kaladin’s rebuke without anger—a sign of the man he has become.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • The Cost of Immortality: The Fused’s endless rebirth and the Heralds’ torture raise questions about eternal conflict and what must be sacrificed to end it.
  • Duty vs. Personal Feeling: Shallan’s note‑taking failure, her sketch of Kaladin, and her hidden Ghostblood ties contrast formal obligation with private desire.
  • Truth and Secrets: The Ghostbloods’ letter, Jasnah’s demand for honesty, and Pattern’s “memories” all underscore that hidden truths are lurking everywhere, from family history to the tower itself.
  • Perception of the Enemy: Kaladin’s insistence that parshmen are not monsters clashes with Jasnah’s view of an implacable, extinction‑driven foe, framing the war’s moral ambiguity.

Why This Chapter Matters

“Notes” is a pivot point that connects multiple storylines. Jasnah’s plan to kill the Heralds plants a seed that will echo throughout the campaign against Odium. The Ghostbloods’ delivery of Helaran’s past ignites a central mystery for Shallan, linking her brother to the Skybreakers and the Radiant orders—a revelation that will force her to confront what she has suppressed. The chapter also establishes the logistics for the Kholinar infiltration, the idea of hunting Heralds, and Pattern’s cryptic observation about the basement, which foreshadows Shadesmar exploration. Finally, the character dynamics—especially the Jasnah‑Shallan tension and Kaladin’s moral stance—set the emotional and ethical stakes for the battles to come.

Study Questions and Answers

  1. Why does Jasnah suggest killing the Heralds, and how does her reasoning reflect her philosophy?
    Jasnah operates on logic and results. The Stormfather revealed that the Heralds’ torture in Damnation once prevented the Voidbringers from returning. She reasons that, even if the pact is weakened, executing a Herald might still trap the Fused. To her, sacrificing a few tortured beings to protect all humankind is the rational choice—showing her willingness to do whatever is necessary, regardless of emotional cost.

  2. How does Shallan’s behavior during the meeting mirror her larger internal conflict?
    Shallan avoids genuine engagement, sketching Kaladin instead of taking notes, yet she craves Jasnah’s approval. This mirrors her habit of creating personas (like Veil) to dodge difficult truths. She resents being treated as a child but acts like one, highlighting the gap between the capable Radiant she wants to be and the frightened young woman she still is.

  3. What significance does the Ghostbloods’ message about Helaran have for Shallan’s future?
    The note reveals that her brother was an acolyte of the Skybreakers, a Radiant order. This connects Helaran’s death—both his murder at Kaladin’s hands and his earlier disappearance—to the larger secret war among Radiants and factions like the Ghostbloods. For Shallan, it forces her to stop hiding from her family’s past and pushes her deeper into the Ghostbloods’ web, making her eventual reckoning with Veil and her own identity unavoidable.

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