Robert Langdon, #2
The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
Contents
CHAPTER 46
Overview
Silas, weakened by self-inflicted punishment, believes he has failed Bishop Aringarosa and the Church after the Saint-Sulpice lead proved false. A flashback reveals that Aringarosa recruited Silas into the Teacher’s secret plan after a devastating Vatican revelation threatened The Way. The Teacher restores the mission’s momentum by revealing that Jacques Saunière passed on the secret before death, meaning the hunt is still alive.
Summary
Silas lies in his room after another session of self-punishment with the Discipline. His lash wounds are still open, the cilice remains on his thigh, and Silas interprets his pain as deserved because he believes Silas has failed the Church and Bishop Aringarosa.
The chapter shifts into Silas’s memory of five months earlier, when Bishop Aringarosa returned from the Vatican Observatory shaken by unnamed news that would take effect in six months. After weeks of despair, Aringarosa told Silas that a new opportunity had appeared to protect The Way. Because Aringarosa had given Silas a new life, Silas submitted completely and agreed to become a soldier of God.
Aringarosa then connected Silas with the Teacher, whose identity remained hidden but whose faith, influence, and information impressed Silas. Aringarosa instructed Silas to obey the Teacher, promising that obedience would bring victory. In the present, however, Silas believes victory has failed because the supposed keystone proved to be a false trail.
Silas cannot contact Aringarosa because the Teacher has cut off direct communication for safety, so Silas finally calls the Teacher in shame. Silas reports that he was tricked and says everything is lost. The Teacher contradicts Silas, saying new information shows the secret still survives because Jacques Saunière transferred information before dying, and the Teacher promises that their work is not finished.
Who Appears
- SilasOpus Dei monk who punishes himself, recalls his mission, and reports failure to the Teacher.
- The TeacherHidden mastermind who reassures Silas that Saunière transferred the secret and the mission continues.
- Bishop AringarosaSilas’s revered bishop, shaken by Vatican news and committed to protecting The Way.
- Jacques SaunièreDead curator whose transferred information proves the secret survived beyond the false keystone.