Chapter 26: Catherine — Summary, Analysis, and Key Themes

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Catherine remains in Devon on Day 132 of the Plague, unable to leave even though she has no practical reason to stay. She reflects on the death of her infant son Theodore, who died of the Plague shortly after her husband Anthony. Theodore's decline was rapid: his temperature climbed through the night, he fell unconscious the next day, suffered a seizure, and died within twenty-four hours of his first symptoms. Catherine chose not to call an ambulance, believing medical staff would only take her son from her or subject him to futile interventions. She buried Theodore herself in the garden—her first-ever crime—wrapping him in a blanket with a letter, and marked the grave only with planted bulbs, afraid a cross would draw attention and result in his body being removed.

Three days after the burial, Catherine got her period. She had held a faint hope that she might be pregnant with Anthony's child, a girl to replace Theodore. That hope died with her period. She spent four hours alone at the kitchen table with Genevieve's shotgun against her throat, contemplating suicide. The only thing that stopped her was the fear of hell—not because she believed in it, but because she couldn't risk being separated from Anthony and Theodore for eternity if there was any chance they were together in heaven.

Two months pass. The television works but there is no internet. Catherine lives in isolation with only a scrawny cat for company. Then Genevieve calls. The two women weep together on the phone. Genevieve reveals her husband has also died—her fourth husband—and she sounds less devastated than Catherine might expect. Genevieve, in her characteristic practical tone, tells Catherine she needs a project. She reminds Catherine that she is a societal anthropologist specializing in the care of children, and that someone needs to record what is happening.

Catherine resists at first, but the suggestion takes hold. For the last four days, she has structured her days like working days: rising at eight, sitting by Theodore's grave, then working from nine, arranging the hundreds of pages of journals she has written since the crisis began. She plans to return to London soon—she needs the internet for research, and she is running out of food, down to sweet corn and peas.

The chapter ends with Catherine's stark demographic calculation. Around 10 percent of men appear to be immune to the Plague. But that is not enough to sustain the human population. Ten percent of men can conceive only 10 percent of the babies they previously did; half of those will be girls; only 10 percent of that 5 percent will be immune. The numbers don't add up. This may be the end of all of us.

Key Events

Theodore dies of the Plague within 24 hours of showing symptoms
Catherine buries him illegally in the garden, her first crime
Catherine gets her period three days later, extinguishing hope of pregnancy
She contemplates suicide with Genevieve's shotgun but stops herself
Genevieve calls two months later; both women have lost their husbands
Genevieve urges Catherine to use her anthropological training
Catherine begins organizing her journals into a structured record
She plans to return to London for internet and food
She calculates that 10% male immunity is insufficient for population survival

Character Development

Catherine undergoes the most significant transformation in this chapter. She begins paralyzed by grief, unable to leave Devon even though staying serves no practical purpose. Her grief is physical and all-consuming: she replays the days before Theodore's death, wondering if she missed symptoms while arranging a funeral no one attended and driving to Devon. She blames herself for leaving him alone in London while Anthony was dying, and for not letting him sleep in her bed when he cried.

Her decision to bury Theodore illegally marks a turning point—a deliberate break with a lifetime of