Chapter 147 Summary: Zenia’s Memorial and Tony’s Hidden Thoughts
⚠️ 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
While boiling eggs, Tony thinks about Zenia—a woman who, even dead, occupies her mind more than when alive. Zenia died in a terrorist bombing in Lebanon; her memorial service took place four and a half years earlier on a wet March day. Tony attended with friends Roz and Charis. The service was held at a tacky funeral chapel; a lawyer read a tribute praising Zenia’s courage, though Tony doubted both the description and the circumstances of her death. Few people came—mostly men who avoided the front row. Neither Roz’s ex-husband Mitch nor Charis’s former partner Billy was there (Tony had never met Billy). Afterwards, Zenia’s ashes were buried under a mulberry tree at Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Roz joked about training dogs to urinate on the tree, while Charis defended it. Tony reflects on ancient burial customs: the need to appease the dead with blood and sacrifice, feeling that flowers alone would not keep Zenia’s spirit at rest. She never told West about the service; they have an unspoken agreement not to mention Zenia. Now, over breakfast, Tony serves eggs in French eggcups shaped like chickens—souvenirs from a battlefield where Marius massacred the Teutones. She hides from West her fascination with such grim history, as he prefers to see her as kind and forgiving. She plans a lunch with Roz and Charis but does not mention it to West, knowing he dislikes them.
Key Events
- Tony boils eggs and thinks about Zenia, whose death she still struggles to believe.
- She recalls the memorial service: a small gathering, a lawyer’s tribute, and the burial of ashes under a mulberry tree.
- Roz and Charis react differently: Roz makes dark jokes; Charis insists on the tree’s innocence.
- Tony reflects on ancient funerary practices, wishing she had offered a bowl of blood to appease Zenia’s spirit.
- At breakfast, West (her husband, formerly named Stewart) eats his egg contentedly; Tony keeps her historical thoughts private.
- She prepares for lunch with Roz and Charis but hides the plan from West.
Character Development
- Tony: Reveals her ongoing obsession with Zenia and her darker, almost superstitious side. She appreciates directness in French cuisine but hides her grim historical knowledge from West to maintain his image of her as gentle.
- Zenia (posthumous): Even dead, she exerts control over Tony’s thoughts. The memorial service shows how little anyone truly knew her; the lawyer’s platitudes ring hollow.
- Roz: Maintains a cynical, vengeful attitude toward Zenia, wanting to defile her grave symbolically.
- Charis: Seeks peace and forgiveness, insisting on seeing Zenia as a fellow human being.
- West: Portrayed as gentle, childlike, and easy to please, but also fragile—Tony feels the need to protect him from her own complexities.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs Evidenced Here
- Appeasement of the dead: Tony’s thoughts about ancient sacrifices mirror her fear that Zenia’s spirit remains restless and dangerous.
- Hidden knowledge: Tony keeps her fascination with battlefields and her darker reflections secret from West, highlighting the gap between how she is perceived and who she is.
- Domestic routine as a shield: The breakfast scene with bright colours and loving gestures contrasts with Tony’s internal turmoil about Zenia.
- History and storytelling: The battle of Aquae Sextiae and the Teutones serve as a parallel to the personal “war” with Zenia—both involve deception, mass death, and a need to remember correctly.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter deepens Tony’s character by showing how Zenia’s shadow persists years after her death. It establishes the memorial service’s details and the unresolved feelings among the three women. Tony’s reluctance to share her true thoughts with West adds complexity to their marriage and demonstrates how trauma can create private worlds. The historical analogies connect personal grudges to larger human patterns of vengeance and appeasement.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Tony think about Zenia more often now that Zenia is dead?
Tony finds Zenia less threatening as a dead person; she no longer has to push the thoughts away. Yet she still half expects Zenia to reappear, suggesting that Zenia’s “malignant vitality” has not fully dissipated.
2. How do Roz and Charis react differently to Zenia’s memorial service?
Roz responds with cynical jokes—wanting to train dogs to urinate on the tree—while Charis insists the tree is innocent and that Zenia was a fellow human being deserving of peace. Tony remains skeptical, focusing on the need for appeasement.
3. What does Tony’s silence about the memorial service and her eggcup story reveal about her relationship with West?
Tony deliberately withholds information to maintain West’s idealized image of her as kind and forgiving. She believes he would be upset by her darker historical interests and her unresolved feelings about Zenia, showing a protective yet isolating dynamic in their marriage.