Chapter summaries The Margaret Atwood 4-Book Bundle Margaret Atwood

Chapter 48: The Janitor – 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 janitor pulling the woman inside a dark landing. They embrace, and he explains he had to leave in a hurry, abandoning a razor among other things. He leads her down narrow stairs to a basement room with a coal-dust smell, which he calls the janitor’s room. He is now posing as the janitor; the landlord has checked on him a few times. The bed is poor, the door lacks a lock, and they prop a broken chair against it. Under a mildewed blanket, she feels his ribs and worries about his health. He brusquely dismisses her concern.

The narrative then shifts to the story-within-the-story (the blind assassin’s tale). The blind assassin, having earlier decided whether to cut the mute girl’s throat or love her forever, hears the approach of the Lord of the Underworld. He hides the girl behind the door, arranges a dead sentry on the bed, and pulls the curtains nearly shut. When the costumed lord enters and fumbles with the bed, the assassin and the girl creep out into the hall. As they run, he extinguishes torches. They use a hidden marble panel (depicting the Broken God) to enter a secret tunnel network. They then descend a cramped staircase and crawl through a disused culvert, emerging into fresh air.

The assassin considers options: ditching the girl, hiding, or fleeing to the assassins’ den—but he knows the den is for blind assassins only, and he has betrayed his guild by saving her. To escape the locked city of Sakiel-Norn, he leads her to the main canal that flows out through an arched tunnel. They strip, bind their clothes into a bundle, and plunge into the cold water. Struggling to hold his breath, the assassin pulls her through the tunnel. On the other side, they float downstream and land on an embankment. Exhausted but elated, he feels a strange happiness at having shown mercy for the first time. They hang their clothes on a tree and make love in the fading moonlight.

After falling asleep, they are discovered by three spies of the People of Desolation. The spies, assuming the blind boy and mute girl are divine messengers (since the city gates were locked), take them to be presented to the Servant of Rejoicing. The assassin quickly concocts a story: he receives messages from the Invincible One, and only she can interpret them using hand signs. He insists no man (except himself) may touch her, or she will lose her power. The frame narrative returns: the janitor (the lover) feels feverish, and the woman worries he is coming down with something. He dismisses her offer to go to the drugstore, saying he never gets sick. He admits he doesn’t trust his friends, and when she asks what they are up to, he replies, “Bugger all. That’s the problem.”

Key Events

  • The janitor (the lover) greets the woman in the basement room; they embrace.
  • He explains he had to flee quickly, leaving behind a razor and other items.
  • The story shifts to the blind assassin hiding the mute girl behind a door as the Lord of the Underworld enters.
  • The assassin substitutes a dead sentry on the bed and escapes with the girl through secret tunnels.
  • They crawl through a culvert, then emerge into the open; he considers options but decides to flee Sakiel-Norn via the canal.
  • They strip, bind their clothes, and swim through the arched tunnel; they survive and make love on the far bank.
  • Three spies from the People of Desolation capture them but believe they are divine messengers.
  • The blind assassin creates a cover story: he receives divine messages, and only the mute girl can interpret them with hand signs.
  • The frame narrative ends with the janitor feeling feverish and expressing distrust of his friends.

Character Development

  • The narrator (the woman): She shows concern for her lover’s health and tries to help, but he rebuffs her. Her willingness to bring food and go to the drugstore demonstrates care.
  • The janitor (the lover): He is resourceful (posing as janitor), physically weakened (thin, shivering), irritable, and secretive. He admits distrust of his friends, hinting at paranoia or real danger. His fever suggests vulnerability.
  • The blind assassin: In the embedded story, he evolves from a contract killer to someone capable of mercy and self-sacrifice. He saves the mute girl despite professional consequences, feels elated after the escape, and devises a clever cover story to protect her.
  • The mute girl: She remains largely passive but demonstrates endurance (swimming, holding breath) and quick uptake (following the assassin’s lead). She is capable of tears and fear, yet trusts him.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • Mercy and transformation: The blind assassin’s decision to save the girl instead of killing her marks a turning point. He experiences “a strange aching happiness” after extending mercy for the first time.
  • Confinement and escape: The janitor’s room, the Temple tunnels, the canal arch—each space represents a prison that must be fled. The lovers’ physical escape mirrors their desire for freedom from social constraints.
  • Water as danger and rebirth: The cold canal water is near-lethal but also washes away scent and leads to new life on the other side. The swim resembles a baptism.
  • Deception and disguise: Characters repeatedly adopt false identities: the lover as janitor, the blind assassin as divine messenger. Masks (god costume, veil) allow survival but also create vulnerability.
  • Divine vs. mortal: The spies’ assumption that the pair are divine messengers becomes a useful lie. The story blurs the line between sacred and profane (e.g., the Temple’s corruption).

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 48 is pivotal because it completes the blind assassin’s escape from Sakiel-Norn and solidifies his commitment to the mute girl. The perilous canal swim and subsequent capture by the People of Desolation propel the story into a new setting and conflict. The frame narrative’s parallel—the lover’s fever and distrust—foreshadows dangers in the real-world story. This chapter also deepens the theme of mercy and the cost of breaking professional codes, which resonates across both narratives.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does the blind assassin choose to save the mute girl instead of completing his contract?
He experiences an uncharacteristic impulse to show mercy. Earlier in the chapter, he decides not to kill her, and after the escape he feels “exhausted, but also elated, filled with a strange aching happiness.” Saving her is a departure from his assassin’s code, suggesting a moral awakening.

2. How does the blind assassin’s cover story protect the mute girl from the People of Desolation?
He claims that both are divine messengers: he receives messages from the Invincible One, and only she can interpret them using hand signs (which only he can read). He adds that no other man may touch her, or she will lose her power. This story grants them protection and status while preventing others from harming her.

3. What does the janitor’s statement “Bugger all. That’s the problem” reveal about his situation in the frame narrative?
He expresses distrust of his friends, but when pressed, he implies they are doing nothing (bugger all) to help or are plotting something worse. The ambiguity underscores his paranoia and the threat he feels, which may be connected to the underground political activities hinted at in earlier chapters.

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