The Man in the High Castle Chapters 9 & 10 Summary & Analysis

Chapters 9 & 10

Summary: Chapter 9

Frink and McCarthy use the money they extorted from Wyndam-Matson to set up their new jewelry-making business, Edfrank Custom Jewelry. They make a plan to market their first pieces to American Artistic Handicrafts, Childan’s store. They decide that they’ll send McCarthy to the store since Childan will recognize Frink from his visit about the fake handguns. Frink is encouraged by his new venture, and wonders if it will help him win Juliana back. He imagines her wearing one of his pieces.

Juliana is in bed with Joe. Joe makes an impulsive suggestion that they head to Denver, where they’ll go out, have dinner, and he’ll buy her an expensive outfit. Juliana finds this strange but happily accepts. She notices a large stack of Reichsbank bills in his belongings, as well as an unusually heavy fountain pen. Juliana begins probing into his background, and Joe reveals that he is hired security for the trucking company and shows her his concealed knife. Juliana grows even more suspicious.

McCarthy meets with Childan at his store to show him his pieces. Childan immediately notices McCarthy is a novice businessman, but takes pity on him and offers to take his pieces on consignment. Childan reasons that selling contemporary art might hedge his losses in the antique market, which is now plagued by forgeries. Some of the pieces are nice, and Childan hatches a plan to bring one to Betty Kasouras to seduce her. Childan settles on bringing it to her husband, Paul, first, to divert suspicion.

Summary: Chapter 10

Baynes has been anxiously waiting for General Yatabe’s arrival from Japan for two weeks. Baynes wonders if the recent death of the Reich’s Chancellor, Bormann, has interfered with Yatabe’s trip and whether his plan has been found out.

While Baynes shops for brown wool pants, a Japanese man asks to see his ID. In Baynes’ wallet, the man notices a picture of Baynes’ daughter, Martha. Chatting briefly, the men learn they both have a daughter named Martha. Baynes tells the man he’s been waiting for Yatabe, and the man tells him to return the next day, giving Baynes relief.

While driving to Denver, Joe notices Juliana’s deep interest in The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, which she’s reading in the car. He suggests they make a detour to visit the author’s house, which is nearby. Juliana finds this unusual but would love to meet Abendsen. Joe disparages the book, extolling the Fascists, whom he says have the power to act.

Tagomi consults the I Ching, which foretells a terrible event. He gets a call from Yatabe, who says he has arrived and will meet him and Baynes promptly. Tagomi calls Baynes to tell him the news, and Baynes is delighted. In the shower, Baynes thinks that even if he’s caught by the SD, it’s too late for it to matter.

Analysis: Chapters 9 & 10

By now, the characters’ plot lines have moved significantly forward. For Frank Frink and Juliana, they’re both onto their next projects. Frink has opened his jewelry-making business, Edfrank Custom Jewelry, with his partner McCarthy, and Juliana and Joe seem to be on their way to becoming an established couple. They’re taking a romantic trip together to Denver where Joe has promised her a no-holds-barred luxurious vacation. Both Frink and Juliana are moving closer toward their goals, becoming a symbol of what it has traditionally meant to be an American.

Yet things, as the book frequently demonstrates, are not always what they seem. Frink’s jewelry business is off to a bad start. Ed brings the pieces to Childan’s store and fails to impress Childan, who worries that there’s no market for contemporary American jewelry. The Japanese prefer American antiques. McCarthy lacks the business skills of a salesman, and can’t convince Childan to buy the pieces. Juliana becomes more and more uneasy around Joe, whom she discovers is carrying a knife and a strangely heavy pen. These chapters suggest that dreams are ultimately illusions, and can lead one into trouble and disappointment if one isn’t careful. A dose of reality is needed to make any dream come true.

An interesting point of contention occurs between Juliana and Joe as they argue over the book The Grasshopper Lies Heavy while driving to Denver. This moment highlights another theme of the book—the power of action. For Joe, the Germans are prone to too much philosophizing and drama in their approach. He finds their incessant rallies over-the-top and almost maudlin. Joe feels that the ability to act, not talk and intellectualize, is where true power lies. Juliana’s response to Joe’s comment is to laugh, partly because of the irony of the situation: Joe, as an Italian Fascist, is doing the same thing the Germans do: making speeches about their virtues. Juliana hasn’t yet discovered that Joe is an assassin, and that, through his action, he’s about to make a very real effect on her life by involving her unknowingly in a plot to kill Abendsen.

This power to act also becomes important within the context of considering why, when, and how each character decides to act. Juliana and Joe are examples of characters that are driven to act out of individual passion, or direction from others. Juliana wants to know the truth about Abendsen’s book so she’s interested in seeking out the author, and Joe is just carrying out orders to kill the man. Juliana is driving headfirst into a dangerous situation with Joe without any foresight or protection, and so is Joe since he doesn’t realize Juliana is a danger to him as well. As Tagomi and Frink routinely look to the I Ching to hedge their bets, their actions are based on a combination of free will and fate. Is relegating some of one’s free will to decide when and how to act to a divine source a safer bet? Dick suggests this might be the case.