Chapter summaries The Margaret Atwood 4-Book Bundle Margaret Atwood

Chapter 27: The Messenger – Summary and Analysis

⚠️ 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

In the frame narrative, the man and woman continue their clandestine meeting. He resumes his story of Sakiel-Norn, describing a sacrificial maiden lying on the Bed of One Night, awaiting the Lord of the Underworld. Meanwhile, a barbarian horde called the People of Joy, led by the Servant of Rejoicing, marches toward the city after receiving a divine messenger’s command to destroy it for its child sacrifices. In the city, a political coup is underway: a blind assassin named X is hired to replace the maiden and stab the king during the sacrifice. The timing, however, has gone awry; X will arrive before the courtier playing the Lord. The story pauses when the woman hears a car door. She looks out the window, sees herself in the mirror, checks her watch, and announces she must leave.

Key Events

  • The man describes the Zycronian sacrifice ritual, including the Bed of One Night and the belief that dead virgins haunt tombs.
  • He introduces the barbarian People of Joy, their leader the Servant of Rejoicing, and their divine mandate to destroy Sakiel-Norn.
  • A messenger in the form of a flame orders the destruction because of child sacrifices; the barbarians consider everyone in a tainted city equally guilty.
  • A palace plot is revealed: high courtiers hire a blind assassin, X, to kill the king during the sacrifice.
  • X is to kill the sentry and the maiden, disguise himself in her veils, and stab the king at the altar.
  • The plotters plan to kill X afterward to eliminate a witness.
  • In the frame, the woman interrupts, looks out the window, and decides to leave, signalling the end of the affair.

Character Development

  • The man (unreliable storyteller): Shows his control over the narrative and his dark imagination. His reaction to her leaving reveals his vulnerability and self-awareness when he says, “Sometimes I’m my own worst enemy.”
  • The woman: Appears increasingly detached from the affair. Her gaze in the mirror and decision to leave suggest she is reclaiming her identity and autonomy.
  • X (the blind assassin): Emphasizes the dehumanizing nature of political violence. His blindness and name (X) highlight his role as a faceless tool.
  • The Servant of Rejoicing: Represents fanatical conviction; his divine visions justify mass slaughter, reflecting the novel’s critique of absolutism.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • Masks and disguise: The Lord of the Underworld is a courtier in disguise; X dresses as a servant then as the maiden. Everyone hides true intentions.
  • The divine messenger: Symbolizes ambiguous, destructive guidance—orders destruction but is interpreted through parable and risk.
  • Collective guilt: The barbarians’ belief that everyone in a tainted city is tainted parallels totalitarian thinking.
  • Blindness and insight: X’s physical blindness allows him to “see through women’s clothing” inwardly, critiquing surface-level perception.
  • Female powerlessness and agency: The maiden has no agency, while the frame woman chooses to leave, contrasting the two.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 27 deepens the embedded science‑fiction narrative’s political intrigue while advancing the frame story toward a decisive moment. The maiden’s helplessness mirrors the woman’s situation in the affair, yet she exercises a choice the maiden cannot. The parallel between the planned coup and the man’s storytelling suggests both are forms of control that ultimately fail. This chapter also reinforces themes of sacrifice, exploitation, and moral hypocrisy that run throughout the novel.

Study Questions and Answers

  1. Why might the man choose “X” as the assassin’s name?
    He states that men like that are always called X because names pin them down. The letter also evokes “X-ray,” suggesting an ability to see through surfaces—a metaphor for the storyteller’s own insight into hidden motives.

  2. What does the woman’s final action reveal about her character?
    She checks her watch, sees her “nude face” in the mirror, and decides to leave. This signifies a shift from passive listener to active decision‑maker, asserting her own life over the man’s story.

  3. How does the divine messenger’s order reflect the novel’s critique of moral absolutism?
    The messenger commands the destruction of everyone in Sakiel-Norn because all are “tainted,” regardless of guilt. This totalizing logic mirrors real‑world ideologies that justify mass violence, a theme Atwood explores throughout the novel.

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