The Da Vinci Code Chapters 10–15 Summary & Analysis

Summary: Chapter 14

Ten minutes have gone by. Fache and Collet wonder why Langdon has not returned from the bathroom. Collet tells Fache that Langdon is not onto their plan. The tracking dot is showing slight movements, indicating that it is still on his body. If Langdon had found the device, he would have removed it and tried to run.

Collet thinks that Fache is unusually invested in this case, probably because Fache has recently suffered a some bad public relations and needs a high-profile arrest to secure his position. The director of the cryptology department calls. He wants to talk to Fache about Sophie Neveu.

Summary: Chapter 15

Silas moves toward the Church of Saint-Sulpice. He sees some teenage prostitutes on the plaza. The lust he feels is immediately smothered by the pain of the punishment belt around his thigh. Silas has taken a vow of celibacy for Opus Dei, a vow he sees as a small price to pay for salvation, especially considering the sexual assault he endured in prison. Prepared to retrieve the keystone, he knocks on the door of the church.

Analysis

Silas’s conversion to Christianity sprung from his first experience of kindness. Aringarosa was willing to shelter and care for Silas despite Silas’s dark past. Such unconditional support, so new to Silas, has made Silas devoted to Aringarosa and willing to believe everything Aringarosa tells him. Silas seems totally willing to return to his violent tendencies, this time under the pretext of religion and furthering Opus Dei. At this point, it is not entirely clear whether Aringarosa is taking advantage of Silas to further his own plans.

Fache’s connection to Opus Dei is unclear. He is a pious Catholic who has been known to mix church and state affairs, and Brown makes us wonder whether he is in on the keystone conspiracy. On one hand, Fache genuinely seems to believe that Langdon is guilty of Saunière’s murder. On the other hand, it is possible that Fache’s seeming belief is actually just an act for Collet’s sake, and that Fache is setting Langdon up.

Like Opus Dei, Fache is prejudiced toward women. His contempt for women works to his disadvantage—by underestimating Sophie’s intelligence, he allows himself to be tricked. It seems obvious that Sophie is up to something, but Brown means for the reader to believe that the strength of Fache’s prejudice prevents him from seeing what is actually going on.

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