The Running Grave Chapter 133 (Chapter 131) 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
Strike and Abigail discuss the possibility that Daiyu is still alive. Strike theorizes that Mazu and Jonathan Wace faked Daiyu’s death to prevent the Graves family from gaining custody of her and the quarter-million-pound inheritance. He suggests Daiyu was later reintroduced to the farm as Becca Pirbright, a child supposedly trained in Birmingham. Abigail objects that the Pirbright family would recognize her. Strike counters that brainwashing can make people accept new realities, and he points out Becca’s exceptional treatment: she is the youngest Principal, was made a spirit wife when Taio showed sexual interest, and remains a virgin. Strike proposes four theories: Wace is a paedophile (Abigail rejects this, noting Wace prefers older-looking teens); Becca is really Daiyu; Becca is Wace’s biological daughter from an earlier liaison; or Becca was fathered outside the farm during Wace’s travels. Strike also suggests Wace may have had an affair with Mazu before his wife died. Distressed, Abigail leaves the room. Strike checks his phone and finds a text that angers and panics him.
Key Events
- Strike outlines his theory that Daiyu’s drowning was faked with Cherie’s help and that she returned years later as Becca.
- Abigail vehemently rejects the idea, arguing family would know.
- Strike notes Becca’s rapid rise in the church hierarchy and her unusual status as a virgin spirit wife.
- He presents four possible explanations for Becca’s special treatment.
- Abigail becomes emotional when Strike implies her father may have been unfaithful to her mother before her death.
- Abigail abruptly leaves the room.
- Strike reads a text that triggers a strong negative reaction.
Character Development
- Cormoran Strike: Displays relentless logic, pushing a painful hypothesis despite Abigail’s resistance. His calm persistence reveals his commitment to uncovering the truth, even at the cost of emotional comfort.
- Abigail Glover: Her loyalty to her father is tested. She grows visibly angry and distressed when Strike challenges her belief in her father’s fidelity. Her departure signals internal conflict and a possible shift in her willingness to cooperate.
- Jonathan Wace (offstage): Though absent, his character is further shadowed: portrayed as possibly adulterous, manipulative, and willing to use his own children for church purposes.
- Becca Pirbright (mentioned): Remains a cipher; the chapter deepens the mystery around her identity and treatment.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Faked Death and Identity: The core of the chapter is the notion that Daiyu’s death was staged to control inheritance and custody – a recurrence of the theme of hidden identities within the church.
- Brainwashing and Belief: Strike argues that even family members can be made to accept a false reality if church elders insist. This touches on the cult’s power to overwrite personal memory.
- Bloodline and Control: Wace’s supposed desire to populate the church with his own offspring suggests a eugenic streak in the cult’s leadership.
- The Epigraph: “As water pours down from heaven, so fire flames up from the earth” from the I Ching foreshadows the rising emotional heat and the urgent text that ends the chapter, contrasting with the initial darkness.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter is a turning point in the investigation. Strike’s theory that Daiyu is still alive and now being passed off as Becca recontextualizes every earlier reference to both characters. It provides a plausible motive for Mazu and Wace’s actions and explains Becca’s otherwise inexplicable advancement. Abigail’s emotional turmoil signals potential defection from the cult, while Strike’s final text suggests a new crisis – likely involving Robin – that will escalate the plot.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Strike believe that Becca might be Daiyu in disguise? Strike notes that Becca was taken away at age eleven to be “trained” in Birmingham and returned three years later with a changed appearance. At the same time, Daiyu supposedly drowned. Because the farm’s records are vague and dental work can alter a child’s look, Strike hypothesizes that Daiyu was hidden long enough to become Becca, especially given Becca’s preferential treatment as youngest Principal and a virgin spirit wife.
2. What are the four theories Strike offers to explain Becca’s special status? Strike’s theories are: (a) Jonathan Wace is a paedophile who isolated Becca for sexual access (dismissed by Abigail based on Becca’s virginity and Wace’s preference for older-looking teens). (b) Becca is actually Daiyu. (c) Becca is Wace’s biological daughter from an earlier affair, trained to replace Daiyu. (d) Becca was fathered by Wace during his many trips away from the farm, possibly with a woman he met outside the commune.
3. Why does Abigail react so strongly when Strike suggests Wace might have been having an affair with Mazu before her mother’s death? Abigail has always believed her parents shared a genuine love and that her mother’s drowning was a tragic accident. Strike’s implication that her father was already entangled with Mazu undermines that cherished memory, making her feel that her whole family narrative was a lie. Her anger and distress indicate how deeply she clings to her father’s idealized image.