Robert Langdon, #2
The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
Contents
CHAPTER 101
Overview
Langdon outmaneuvers Teabing by silently solving the cryptex password, removing the Grail map, and tricking Teabing into destroying an already-empty keystone. The answer, APPLE, ties Newton’s missing orb to Eve, original sin, and the sacred feminine, resolving Saunière’s final riddle.
Teabing’s plan collapses when Fache and British police arrive and arrest him, leaving Langdon and Sophie alive with the true map still hidden. The chapter shifts control of the Grail secret away from its violent pursuer and back to those judged worthy to protect it.
Summary
In the deserted Chapter House, Robert Langdon faces Leigh Teabing’s gun and Teabing’s demand that Langdon choose sides. Langdon avoids a direct answer, backs away with the cryptex, and tries to buy time while signaling to Teabing that he may cooperate and to Sophie Neveu that he has not betrayed her.
Langdon studies the riddle about Newton’s tomb and looks out toward College Garden, where images of apples, Venus, the sacred feminine, and the Grail lead him toward the answer. Meanwhile, Teabing watches confidently and reflects on how he set the night’s events in motion: he used Silas to lure Jacques Saunière to the Louvre by exploiting Saunière’s fear for Sophie, hoping to seize the keystone and recruit Langdon if necessary.
Langdon claims he knows where to find the password and tries to bargain for Sophie’s release, but Sophie refuses to leave the cryptex with Teabing. Sophie insists Saunière would rather the secret be destroyed than handed to his murderer. When Teabing prepares to shoot, Langdon threatens to drop the cryptex, but Teabing realizes Langdon is bluffing about knowing the location on Newton’s tomb.
Knowing Teabing will kill them once the cryptex is surrendered, Langdon acts on his decision to protect Sophie and the Grail. Langdon appears to lower the cryptex, then suddenly throws it high into the cupola. Teabing fires and misses, drops his gun, lunges for the falling keystone, and catches it, but the impact shatters the inner vial and releases vinegar.
Teabing believes the papyrus has dissolved, but when the cryptex opens, it is empty except for wet glass. Langdon has already solved the password: APPLE, the orb tied to Eve, Newton, original sin, and the fall of the sacred feminine. Langdon reveals he removed the papyrus and briefly reads the map before hiding it in his coat.
Bezu Fache and British police arrive after tracing Teabing through his abbey ID. Sophie and Langdon are safe, and Teabing is handcuffed while screaming that Langdon has the Grail map. As Teabing is carried away, Langdon refuses to reveal the Grail’s location, telling him that only the worthy find it.
Who Appears
- Robert LangdonSolves the cryptex, protects Sophie, tricks Teabing, and keeps the Grail map hidden.
- Leigh TeabingHolds Sophie at gunpoint, reveals planning details, then loses the cryptex and is arrested.
- Sophie NeveuDefies Teabing and refuses to let her grandfather’s secret fall to his murderer.
- Bezu FacheArrives with police after tracing Teabing and confirms Sophie and Langdon are safe.
- Jacques SaunièreAppears in Teabing’s recollection as the curator lured to the Louvre by Silas.
- SilasAppears in flashback as Teabing’s agent, deceiving Saunière with a false confession story.