Chapter 45: Red Brocade – 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
The chapter opens with the woman and the man lying together in a hotel room after a bath, drinking whiskey and wrapped in a cherry-coloured silk bedspread. The woman admires the pink towels and the opulent setting. They discuss the tale the man has been telling—the story of the blind assassin and the girl imprisoned to be sacrificed.
The man continues the story: the blind assassin enters the dark room, dragging something heavy. The girl, wrapped in red brocade, cannot speak. The assassin, blind, asks permission to see her with his hands. She nods, and he begins to touch her face and throat, gently. He treats her with respect, unlike the fraudulent Lord of the Underworld who came before. She lets the brocade fall, guides his hand. The narrator comments that touch is the first and last language, always true. The two fall in love.
The woman then interrupts, accusing the man of cynicism—he has previously sneered at love. He defends himself, suggesting the assassin might still have killed her, and that the emotion could be just lust or youthful idealism. The woman insists the love was real. She confronts him, saying that she herself is not nothing to him. The man deflects, but the exchange reveals tension and intimacy between them.
Key Events
| # | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | The woman and man lie in bed after a bath, discussing the man’s story. |
| 2 | The man describes the blind assassin entering the girl’s dark room. |
| 3 | The girl, wrapped in red brocade, cannot speak; the assassin asks to see her with his hands. |
| 4 | A gentle, respectful touch leads to the girl guiding his hand; the narrator declares they fell in love. |
| 5 | The woman challenges the man’s cynical interpretation, and they argue about the nature of love. |
| 6 | The man admits he has nothing to lose; the woman asserts she is not nothing to him. |
Character Development
- The woman: She becomes more assertive, using coarse language to challenge the man’s cynicism. She defends the possibility of genuine love, and directly confronts him about his feelings for her.
- The man: His protective cynicism is shown as a defensive strategy. He admits he has nothing to lose, but the woman’s persistence shakes his detachment.
- The blind assassin: In the inner story, he is portrayed as capable of respect and tenderness, contradicting his violent purpose. He flatters and lies but also offers genuine homage.
- The sacrificial girl: She moves from silent fear to active trust, guiding his hand and letting the brocade fall. She becomes an agent of her own vulnerability.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Touch as primal truth: The narrator asserts that touch precedes speech and always tells the truth. This is the foundation of the blind assassin’s connection with the girl.
- Red brocade: The bedspread and the girl’s covering symbolize both opulence and sacrifice. It carries the dried fear of previous victims, yet is also the site of intimate revelation.
- Love vs. cynicism: The outer couple’s debate mirrors the inner story. The man insists love is a “bourgeois superstition” or a trick of youth, while the woman argues for its reality and value.
- Nothing to lose: Both the blind assassin and the man claim they have nothing left to lose, which paradoxically frees them to act without calculation. The woman challenges this by asserting her own worth.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 45 crystallizes the emotional core of The Blind Assassin. The inner tale of the blind assassin and the girl—a story about impossible love in the face of death—becomes a mirror for the outer relationship. The woman’s demand that the man acknowledge love as real directly reflects her desire for his genuine commitment. The chapter also elevates touch and physical intimacy as carriers of meaning beyond words, a theme that resonates throughout the novel. Furthermore, the man’s admission that he has nothing to lose foreshadows his ultimate fate, while the woman’s stubborn hope points to her refusal to be erased.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does the woman accuse the man of “backing down” from the love story?
The woman sees the man’s cynical remarks—that the blind assassin might have killed the girl anyway, or that their feelings were just lust—as a retreat from the possibility of true love. She wants him to commit to the story’s romantic resolution because it mirrors what she wants from him.
2. How does the motif of “touch” function in this chapter?
Touch is presented as the first and last language, always truthful. The blind assassin’s gentle investigation of the girl’s face and throat bypasses her inability to speak. Her later guiding of his hand shows her trust. The outer couple’s touch—his hand on her, the wrapping in towels—echoes this, suggesting that physical intimacy can communicate what words cannot.
3. What does the man mean when he says, “Like me. I’m the one with nothing to lose”?
He implies that unlike the woman, who has a place in society and things to risk, he lives on the edge with no stake in the future. This aligns him with the blind assassin, who also operated without scruples. Yet the woman’s reply—“But you’ve got me”—challenges that claim, insisting that he does have something to lose: their relationship.
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