Till We Have Faces Summary

Chapter 1: The narrator says that she is old and alone and does not fear what the gods can do to her. Her nephew is the heir to her throne. Since all is secure, she plans to write an accusation against the gods, telling the story of everything they have done to her. However, she expects no answer from them. She is writing in Greek so that someday a traveller from the “Greeklands” might bring the story to his people, who could have some insight into it. The writer is Orual, the daughter of the King of Glome. The city of Glome lies on the river Shennit, and near the city is the temple of Ungit. Beyond the temple rises the Grey Mountain. The god of the Grey Mountain is the son of Ungit, and he hates Orual (so Orual says). Ungit, a goddess represented by a faceless black stone, lives in her temple. Orual’s old teacher, the Fox, told her that Ungit was the same goddess as the Greeks’ Aphrodite. Orual begins her story with the day her mother died. According to custom, Orual’s nurse, Batta, cuts off Orual’s hair as well as her sister Redival’s. They are outside the palace, and slave women stand around, mourning the Queen and talking. They regret that Redival’s beautiful hair must be cut but make no such remark about Orual’s. Orual likes the feel of her bare head as she and Redival play that afternoon. The princesses’ nurse, Batta, is a rough slave woman. She warns that as soon as the King marries a stepmother for Orual and Redival, their lives will become much harder. One day, the girls are trying to slide on ice in the yard of the palace when Batta calls them inside to the King. She won’t tell them who’s come but promises them lots of beatings and hard work in the future. In the King’s Pillar Room, Orual finds traders just packing up. They’ve sold the King a slave, a red-haired Greek man. The King tells him that once he has a prince, this man will teach him, and in the meantime, he can practice his teaching on Orual and Redival. The King says that the man should make Orual wise, since she won’t be good for anything else. Orual doesn’t understand, but she’s heard many similar things said about her. Before long, Orual loves her teacher, known as the Fox, more than anyone else in her life. Considering that he was captured and sold as a slave, he stays far more cheerful than Orual expected. He keeps himself happy with wise sayings and curiosity, and he learns all about the land of Glome. Orual tells him about Ungit and the sacrifices that the people make to her, including human sacrifices in bad years. The Fox tells Orual that Ungit corresponds to Aphrodite. The Fox tells a Greek story of Aphrodite. The goddess fell in love with the prince Anchises, a shepherd. As she approached him, animals came to Aphrodite and left in pairs to mate. She made herself appear like a mortal woman and seduced Anchises. When Anchises woke and saw Aphrodite in her true form, he asked her to kill him. The Fox assures Orual that the story isn’t real, but even so, Orual perceives that the Greeks’ Aphrodite is just as terrible as Glome’s Ungit. The Fox is ashamed that he loves poetry, thinking it foolishness, but Orual works hard at philosophy to get the Fox to teach her poetry. He likes her more than he likes Redival, who is unkind and not interested in studying. The sisters and the Fox usually work behind some pear trees. One day the King finds them there and announces that there will soon be a prince for the Fox to teach. He congratulates the Fox on having the chance to influence such an important person and insults the Greeklings. The Fox suggests that people are equal across lands, but the King rejects this idea. The King has become engaged to a princess of Caphad, a powerful kingdom. The fact that the king of Caphad seeks a marriage with a poor kingdom such as Glome shows that Caphad is in trouble, but the King ignores this. There are grand preparations for the wedding, including a new royal bed that is supposed to bring about male heirs. As the day approaches, animals are slaughtered, and cooking begins. The King decides that the Fox must teach Orual, Redival, and other noble girls to sing a Greek bridal hymn, even though none of them speak Greek. As they’re learning, the King brings the Priest of Ungit to hear the song. Orual is frightened by the smell of the Priest, a holy smell of the bodily fluids involved in sacrifice. She associates the smell with Ungit. The Priest also wears an alarming bird’s head mask on his chest. The Priest asks whether the girls will wear veils, and the King assures him that they will, particularly to hide Orual’s face. Finally, Orual understands that she is ugly. Orual worries that her stepmother will be particularly cruel to her because of her ugliness. When the wedding comes and she’s singing the Greek hymn, she can only think of all the stories she’s been told of evil stepmothers. The bride is small and veiled. When the wedding party enters the wedding chamber and the bride takes off the veil, Orual sees that the new queen is terrified. She realizes how frightening her father looks. The girls take off the new Queen’s clothing and leave her in the bed. Chapter 2: The new Queen survives less than a year. She becomes pregnant, and the King is ecstatic, sacrificing to Ungit frequently. Once, Orual overhears the King tell his wife that her father has cheated him by not revealing that Caphad was doing poorly. The Queen is homesick and ill, but affectionate to the princesses in the way of a sister. On the night the new Queen gives birth, superstition dictates that no one go to sleep. They sit in the great hall, the Priest of Ungit performing ceremonies around a fire. Orual is afraid, but the Fox tells her not to fear anything related to nature. She falls asleep, and when she wakes up, she hears women wailing. The King has left the hall, and there has been a sacrifice. Orual has the wild idea to visit the new Queen. As the Fox tries to stop her, the King comes out of the Queen’s chamber in a dangerous rage. He calls for wine, but the slave who brings it slips in blood from the sacrifice and drops the wine. The King immediately stabs and kills him. The King tells the Priest of Ungit that he must repay what the King has sacrificed to Ungit, suggesting that he might instead kill the Priest and destroy Ungit’s stone. The Priest warns that Ungit will punish the King’s descendants. The King asks who killed the slave, and then suddenly screams about having only female children. He shakes Orual and throws her from him, then attacks the Fox, ordering him to go work in the mines. The King throws everyone out of the hall. Orual begs the Fox to run away, but he says he’s too old. Orual insists that she’ll go with him and take the blame. The Fox says that the plan wouldn’t work; instead, he must kill himself. Orual worries that those who commit suicide will be punished in the land of the dead, but the Fox assures her that there is no land of the dead. Orual thinks that some part of the Fox must believe in the gods, though, because he’s shaking. They then hear horses and see that messengers from the kingdom of Phars have arrived. The Fox is called to the palace, and when he and Orual go to the Pillar Room, it is crowded with strangers. The King sends Orual away. Although he sounds less angry, she is terrified for the Fox for the rest of the day. Batta shaves Orual’s head along with Redival’s and confirms that the new Queen has died. The baby, a girl, lives. Orual thinks of her cut hair as a sacrifice for the Fox’s impending doom. Later, the Fox comes to tell Orual that he won’t be sent to the mines. He has just bargained well with the King of Phars, and Orual’s father has decided he needs the Fox as an advisor, particularly because of his way with words. The King names his baby daughter Istra. Orual knows that in Greek, the name is Psyche. There are babies all over the palace who belong to the slaves or are the King’s illegitimate children. Although the King sometimes threatens to kill the children, he respects the male slaves who get women pregnant. Orual goes to see Psyche and finds her a beautiful, quiet baby. The Fox likens her to Helen of Troy. Orual takes on the raising of Psyche, finding her a nurse and having both constantly in her chamber. The Fox warns her not to work herself too hard, but Orual doesn’t see it as work. She is always laughing and gazing at Psyche. The Fox loves Psyche, too, and acts like a grandfather to her. Orual, Psyche, and the Fox are always together, and with the King’s mind elsewhere, Redival stays away from the trio. Psyche’s beauty is natural and astonishing once an onlooker leaves her presence. She seems to be the ideal woman, and she makes everything around her beautiful. For a while, the world seems wonderful to Orual, and she devotes herself entirely to Psyche, wanting to love her in every possible way. The King now completely trusts the Fox, who often brings Orual and Psyche to a hilltop where they can see across Glome and the Grey Mountain. Psyche loves the Mountain and dreams of one day marrying a great king who will build her a palace on top. The Fox says she is more beautiful than Aphrodite, but Orual thinks that his words are bad luck, seeming to feel a coldness in the summer air. The Fox tells her that the divine nature is not jealous, but Orual is not comforted. Chapter 3: One-night Batta hears Redival and Tarin, a guardsman, kissing beneath her window. She alerts the King, who surprises the couple and has Tarin made into a eunuch. The King blames Orual and the Fox for not keeping Redival out of trouble, and commands them to never let her out of their sight, saying that Orual’s face will surely scare all men away. Forced to stay with Orual and the Fox, Redival grows irritable. She even gets angry with Psyche, and when she hits Psyche one day, Orual attacks Redival. Orual’s happy time has ended. The next year is a bad one for Glome. The harvest is poor, and the King fails in his attempts to remarry. One day, Psyche and Redival wander off through the gardens while Orual and the Fox are studying philosophy. When they return, Redival mocks Psyche, calling her a goddess, and goads her into admitting that a woman asked Psyche to kiss her child because she believed that Psyche’s beauty would make the baby beautiful. When Psyche kissed the baby, the woman made worshipful gestures. Orual discovers that Psyche has had similar encounters in the past, and she fears that the gods will be jealous. The Fox assures her that the sort of gods who could be jealous only exist in poets’ imaginations. Redival makes jabs at Psyche and the Fox and ponders Ungit’s opinion, then threatens to tell the Priest of Ungit what has happened. She commands Orual to give her a certain necklace, and Orual, frightened, doesn’t hesitate to do so. Redival orders the Fox to use his great influence with the King to get her a husband. The next year, there is a rebellion. Tarin’s father allies himself with strong noblemen, and the King himself rides into battle against them. Many people are killed, and it weakens the King’s position in Glome. There’s also another bad harvest, and a fever spread. The Fox falls ill and the King forces Orual to do the Fox’s work. She finds she doesn’t mind the work, and her father comes to respect her a bit more. Further, she discovers that Glome is in a bad state. Psyche nurses the Fox back to health, getting angry if anyone tries to stop her. Gossip carries the story of her nursing to the people, and they begin to believe that she can cure the fever with her very touch. The people of the city come to the palace gate, demanding that Psyche come to heal them. When they begin to get violent, the King says she must go out to them, and she is willing. Dressed in finery, Psyche goes out the palace gates, and the people fall silent and kneel in response to her beauty. They begin to say she is a goddess, and one woman says she is Ungit. For hours, Psyche walks through the crowd, touching everyone as they kiss her feet and the ground where she walks. As Psyche becomes pale, Orual worries she will die, but the King says the people will kill them if Psyche stops. The next day, Psyche falls ill with the fever, talking in her delirium of her imagined palace on the Grey Mountain. When she recovers, she is even more beautiful, and more mature. Some of the townspeople die and some don’t, but the people leave offerings for Psyche outside the palace. Orual worries that Ungit will be angry, but the Fox assures her that the Priest of Ungit is ill, too, and can’t do anything. Redival suddenly begins going to the house of Ungit frequently to make offerings. Orual assumes she’s praying for a husband and trying to get away from her family. She tells Redival not to speak to anyone, but Redival assures her that no one cares about her now that they’ve seen Psyche. Chapter 4: Orual has known little about the people until now. Their love of Psyche comforts her somewhat; even if Ungit might be angry, the Priest of Ungit would probably not attack Psyche through mortal means, because he would risk angering the people. But now that their demands have been met once, the people return to the palace gates, demanding corn. The King gives them some, but they associate his lack of sons with the lack of a harvest. The King has one of his guards shoot someone who speaks up, and the mob runs away. Even the palace has little food. The King decides he no longer needs Orual to help with affairs of state, and one day she finds Redival returning with Batta from visiting the house of Ungit. Redival makes fun of Psyche being regarded as a goddess and reveals that she saw her alone in the city. Orual replies that Psyche will come to no harm, as the people love her, but Batta says the fever has gotten worse. Now the people are saying Psyche spread it rather than cured it. Orual watches the city, waiting for Psyche to return, and the city begins to look like an enemy. When Psyche comes home, she pulls Orual to her chamber and asks why the people are calling her “the Accursed.” She tells Orual that she went into the city to visit her old nurse, who she heard was stricken with the fever. Psyche thought perhaps her hands could cure her. When Orual tells her off, Psyche seems older than before. On her way back to the palace, she says, a boy spat at her. She heard men calling her the Accursed, and they threw stones at her. Psyche doesn’t understand what she’s done wrong. Orual is angry at the people and insists the King must know. Psyche soothes her, saying she looks like the King when she gets angry. Orual is hurt, but they have dinner together and are happy. Even now, the gods haven’t taken Orual’s memory of that night from her. As the days pass, the river dries up, animals die, and lions come to steal sheep. The King needs Orual’s help again, for there are conflicts with the neighbouring kingdoms. He alternates between hitting Orual and the Fox and begging for their help. Luckily, the fever leaves the palace. The Priest of Ungit has had a long fight with the fever, but he recovers. A week later, he comes to the palace with a host of armed guards from the house of Ungit. Orual thinks there might be a fight, and almost hopes for it. The Priest has two temple girls with him, who wear wigs and have their faces painted. They accompany him into the palace, and the King bars the doors behind them. The Priest comes to the Pillar Room, where he must catch his breath. The room smells of old age, oils, and Ungit—in other words, holy. Chapter 5: The King offers the Priest of Ungit wine, but he’s under a vow not to eat or drink until he has delivered his message. The Priest reveals that he has met with representatives of the people in the house of Ungit to decide what they should say to the King. The King begins to show signs of anger. The Priest lists the people’s complaints, including the King’s own lack of sons. The King argues that Ungit should fix that problem, considering how many sacrifices he’s made to her. Orual feels afraid of the Priest of Ungit, who now says that Ungit only gets angry for a reason, and when she does, something must be done to satisfy her. The Priest has served three generations of kings. Once, the King of Essur overthrew Glome because a man had committed incest. When the man was punished, Essur was driven out. Another time, a woman cursed the god of the Mountain, bringing floods. When she was punished, the floods subsided. Now Ungit is angrier than ever, and the secret council has decided that they must find the Accursed to make things right. This means human sacrifice. The King offers to give them the next thief captured, but the Priest of Ungit specifies that they must find the Accursed to die in the Great Offering. He reveals that the Brute, a monster, has been seen, although the King hasn’t heard this. The Priest mentions that he hears more than the King, and he has heard of humans taking the place of the gods. Orual immediately blames Redival. The King doesn’t believe that the Brute is real, but the Priest says that a shepherd on the Grey Mountain saw him in the light of a torch he was using to attack a lion. The Fox asks to speak and suggests that the shepherd simply saw the shadow of the lion. The Priest of Ungit brushes him off, replying that even if the Brute is a shadow, that doesn’t make him any less dangerous. If he comes into the city, the people will revolt and kill those in the palace. The King asks how to make the Great Offering. The Priest of Ungit explains that the victim is given to the Brute, who is either Ungit or Ungit’s son, or both. The victim is brought up the Grey Mountain and bound to the Holy Tree. The victim must be perfect, because he or she becomes the Brute’s spouse. The victim lies with the Brute, but is also devoured by him, perhaps at the same time. Thus, no average or lowly person can be the sacrifice. The Fox asks to speak again and argues that the Priest of Ungit’s words make no sense. The Priest is contradicting himself—the Accursed is supposed to be both the worst person and the best person. Orual doesn’t believe the Fox will help in this situation. In his exasperation, he has forgotten to find the most effective argument. The Priest replies that Greek logic won’t solve Glome’s problems. He calls the Fox a coward for letting himself be captured in battle rather than dying and says that the gods will never speak clearly enough for Greeks to understand. Knowledge of the gods is always murky and never logical. The Fox seems hurt by the Priest of Ungit calling him a coward. Orual would like to kill the Priest and make the Fox king, but she can tell that the Priest’s argument is succeeding. The King asks what the next step is. The Priest says he has cast the holy lots, and they told him the Accursed was not among the common people, nor among the Elders, nor among the nobles. The King begins to get angry, and when the Priest says the Accursed is in the palace, he cries treason and calls for Bardia, the captain of the guards. The King orders Bardia to kill the temple guards waiting outside. Bardia is sceptical, and the Priest of Ungit tells the King that all Glome is ready to fight, and even the palace guards won’t fight Ungit. The King reminds Bardia of a time he saved Bardia in battle, but Bardia says that if the King and the gods are in conflict, he won’t fight the gods. The King insults him and sends him away. When Bardia leaves, the King takes out his dagger and puts it to the Priest of Ungit’s ribs, threatening to kill him. Orual is impressed by the Priest’s calm. Not moving, he tells the King that, even if the King kills him, the Great Offering will still have to be made, because he is speaking Ungit’s will. In fact, he’ll haunt the King in death. The Fox has taught Orual that the Priest only works for his own power in the kingdom, but now she sees that he truly believes his words, and Orual herself believes that Ungit is against them. The King throws himself back to his chair. The Priest finally reveals that the lots said the King isn’t the Accursed, and Orual is ashamed to see the King’s relief. She thought he was fighting for Psyche, but, in fact, he has only been defending himself the whole time. The Priest proclaims that Psyche is the Accursed. The King pretends to be sad, but Orual can tell he doesn’t mean it. Orual weeps and begs at his feet, but he throws her away from him. He screams at her for being an interfering woman, saying he has enough to deal with already. Orual can’t move, but she hears the King and the Priest calmly planning how to keep Psyche prisoner until the sacrifice. Orual loses consciousness. Chapter 6: Orual wakes to the King and the Fox lifting her into a chair. The King is surprisingly gentle, and he tips wine into her mouth, telling her that, as a woman, she shouldn’t have spoken against him. He seems ashamed, and Orual thinks him weak. He says that the sacrifice must be made, and the Fox was just telling him that it’s done even in the Greeklands. The Fox interjects that when a Greek king sacrificed his daughter, it brought murder and madness to his family. Orual says the King must do something to stop the sacrifice, and he reveals that it will happen the next day. Orual almost faints again, feeling that everything would be fine if there were more time. The King asks what they would do if they were in his place. The Fox replies that he would try to delay the sacrifice however he could, and then offer the King of Phars the crown itself if he would save Psyche. He would lose his own life to save her. He suggests that they fight, since it would be better to die that way than sacrifice one’s daughter. The King says that his counsellors are supposed to tell him how to strengthen his position as king, but the Fox has just told him to give up his kingship. The Fox replies that he forgot the King’s own safety was the only thing that mattered. Orual knows it’s his way of insulting the King, but the King doesn’t notice. Orual argues that it will shame their house if the King lets a girl die to save him, but he only threatens to beat her again. He says that Psyche is his girl, and he has the right to do with her as he likes. He thinks that Orual must have some hidden motive for defending Psyche, since there’s no reason an ugly girl should defend a beautiful one. He says he deserves pity, but he must sacrifice his daughter to save the kingdom—one person dying to save many. Orual stands and asks that she be sacrificed in Psyche’s place. The King then leads her to a huge mirror on the other side of the room. It’s much clearer than any other mirror in the palace, but Orual has never looked in it. Now, the King forces her to look at herself. He says that Ungit demands the best, so she doesn’t want Orual. He sends her away. Outside the Pillar Room, Orual finds the palace slaves gossiping and an animal sacrifice happening outside. It smells like holiness. She meets Redival, who is worried that they’ll all be sacrificed. Orual swears that if she ever has the power, she’ll kill Redival. Redival seeks comfort, but Orual leaves her. She blames Redival for spreading word about Psyche to the house of Ungit. Even if Redival is sorry now, Orual knows she won’t be sad for long. Orual is injured from the King’s beatings, but she goes to the room where Psyche has been imprisoned. Bardia is guarding the door and says he can’t let Orual in, even when she protests. Though his face is kind, Orual hates him in that moment. She goes to the King’s chamber and takes a sword, which she brings back to Psyche’s prison. She attacks Bardia, but she has never even held a sword before. He disarms her easily, and her helplessness makes her cry. Bardia praises Orual’s effort with the sword, expressing regret that she’s not a man. She wishes he had killed her. Her weeping makes Bardia almost cry himself, and he decides to let her in, saying that he would die if it would save Psyche. Even though he’s captain of the guard, he wouldn’t let anyone else guard her door, in case he could comfort her somehow. He makes Orual promise to leave the room when he knocks on the door. She swears on his sword and enters. Chapter 7: There is only one small, high window in the room where Psyche is held. She sits on a bed with a lamp, and Orual throws herself upon her. Psyche comforts Orual and worries about her injuries. This strikes Orual as painfully different from their usual relationship. Psyche knows what she’s thinking and calls her “Maia,” the name she called Orual when she was little. Orual says she wishes she could take Psyche’s place. Psyche forces Orual to tell what the King did to her, though Orual says the King is nothing to them. Psyche smiles and sits tall, frightening Orual. Psyche reminds her sister that the Fox always told them to pity the bad people around them who do not know good from bad. Orual doesn’t want her to talk that way. Psyche wants her to promise not to kill herself, for the Fox’s sake. Though Psyche feels the King is a stranger to her, she asks Orual to give him whatever message would be polite and proper. Orual urges her to curse Redival, but Psyche pities her instead, telling Orual to give her any of Psyche’s jewellery that Orual doesn’t care about. Orual weeps in Psyche’s lap, wishing Psyche would cry in hers instead. Psyche says that because they have divine blood, they must be brave. She admits that the only thing she fears is that there might be no god of the Mountain or Shadowbrute, and she might just die of exposure. This thought makes her cry, and Orual feels better being able to be miserable with her. When Psyche calms down, she says that the Priest of Ungit has visited her. She wonders if the Fox’s view of the world might be faulty. He calls the world a city, but Psyche wonders what must be outside the city, providing nourishment and danger. Orual says the gods are ruining their lives but agrees that the Fox is wrong. He thinks that there aren’t gods, or that they’re superior to humans, but in fact they are real and horrible. Psyche suggests that the gods’ actions might not be what they seem, and she wonders how she will marry a god. Even though Orual would die for Psyche, she feels angry with her for being so calm and seeming not to mind saying goodbye to Orual. Orual insists that Psyche is being murdered. As narrator, Orual recognizes that she should have encouraged Psyche to imagine she would wed a god, rather than be eaten by a Brute, but she can’t help raising the worst possibilities. Psyche says she does realize she’ll probably die but being eaten and marrying the god might somehow be the same thing. There’s so much unknown. Orual doesn’t think marrying the Brute would be any better than being eaten by it. Psyche insists they shouldn’t fear death, and there might even be an afterlife. Desperately, Orual asks whether Psyche even cares that she’s leaving Orual behind, and wonders if she ever loved her. Psyche insists that Orual and the Fox were the only people she’s been able to love. Orual will follow Psyche into death soon enough, Psyche says; besides, even if Psyche could live, she would only have been married to a king, perhaps one like their father, and so dying and being married are, in fact, similar. Every change in life is like a death, and this might be the best way to go. The happiest time of her life is already over, she says. Psyche admits, to Orual’s dismay, that she has always almost wanted death. Orual thinks this means that she has not made Psyche happy, but Psyche insists that she wanted death most when she was most happy, looking at the Grey Mountain with Orual and the Fox. Everything seemed to be calling to her to go somewhere else, but she didn’t know where. Orual feels that she has been losing Psyche for a long time. Psyche’s perspective is comforting to her, but Orual doesn’t quite want Psyche to be comforted. She admits this is a sin. Psyche points out that she’s going to the Mountain, where she always dreamed of a palace. The gods have chosen her for their sacrifice, and she has been preparing for it her whole life, longing to go to the Mountain and find the source of beauty. Although Orual calls her cruel for saying such things, Psyche says she feels like she’s going home to her lover, the god of the Mountain. She asks Orual to wish her well, but instead Orual says that Psyche has never loved her, and she has become as cruel as the gods. Just as Psyche begins to cry, Bardia knocks. To spare the feelings of those who have had similar experiences, Orual does not write of their last embrace. Chapter 8: Outside Psyche’s prison chamber, Orual begins to feel her injuries. She plans to go to the Mountain with Psyche and perhaps even set her free once everyone else leaves. If a Shadowbrute really does come, she’ll kill it. She finds a slave who tells her that the sacrificial procession will leave the next morning before dawn. She goes to her room and orders food brought, but she can’t eat when it comes. She drinks a little and is so tired she can hardly remember what’s wrong. She falls into a deep sleep. When Orual’s servants wake her, she screams because all her injuries have become stiff and painful. The servants tell her not to get up, particularly since the King has forbidden her to watch the sacrifice. When one woman asks if she should bring Batta, Orual almost hits her, but regrets it. The servants dress Orual and give her wine, and then they hear temple music outside. At Orual’s command, her women drag her painfully to the top of the staircase, where she can see into the great hall. It’s packed with guards and nobles, and it seems many sacrifices have already been made to the gods. Outside, she hears singing and the noise of a large crowd. Orual struggles to see Psyche, but it’s worse when she does. She’s been made to look like a temple girl, with face paint and a wig. Her eyes look strange. Orual almost admires the gods’ talent for torture; they make Psyche’s father kill her, make Orual say goodbye over and over, and paint her until she looks ugly. Orual falls and is carried to her bed. Orual lies sick and delirious for many days. The gods have the most power over humans in dreams, she says, and the best way to avoid the gods is to always focus on work and never to love. In Orual’s hallucinations, she imagines that Psyche is her enemy, excluding her from children’s games or stealing an imagined husband away from her on her wedding night. Other, vaguer dreams are more violent. When Orual begins to recover, the dreams stop but leave a sense that Psyche has done her wrong. Finally, she remembers that Psyche never wanted to hurt her, although she does resent the fact that Psyche talked so much about other people in their last moments together. Orual becomes aware of a pleasant sound and finds the Fox sitting next to her. He tells her the sound is rain. Orual’s injuries have healed, but she is very weak, which she finds a comfort because it keeps her from feeling strong emotions. She’s glad of the loving care of her women and the Fox, who tell her of changes in the kingdom. The drought has ended, the fever has left, and the animals are returning. Furthermore, the people now adore the King. When Psyche was sacrificed, he grieved very publicly but said he had to let it happen for the people’s sake. The Fox insists that the King’s emotion was genuine in the moment. The King of Phars has named his third son, Argan, as his heir, which has angered the second son, Trunia. Trunia and his followers are rebelling, so Phars is in civil war and is no longer a threat to Glome. One day Orual asks the Fox whether he still believes that Ungit doesn’t exist. Orual thinks the changes in Glome immediately after Psyche’s sacrifice prove she does, but the Fox insists it was a coincidence. Orual reminds him he doesn’t believe in coincidence, and he clarifies that he means everything in nature is connected and influenced by events that happened long before. Orual says that if only the sacrifice had been delayed a few days, Glome’s fortune would have changed on its own and Psyche wouldn’t have died. The Fox finds comfort in the fact that Psyche went to her fate bravely, but he is still overcome with grief. The next day, he blames his emotions on finding philosophy too late in life. Psyche knew how to bear with grace the loss of what she loved, and she had all the virtues possible. He likens her to Iphigenia and Antigone, tragic Greek heroines. Orual knows the stories of these women well, but she asks the Fox to tell them again to comfort both. The next day, Orual tells the Fox that it’s too late for her to be Iphigenia, but she can still be Antigone, who buried her dead brother even when she was forbidden to. Orual intends to go to the Mountain and see if there’s anything left of Psyche that she can burn or bury. The Fox approves of the idea, but says Orual must do it soon, before it snows. Chapter 9: Before long, Orual is well enough to be up and about, but she hides this from the King so that he won’t make her do work for him. The King speaks as though he loved Psyche very much, and now he’s left with the two daughters he hates. Orual plans for her journey to the Mountain. She doesn’t know how to ride a horse, so she’ll have to walk; and since she doesn’t know the way, it’ll take a long time. She’ll have to spend a night on the Mountain. She puts the journey off because she doesn’t know what she’ll do afterwards. It seems that once she has dealt with Psyche’s remains, the part of her life with Psyche in it will be entirely gone. She can anticipate only a dark, empty future. One day, Orual sits in a doorway near the guards’ quarters. Seeing a fly crawling up the door, she thinks her life is like the fly’s mindless progress. Bardia appears and tells her that he, too, has felt the depression she feels. Only fighting in wars made him better. She proved she had a natural talent for fighting when she attacked him outside Psyche’s door, and he offers to teach her how to use a sword. Orual doesn’t see why she should learn unless he would kill her with the sword, but Bardia insists. Bardia equips Orual with a shield and tells her to use it as a weapon. He gives her a sword and shows her how to hold it and how to stand. He teaches her for half an hour, and it’s so difficult that she can’t think about anything else. Bardia compliments her work. When the lesson is over, Orual goes across to the dairy to drink some milk. She overhears Bardia tell another guard that it’s too bad Orual is ugly, but if a man were blind, she would be a good wife. This is the closest Orual ever comes to having someone declare their love for her. Orual takes lessons from Bardia every day, and it makes her feel better, although she still grieves. She tells him about her plan to go to the Mountain, and he offers to go in her place. When Orual insists she’ll go, he offers to go with her to give guidance and protection. They’ll ride one horse together. Orual worries that the King will keep him from going, but Bardia tells her that the King understands soldiers much better than he does women, of whom he’s almost afraid. Six days later, Orual and Bardia set off early in the morning. Only the Fox and Orual’s servants know of their journey. Orual wears a sword at Bardia’s insistence, and they share a horse. The city is quiet. They pass the house of Ungit, which is built with huge stones in an oval shape. No one knows how the stones got there. The roof is domed, so that the building looks like a slug. The shape is supposed to resemble the egg or womb that created the world, and in the spring, the Priest of Ungit ceremonially battles his way out of the temple to birth the new year. Orual feels better once they pass the house of Ungit. She has never been this way before, and she sees dawn coming. They pass the road by which Psyche was taken, but they take a shorter way, riding up to a ridge. On top of the ridge, there is warm sunlight. The Mountain sits across a huge valley, looking hardly real. Orual can see all the way to the sea, and all is still. Orual struggles because she feels inclined to be happy and must tell herself all the reasons she shouldn’t be. The view makes her feel that she could wander the world, and the life around her makes the world seem much better than she thought it could be. She almost can’t even believe she’s ugly. As they continue, she tells herself she can’t feel this way as she’s about to bury Psyche, because it makes it seem that she doesn’t love her. She knows too much of the world’s evil for the scenery to make her think it’s beautiful. The gods always make humans think everything is wonderful before they send more pain. When they reach the last ridge before the Mountain itself, it’s very cold. A dark, forbidding valley lies below them, and the Mountain rises in towers of black stone. Orual no longer must battle happiness. Bardia points out the Holy Tree. They descend into the valley on foot and climb towards the Tree. Orual fears that she won’t find Psyche’s remains. When they reach the Tree, they find chains hanging from it, but nothing else. Bardia says that the god must have taken Psyche, because no animal would have been able to get her whole body out of the chains, and it would have left some remains. Orual feels that her journey was in vain but suggests that they look around. Eventually Bardia calls her over to show her a ruby he’s found, one that Psyche wore to her sacrifice. Orual insists that they keep searching in this direction. Bardia wants her to stay behind because no one has ever been to the other side of this ridge, and they’re very close to the dangerous, holy part of the Mountain. Orual wants Bardia to stay behind, since the gods can’t hurt her more than they already have, but they agree to go together. Bardia goes back to get the horse, and they continue carefully. They find themselves at the top of a steep slope leading into a gorgeous, green valley. As they descend, it gets warm. Bardia wonders if this is the god’s valley. At the bottom, Orual is about to drink from a stream when she hears two people cry out and looks up to see Psyche standing on the other side. Chapter 10: Orual laughs and cries with joy until Bardia warns her that it could be Psyche’s ghost, but then he exclaims that she is a goddess. Orual feels no fear of Psyche. Psyche is dressed in rags but seems healthy and happy. She says she has longed for Orual to come. She can’t let Bardia cross the stream, but he doesn’t want to anyway, as he’s afraid. Psyche shows Orual where she can cross. When Psyche gives Orual her hand to help her onto the bank, Orual thinks how strong Psyche is. For a minute the sisters are in a confusion of happiness. They sit down together, and, seeing that Orual is short of breath, Psyche brings her some berries in a leaf and spring water in her hands. She speaks of these refreshments as a banquet and wine. Orual asks how Psyche has been surviving and what they’ll do now. Psyche says they should just be happy, and Orual admits that she could almost forgive the gods and Redival. Psyche says all their fears are over and offers to tell her story. When Psyche was taken from the palace, she was in a foggy state of mind due to a drug she had been made to drink. The paint on her face was stiff, so she hardly felt it was her own face, or herself being sacrificed. She saw Orual but couldn’t wave. It all felt like a dream, and in a way, it was. She felt nothing as she was carried on the litter above the crowd. She slowly became more alert on the journey, but when she tried to tell the people they were making a mistake, she couldn’t speak clearly. The Priest of Ungit ordered that she be given more of the drug. The next thing she knew, she was being chained to the Tree. She saw the King lamenting her fate, and it seemed that he saw her for the first time. She just wanted everyone to go away so that she could cry, for she was now very frightened, but she wanted to be brave. Orual interrupts to beg that she hurry so they can plan and get to safety, but Psyche insists that they are safe, and she is home. When everyone finally left Psyche at the Tree, all was still, and she was thirsty. She realized that she couldn’t sit down, and she began to cry. She prayed that something would happen soon. A while later, cattle came and gathered around her, and then a lynx sniffed around her and put its forepaws on her before leaving. She tried to cheer herself up with her fantasy of a palace on the Mountain, but she couldn’t believe it at all. Orual is glad Psyche let this go, because it made her seem strange and distant. The only thing that comforted Psyche was a vague thought of the Fox’s philosophy about the divine mixed with the Priest of Ungit’s words about sacrifice. It came from deep inside her. Suddenly the weather changed. It got cloudy and the wind picked up, and she knew it was going to rain. She then knew that the gods existed, and her sacrifice was making it rain. The wind became wild, and as she felt that it was lifting her, she saw the god of the wind, West-wind. Psyche assures Orual that she was awake. West-wind was in a human shape, but as different from a person as a healthy person is from a leper. Orual doesn’t understand, but Psyche assures her that she’ll see the gods for herself. When she saw West-wind, she was ashamed of her human shape, even though she couldn’t help being who she was. West-wind pulled Psyche out of the chains without hurting her and carried her into the air. She only saw him for a moment before he became invisible again, but she wasn’t afraid. Orual thinks it all must have been a dream, but Psyche insists that everything before the sacrifice feels more like a dream now. When West-wind set her down and she got her bearings, she saw a great house before her that looked like nothing she had ever imagined. She says she’ll show Orual around it in a moment. She immediately knew it belonged to a god, and, although she didn’t want to go inside, a voice told her to enter, calling it her house, and calling her the bride of the god. Psyche was afraid and ashamed but went inside. She heard women’s voices welcoming her, and though she could see no one, she followed the voices. They brought her to a table with food. She figured that if they called her their mistress, she had to act as such, but was afraid they might be mocking her. She couldn’t see the spirits’ hands, but when they gave her a cup, she could feel them. They gave her a bath, and she felt shy of taking off her clothes. Orual doesn’t understand, because the spirits were women, but Psyche clarifies that the shame was of being mortal. After the bath, the spirits dressed her, gave her a banquet, and put her to bed. Then the god came. Orual bursts out that if all Psyche says is true, everything she’s believed is false. She wants to see the palace. Psyche agrees, but when Orual asks if it’s far away, Psyche is confused. Orual likens her face to that of a child who mistakes a stranger for its mother. Both women become frightened, and when Orual asks again how far the palace is, Psyche cries out that they are standing at the gate. Chapter 11: Orual and Psyche stand like enemies about to fight, watching each other. Orual is trying to write the truth, because she’s getting to her major complaint against the gods but remembering these moments too often has made them less distinct. She first thinks that Psyche is mad, and she says that they must leave this terrible place. A Greek would ridicule her for believing in the palace, Orual says, but in Glome, the gods are closer to mortals. She feels like everything is becoming uncertain. Psyche thinks that Orual does see the palace, and Orual becomes angry like her father the King. She screams at Psyche to stop saying that there’s a palace. Psyche tries to make her touch it. Orual insists that Psyche is pretending, but she doesn’t entirely believe her own words. She shakes Psyche, who flings her away. Psyche points out that Orual tasted the wine she gave her and took the cup. Orual says that Psyche gave her water cupped in her hands, and that she simply went along with Psyche’s game of pretending it was wine. Psyche then becomes sad and understands that Orual truly can’t see the palace. Psyche’s complete belief almost convinces Orual, and she realizes there might be many things in the valley that she can’t see. For years after, she dreams that she is in some place she knows well, but everything she touches feels different than the object she sees. These dreams all come from this moment of believing in the palace without seeing it. Orual feels horrible grief at this new distance between herself and Psyche. For a moment she thinks that the gods should have Psyche because she is worthy of them, but then she only wants Psyche to come back to her. Psyche holds her, and then they sit, and Psyche tries to comfort Orual. Orual allows the love in Psyche’s voice to comfort her. Psyche says that the god might help Orual see the palace. Orual had forgotten about the god, and now she begins to hate him as Psyche talks of him like she’s a young wife. When Psyche reminds Orual that the god is her husband, Orual becomes angry again. She remembers her first reaction, that Psyche must be mad. She feels she can breathe more easily then, and demands that Psyche show her the god and the palace. Psyche admits that she has not seen the god, because he only comes to her in darkness. She’s forbidden to bring light into their bedchamber because she can’t see his face or know his name. Orual sees joy in her eyes and insists that Psyche is speaking nonsense. She doesn’t mean to lie, but she’s imagining things due to fear and loneliness. Psyche points out that if she were imagining everything, she wouldn’t have been able to survive this whole time. Orual must admit that Psyche looks incredibly healthy. She even seems taller. Psyche again assures Orual that the god will make everything all right, but Orual snarls that she hates it all. Unsure at first what she means, she realizes that she hates whatever it is that comes to Psyche at night, and the suffocating holiness of the gods. She begins to cry again, telling Psyche that she seems far away. Orual wants Psyche to return to the mortal world where they were happy together. Psyche replies that she is now a wife with a home. Orual realizes that Psyche likes her situation and tells her she should have been one of Ungit’s girls, living in darkness among the holy rituals. Orual reiterates her desire for Psyche to return to her, but Psyche insists that Orual must come to her instead. Orual can’t decide whether Psyche is mad. This is the moment for the gods to speak, she writes, if they want happiness for the women. Instead, it starts to rain. Orual tells Psyche to come under her cloak, but Psyche says it’s impossible for her to get wet, since they’re sitting inside. Orual can see the rain on Psyche’s cheeks, and watching Psyche getting wet convinces Orual that Psyche is mad. She insists that Psyche must come home with her, or else she will die in the oncoming winter. Psyche resigns herself to the fact that they can’t see the same thing. Bardia, who might judge which of them sees reality, can’t cross the river. Orual commands Psyche to obey her. Psyche says that she now must obey her husband. Orual begins to hate Psyche and tries to drag her away, intending to hide Psyche in Bardia’s house until she comes to her senses. But Psyche is stronger. When they stop wrestling, they are scratched, Orual is crying, and the rain has stopped. Psyche regrets Orual’s anger and wishes they could have feasted together, but she knows that Orual would not have tasted the food. She has promised to send Orual away before sunset. However, she wants Orual to return as soon as possible. In the meantime, she’ll figure out how to help Orual see the palace. Orual is helpless and lets Psyche lead her back to the river. She promises to return if she can get out of the King’s house. Psyche predicts that the King won’t be much trouble in the next few days. Once Orual has crossed the river, she begs again for Psyche to come with her. Psyche says that she can’t because she’s now a wife, but everything will be wonderful soon. She goes back into the valley, and Orual calls into the twilight for Bardia. Chapter 12: Bardia comes to Orual, but she can’t talk about what has happened. Bardia says that they’ll have to stay where they are for the night, even though it’s too close to the gods. Orual follows him to a campfire, and he brings out delicious food. She takes pleasure in her mortal needs and doesn’t think of divine wonders. Bardia suggests that they should lie back to back for warmth, since he’s nothing more than a dog to her. She agrees but is surprised he’s suggested it. She doesn’t know yet that men hardly see an ugly woman as a woman at all. Bardia falls asleep quickly but would awaken at any sign of danger. Orual can’t sleep at all due to discomfort and worry. Before dawn, she creeps down to the river for a drink. When she looks up, she sees a huge palace, incredibly beautiful and entirely dark. Somewhere inside, she thinks, something holds Psyche in its arms, and Orual wonders if it will punish her. She knows she must cross the river and ask forgiveness for being angry with Psyche, whom she now sees is almost a goddess. She is frightened and watches for any change in the palace. As she rises to her feet, the palace dissolves into mist. Orual asks the reader to judge. She wonders if the moment she saw the palace is evidence against her or against the gods. The gods might say it was a sign, but she thinks a sign that is also a riddle is useless. It’s possible that she truly did see the palace, but it’s also possible that, being half asleep and looking through mist, she imagined it. She thinks it unfair for the gods to only send a sign that can’t be proven—they should speak plainly. Orual returns to Bardia but does not tell him what she saw. In fact, she has never told anyone. They begin their journey home through wind and rain. When they stop for lunch, Orual tells Bardia everything, but leaves out her glimpse of the palace. In response, Bardia says that he tries to stay out of the way of the gods by acting piously. Orual asks whether he thinks Psyche is mad or the palace is real, and Bardia is sure she isn’t mad, but he’s hesitant to offer any advice. He insists that he can’t doubt Psyche’s word about her lover. When Orual asks what sort of lover would keep his face hidden, Bardia admits that it must be something awful, also pointing out that it’s called the Brute. Orual has already guessed what Bardia put into words, but it’s still a shock to hear it. She knows that Bardia feels very certain of the situation, and she thinks that everyone in Glome would agree with him. Psyche was given to the Shadowbrute, and it ended Glome’s problems. Something godlike and disgusting is using Psyche. For the rest of the journey Orual accepts this story, and it seems clear that any other possibility was just something she imagined comforting herself. Orual touches her sword hilt. Before the sacrifice, she swore that she would kill Psyche rather than let a monster have her. Now she swears it again and cries. Doubting herself, she wonders why she should interfere when Psyche is happy. But as they approach the house of Ungit, Orual realizes that there is a deeper way to love than only seeking happiness for the loved one. A father does not want his daughter to be a prostitute, and a woman does not want her beloved to be a coward, even if they would be happy as such. Orual strengthens her resolve to remove Psyche from the Brute. As they enter the city, Bardia says that Orual must enter the palace by a back entrance to avoid the King’s notice. Chapter 13: When Orual reaches her chamber, the Fox is waiting for her, and she tells him Psyche is alive. She bathes and eats, and then welcomes him to her table. He is overjoyed at her news of Psyche’s wellbeing. She then goes on to tell him the whole story, watching his face darken. The Fox assumes Psyche is mad and begins to speak of how to cure her. Orual admits that Psyche seemed perfectly sane in conversation. She asks whether there’s any chance something can exist if she can’t see it, using the example of a soul. The Fox, however, merely thinks she hasn’t understood his teachings and might be mad herself. Orual considers telling the Fox about her vision of the palace but decides he wouldn’t take it seriously. She suggests that Psyche’s lover might also be a delusion, but the Fox argues that someone must have freed her because she has been eating. In no way does he think it could be a god; instead, he believes it must be a criminal living on the Mountain. Orual can’t stand the thought, but the Fox assures her that Psyche isn’t aware of the truth—the man must be tricking her. The Fox’s explanation seems clearly correct to Orual, just as Bardia’s did before. The Fox can’t think of what to do, and Orual despairs as to how she’ll escape back to the Mountain. The Fox reveals that lions have been sighted again, far from the city, and the King is going on a hunt. Orual assumes the King is angry, but the Fox says that, in fact, he’s very eager to go. In any case, he’ll be gone for a few days, and he’s leaving the next morning. They must act while he’s gone. The Fox points out that Psyche will get pregnant soon, which makes Orual want to torture Psyche’s lover to death. She suggests they could hide Psyche in Bardia’s house. When the Fox says that Bardia is too afraid of the gods to take her in, Orual defends his bravery. However, the Fox argues that Bardia’s wife (Ansit) controls him, and she wouldn’t allow it. Bardia married her for her beauty, and Orual thinks she must be horrible. The Fox says that they must get Psyche out of Glome so that no one can find her to sacrifice her again. Orual can’t think how to convince Psyche to leave the Mountain besides using force, but the Fox points out that they have no force to use. They sit silently while a servant plays a game of beads. Finally, Orual says she must somehow convince Psyche of the truth, and then they can plan together, even if it means they leave Glome to wander the world. Orual says she feels responsible for Psyche, and she will do anything to get her away from the man who has trapped her. If Orual must, she claims, she’ll kill Psyche. The Fox is horrified. He tells her that her love is overruled by her anger and pride. The Fox loves Psyche as much as Orual does, but Psyche’s current life is better than what Orual suggests. To nature, marriage is simply sex. Orual cannot see Psyche’s lover as anything better than filth, but the Fox, as a slave, sees it differently. Orual insists that the Fox doesn’t understand everything, and he readily agrees. He doesn’t believe the royal house has divine blood, because he thinks that everyone has divine blood. Everyone has a god inside them, and all are joined. The Fox is tired and must go to bed. He says they will continue talking in the morning. Orual lets him go but feels he has failed her in a way that men always do, for they’re never entirely invested in anything, and they’re easily distracted. She feels that only she really cares about Psyche. She must plan herself. She must guess the answer to the riddle, and when she has guessed wrong, everyone will punish her for it. Orual then does something unconventional. She speaks to the gods herself, in her own room, without a sacrifice. She begs them to send her a sign, but nothing happens. So, she decides she must act the very next day. She sleeps for a few hours, but her mind’s torment wakes her. She goes to the window and thinks. She sees clearly now. Though she has believed both Bardia and the Fox, one must be wrong. If the beliefs of Glome are correct, then Bardia is correct. If Greek philosophy is correct, then the Fox’s theory is correct. Orual herself has been raised to believe both sets of beliefs partially, and she won’t be able to choose one. But she realizes that this doesn’t matter, because both men think that something bad has control of Psyche. Orual herself is the only one who ever imagined that Psyche’s husband might be something good, but the fact that the husband forbids Psyche to see his face makes this impossible. Orual must get Psyche away. Suddenly she remembers how happy Psyche looked in the valley, and she again feels tempted to let her remain happy and not cause her pain. Part of Orual thinks that she doesn’t understand everything that’s happening, but another part of her feels responsible for Psyche and thinks she must act accordingly. Psyche is only a child, and therefore she must obey. Orual becomes determined to act today, if Bardia can come with her. She’s bothered by the idea of his wife keeping him back. She lies down to wait for morning. Chapter 14: When Orual hears the hunting party preparing to leave, she gets ready for her journey. She brings an urn, a lamp, some oil, and a band of linen like those that bridesmaids in Glome wear. She eats, and when the hunting party is gone, she goes to the Pillar Room and sends for Bardia. She thinks the whole palace feels freer since the King is gone. Bardia comes, and Orual tells him she’s going back to the Mountain. He says he can’t accompany her because he’s been left to guard the palace, but he offers to send a guard named Gram with her. Gram will keep any secret, as he hardly speaks anyway, and he’s loyal to Bardia. Bardia calls him and tells him to wait with a horse at the road into the city. Orual asks for a dagger, and though Bardia finds this strange, he gives her one. Orual bids him farewell, which confuses him, as it implies, she’ll be gone a while. Orual meets Gram outside the palace, and he puts her on his horse. Their journey is entirely different from the one with Bardia. Gram hardly speaks, and it rains the whole time. It’s almost evening when they reach the valley. The weather finally clears. Orual tells Gram not to cross the river or come to her unless she calls him. Orual feels very sure about her task. She crosses the river and calls for Psyche, who comes immediately. The sisters look like two faces of love—Psyche joyful, Orual the bearer of pain. Psyche points out that she correctly predicted that the King wouldn’t keep Orual from returning. Orual had forgotten she said this, but she refuses to start doubting her path now. The two women sit down, and Psyche remarks on Orual’s angry expression. Orual asks her not to be critical, because they have serious matters to discuss. She says she has tried to act as all the family that Psyche has. If anyone will tell Psyche what’s right for her, it must be Orual. Psyche assures Orual that she loves Orual and everyone else more because she’s married. Orual says she doesn’t doubt Psyche’s love. Orual says that people sometimes must hurt the ones they love, and that she’s about to hurt Psyche, but Psyche is too young to make her own decisions. Psyche insists that her husband guides her now. Orual, disturbed, asks who her husband is, and Psyche replies that he’s the god of the Mountain. Orual asks what kind of god would keep his face hidden. Nothing that is beautiful or honest hides, she says, so Psyche must be the bride of either the Brute or of some criminal mortal. Psyche is silent. When Orual tries to comfort her, Psyche says she is angry, but she manages to forgive Orual, knowing that she means well. If Orual really loves her, she’ll stop thinking this way about Psyche’s husband. Orual insists that the two wisest men they know, the Fox and Bardia, agree with each other and with her about the situation. Psyche is upset that Orual has told them the story. Orual says that Psyche’s husband has fooled her so well that she doesn’t see what’s in plain sight. Psyche is surprised that the Fox even believes in the Brute. Orual didn’t say he did, but she doesn’t correct Psyche. Instead, Orual says that neither he, nor Bardia, nor she herself believes that Psyche’s husband is a god or that her palace exists. All the people of Glome would agree with them. Psyche insists it doesn’t matter, because she herself knows the truth. Orual asks how Psyche can be so sure, if she’s never seen her husband. Psyche says she hesitates to answer because Orual is a virgin. Orual says that if Psyche is so sure of herself, she shouldn’t be afraid to test her claim. Orual shows her the lamp she has brought and proposes that Psyche look at her husband in his sleep. When Psyche refuses, Orual uses this as proof that she isn’t sure he’s a god. Psyche, however, says that she can’t look because the god has forbidden it. Orual reiterates that forbidding this proves deception. Psyche says that Orual doesn’t know much about love. Orual retorts that if Psyche wants to talk about her kind of love, she should talk to Redival or Ungit’s girls. Orual’s love is different. Psyche is sad to hear Orual talk this way, and Orual feels surprised to see again that she can’t control Psyche anymore. Orual accuses Psyche of fearing the test, since people usually want to disprove anything bad said about their beloveds. Psyche clarifies that she is ashamed to disobey her husband, but Orual says he must be awful to be angry with her for breaking such a ridiculous order. Psyche has faith that a god has good reason for what he does. The sun is setting, and Orual’s time is running out. She commands Psyche to obey her, but Psyche tells her that she no longer must do so. Orual says she’ll kill herself, and she stabs her dagger through her arm. Psyche is amazed but bandages the wound calmly enough. Orual tells her she did it to prove she means what she says. Psyche must swear to look at her husband’s face that very night, or else Orual will kill Psyche and then herself. Psyche says that Orual only has power over her through the threat of suicide, not murder. She looks like a man betrayed by his lover. She says that Orual’s love is almost like hatred, and she’s using Psyche’s love for her as a tool of coercion. Psyche is very unhappy and feels that something has forever changed between them. Orual insists that they will both die unless Psyche swears to do as Orual asks. Psyche will only swear because she has faith that her husband will be more understanding than Orual is; she trusts that he will forgive her. Orual points out that he won’t know Psyche has seen his face. Psyche looks at her scornfully, and Orual thinks that everything about her has come from Orual’s teaching. Psyche says she won’t hide anything from her husband. She loved Orual, she says, and though she now seems like a stranger, Psyche can’t have her die. Orual wants to take everything back, but instead she offers her dagger for Psyche to swear on. Psyche says her happiness might be destroyed by sunrise, but Orual has forced her to this point. She takes the oath and Orual bursts into tears. Psyche sends her away, telling her to live the life she has just saved. Orual feels afraid of Psyche and crosses the river as the sun sets. Chapter 15: Orual faints after she crosses the river. When she comes to, she drinks water and realizes that she left her food with Psyche. She wishes Bardia were there with her instead of Gram. She waits by the river, hoping to see the lamp when Psyche lights it and covers it. Then she’ll see it again when Psyche looks at her husband’s face. She anticipates that Psyche will then come to her in distress, and she’ll comfort her. However, Orual can’t help fearing that she might have done wrong. She imagines Psyche lost and in despair, all because of Orual. Orual often has the urge to cross the river and tell Psyche not to go through with her promise. Throughout all these thoughts, Orual can’t forget Psyche’s apparent hatred of her. Orual doesn’t understand how Psyche can hate her when Orual has just wounded herself out of love for Psyche. Orual sees the first lighting of the lamp. It gets very cold and her arm is painful. She realizes she might die as a result of this night. She imagines Psyche mourning her death, and everyone else showing their love for her now that she’s dead. Finally, she sees the lamplight again, very bright. Suddenly there’s a loud voice that terrifies Orual because it’s immortal. She hears weeping, and her heart breaks. It all happens quickly, and then lightning flashes through the valley, illuminating falling trees. Through the thunder, the rocky cliffs of the Mountain begin to crack apart, and the river rapidly floods as torrential rains fall. Orual thinks this means she was right—Psyche’s husband is something horrible that is now enraged. Even if it kills them both, Psyche will know the truth and not be angry with Orual. If they can’t escape together, they can die together. Orual is about to try to cross the stream when a light that looks like lightning appears and lasts. At the middle of it is a humanlike figure, vague in her memory. She can only look at the face for a moment, because its beauty is too overpowering. He looks at her with complete rejection, knowing everything about her. He makes it seem as though she has known the truth about him from the beginning, and only doubted it to deceive herself. Orual asks the reader to judge whether this is the true past, or whether the god has changed it. Everything else is silent as the god speaks in a voice without anger. He says that Psyche must go into exile, and Orual will know herself and see what she does and will also “be Psyche.” The voice and the light disappear, and Orual hears terrible weeping. Even if her worst enemy were weeping like that, she would try to help her, but she knows it’s Psyche. As Orual gets to her feet, the sound moves to the end of the valley. Orual can’t find her way across the river. When dawn comes, the valley is completely ruined. Orual calls for Psyche again and again, but she knows that Psyche has gone into exile. Orual finds Gram, who asks no questions. They begin their journey home. Now that Orual knows the gods hate her, she waits at every moment for them to kill her. She wonders if they might turn her into an animal instead. However, she isn’t afraid. She sees everything around her as her enemy. She thinks that the god’s words mean she’ll also have to wander the world, like Psyche. She’s glad to share Psyche’s punishment. She wonders what she’ll tell Bardia and the Fox. Chapter 16: Orual enters the palace through the back and finds that the King is still away. She creeps to her room, realizing that she’s avoiding the Fox. She’s eating when he arrives and asks where she’s been. She tells him she was at the Mountain, but hides her wound from him, knowing he wouldn’t approve of her coercing Psyche the way she did. She accidentally reveals her anger with him for going to sleep rather than helping her plan Psyche’s rescue. Orual tells the Fox only that a storm flooded the valley and she heard Psyche leaving Glome. Eventually he forces her to admit to her plan with the lamp. He is dismayed, saying that Psyche’s outlaw lover was sure to wake and punish her. Orual can’t see why she didn’t think of this, and wonders whether she believed Psyche’s lover was a criminal. The Fox asks how Orual convinced Psyche to go through with the plan. Orual knows that if she admits that she told Psyche that the Fox and Bardia agreed about her lover, the Fox will see it as a lie. It seemed different when she was talking to Psyche. Orual simply says she spoke with Psyche. The Fox can tell she has a secret, but he decides not to try to get it out of her, since that would only ruin their relationship. The Fox will love her no matter what. Orual thinks he’s much kinder than Psyche. She never tells Bardia what happened to Psyche. That night, Orual decides to veil her face forever. When she was a child, she didn’t realize she was ugly. For a while after, she thought she could be prettier if she put enough effort into it. Finally, she decides that no one will see her face again. The King comes home a week later drunk and in a bad mood. A few days later, he sends for Orual and the Fox. He orders Orual to take off her veil, but she doesn’t fear him anymore after seeing the god. She feels powerful because she can see his face, but he can’t see hers. When he asks whether she’s opposing him, she admits that she is. He dismisses her defiance as women’s talk. From then on, Orual never submits to him again. She forces him to release herself and the Fox from the task of watching Redival, and he gives this job to Batta instead. Batta has grown close with the King, for she flatters him. She and Redival are friends one moment and enemies the next. Orual waits for the gods to kill her, and she’s almost disappointed to find that she continues to live her same old life. She makes Psyche’s room look as it did in their happy days. When she finds a hymn to the god of the Mountain, she burns it to destroy that part of Psyche. She also burns the clothes that Psyche wore in the last year. Finally, she seals the door and decides she must never think about Psyche except the way she was in childhood. She doesn’t want to hear others speak of her. Orual often asks the Fox about science and politics, wanting concrete knowledge. She also continues her swordsmanship lessons with Bardia and improves quickly. She wants to build her strength of mind and body in order to drive her feminine parts away. Sometimes at night, she gives in to her despair about Psyche and weeps, wondering where she is, but afterwards she becomes stony again. Bardia teaches her to ride a horse and begins to treat her like a man. After the Midwinter feast, the King slips on ice and injures his leg. He is carried to his bed in pain. His thigh is broken. When the Second Priest, Arnom, tries to set the leg, the King almost stabs him. Bardia and Orual have guards hold the King down, and he seems to fear Orual, screaming for her to be taken away. He develops a cough, and Batta keeps giving him too much wine. He seems to think Orual is someone else who tortures him. Three nights later, Arnom tells Orual, Bardia, and the Fox that the King will probably die. Orual thinks she’ll be driven out of Glome in the struggle for power. Arnom admits that the Priest of Ungit is also dying, and he himself will take his place unless the King forbids it. Bardia says that Ungit and the crown need to work together to avoid chaos in Glome, and he calls Orual the Queen, which the Fox quickly echoes. Arnom wishes she were married, since she can’t lead Glome’s army. Bardia, however, insists that she can. Arnom brings up the long conflict over the “Crumbles,” land claimed by both Ungit and the King. Orual has always thought Ungit should have it so the priests won’t have to take so many sacrifices from the people. Due to the King’s sickness, Orual claims the power to speak for him and gives the Crumbles to Ungit on the condition that Ungit’s guards come under the direction of the King’s guard. She knows that Arnom will accept because he needs the palace on his side. The Fox and Bardia congratulate her. Standing alone in the great hall, Orual feels very strange. Being Queen won’t lessen her sorrows, but it might help her push them away. She realizes her father will die, and suddenly feels incredibly free and glad. But then she thinks she hears a girl crying—a sound she’s always waiting to hear. She goes outside in pursuit of the noise and calls for Psyche, but soon she realizes that it was only the chains of the well swinging in the breeze. She then sees someone dive into some bushes, and when she investigates, a man’s voice tells her to take him to the King. Chapter 17: A tall man comes out of the bushes and tries to kiss Orual, calling her pretty, but she takes out her dagger and points out that she’s veiled. He replies that anyone with her voice must be beautiful. Orual has never been approached this way before, and almost doesn’t want it to end, but she demands to know who the man is. He says he needs the King’s help and must speak with him. Orual reveals that she is the Queen, unless the King recovers. The man says he is Trunia of Phars and has come looking for protection. He is at war with his brother and father, the king of Phars. He had to escape, got lost, and ended up in Glome, where his horse went lame. He wants Orual to hide him for a day so that he can sneak back into Phars. Orual says that if she takes him in, she must defend him, and they don’t have the strength to go to war with Phars. She’ll have to take him prisoner instead. Trunia tries to run away, but he trips and hurts himself. He submits to be a prisoner, and Orual says she’ll save him from his brother if she can do it without going to war. She calls the guards, who bring him into the castle. Orual goes to the King’s bedroom. He seems worse, and he can’t speak. The Fox tells her that he’s just received word that Argan of Phars is ten miles away with cavalry, seeking Trunia. Orual feels shocked and reveals to the Fox and Bardia that Trunia is in the palace. She brings them to the Pillar Room to get away from the King and sends Trunia to the room where Psyche was kept before the sacrifice. Orual, Bardia, and the Fox agree that Trunia will probably rule Phars in the end, since most people hate Argan and think him a coward. Furthermore, Trunia will treat Glome well in the future if they help him now—but in the meantime they can’t face a war with Phars. Orual has an idea and asks Bardia how good Argan is with a sword. Bardia replies that he and Orual are both better than Argan. Orual points out that Argan won’t want to do anything that would make him seem more of a coward, so he’ll have to accept if they propose single combat for Trunia’s life. Bardia approves of the idea. Even if they lose the combat, they will have done their best by Trunia, and if they succeed, Trunia will be their friend as king of Phars. Orual proposes that their champion must be someone so low that it would be shameful for Argan to refuse to fight. The Fox and Bardia are sceptical. Orual clarifies that she means Argan must fight a woman. She hasn’t told the Fox that she’s learned to use a sword, and he’s confused. Bardia understands but doesn’t want Orual to risk her life. He admits that she has more skill than Argan, but she could still fall prey to bad luck. Bardia explains the situation to the Fox, saying again that he wishes Orual had been born a man. He means well, but it hurts her. The Fox thinks the plan is scandalous—Greeks are more sensitive to social conventions than the people of Glome. Orual points out that she’s already so ugly that she might as well become manlier by fighting. Furthermore, the people of Glome might not accept her as Queen, because they don’t know much about her. They’ll be more likely to welcome her if she has acted like a hero. Bardia agrees. The Fox fears losing her, but Orual has made her decision. She orders them to send a messenger to Argan to inform him of the place and time of the combat. If she dies, he gets Trunia. If he dies, Trunia can return freely to Phars. Orual goes to bed, knowing that Bardia will send the message. Once she’s alone, she realizes it feels like someone called “the Queen,” not Orual, has been acting in her place. She’s amazed at what the Queen has done and no longer believes she can kill Argan. She worries her courage will fail when she must fight and imagines everyone being ashamed of her. They would all think that Psyche was better than Orual, both in beauty and bravery. She insists to herself that Psyche could never do what she’s doing. Orual realizes that she’s thinking the way she did when she was sick, and Psyche seemed like her enemy. She begins to think the gods have sent Argan to kill her, and this will be a good way to die. For the past few hours she’s forgotten the desolation of her life because she had so much to do as Queen. She promises herself that if she’s allowed to become Queen, she’ll throw herself into it entirely to keep herself from remembering her desolation. She wants to trick the gods by turning her old self, Orual, into a new self, the Queen. Orual goes to the King’s chamber, where Batta sits at his bedside. He’s awake but can’t speak. He looks terrified when he sees Orual. She thinks that some people wouldn’t blame her if she murdered him. She’s afraid that he’ll survive his illness, for she feels free and doesn’t want to go back to be a prisoner if he pulls through. Finally, she realizes that even if he does survive, he’ll be insane. She sleeps deeply that night. Chapter 18: The next morning, Orual goes to check on the King as soon as she wakes. Redival comes in, desperately asking what’s going on in the palace. Orual tells her that if the King dies, Orual will be Queen and will treat Redival as she deserves. Redival immediately tries to flatter Orual, who is disgusted. Orual says she won’t kill her, but she’ll punish her if she disobeys. Redival leaves and the Fox comes in. He apologizes for using Orual’s love for him to try to force her not to fight Argan. Bardia enters with news that a messenger has come from Argan. They go into the Pillar Room, where the messenger says Argan accepts the combat but plans to hang Orual after disarming her. Orual insults Argan’s age, knowing that word of the insult will spread. They work out the details of the fight with the Fox worried the whole time. Arnom comes in wearing the bird mask, and Orual knows that the Priest of Ungit has died and Arnom is the new Priest—but she doesn’t fear him like she did the old Priest. Arnom and the Fox talk about the King’s condition, and Orual and Bardia go outside. Bardia is worried that Orual has never killed anyone, and it’s much harder than it seems, because it doesn’t feel natural to kill. He struggled the first time he killed someone. He worries that she might pause at a critical moment and let Argan get the upper hand. Orual imagines killing her father and says she doesn’t think she’ll pause. Even so, Bardia wants her to kill a pig, and she sees that she must do it to shut out the old Orual. She goes and kills the pig and decides that if she survives the duel, she and her advisors will eat it for dinner. Orual returns to the Pillar Room, where she frees the Fox from slavery. Immediately she hears Bardia and Arnom lamenting the loss of him, and she realizes he’s going to return to Greece. She’s distraught. He imagines how wonderful it would be to go home and begs her to let him think about it. She is overcome with sorrow and wanders through the gardens. Orual doesn’t understand how much the Fox wants to go home, because she’s never left Glome and she finds her home oppressive. She hates that the Fox might want to leave her, because she has always taken his presence for granted and she thought he did the same with her. She thinks that she’s not an essential part of anyone’s life. Even Bardia cares more about his family. The Fox only liked her because he had no one else. In fact, she thinks, he loved Psyche better. But part of Orual knows this isn’t true. The Fox finds Orual before bedtime, and she is subdued. He has decided to stay, as he would only be a burden to his family. Orual is overjoyed, but she doesn’t sleep well that night. She feels restless from all the changes that are happening. It’s as though the King’s illness had disintegrated all the established elements of her world. She can’t even feel her sorrow, and it feels like the Queen is taking over Orual. The next day is the last day before the battle, and it seems like a dream. There are crowds at the gates who have heard what’s happening and they cheer Orual on. Nobles visit to show their support, and they wonder what’s behind her veil. Orual tells Trunia that they have a champion to fight for him. She calls for wine, which Redival brings because she wants to see Trunia. She acts like a perfect, dutiful sister. When Redival leaves, Trunia wants to know who Orual is and why she wears a veil. If he survives, he wants to ally with Glome by marrying into the royal family, perhaps even marrying Orual herself. Orual says she won’t marry but concedes that he might marry Redival. Later, Bardia has Orual practice her swordsmanship once more. He says that if they were to fight, she would probably kill him. He tells her that if she feels frightened when she’s about to fight, it’s natural and she must ignore it. She needs better armour, so they go to the King’s room to find some. The Fox sits at his bed. As Orual and Bardia are debating about the armour, the Fox tells them that the King has just died. They finish finding armour before bothering about his body, and his death causes little disturbance. Chapter 19: Often the most important part of a day takes up the least time, Orual says. It takes very long to prepare for Orual’s battle with Argan, even though the battle itself is short. Orual wants the Fox to come well-dressed, but he doesn’t like the clothes of Glome. Then Bardia wants Orual to remove her veil for the fight so that it doesn’t hinder her vision, but she refuses. Eventually she has her servant, Poobi, sew her a hood with eye holes. It makes her look like a ghost, so hopefully it will frighten Argan. All of them, including Trunia, set out on horseback. Trunia asks where the champion is, but Orual makes him wait to find out. Nobles wait at the palace gate to accompany the party. Orual thinks of Psyche going this way to heal the people and then to be sacrificed. She wonders if she is becoming Psyche by also being an offering to the gods. Now she can only think of maintaining a show of bravery. The nobles around her think she’ll lose the battle, but the commoners are celebrating in the streets. They don’t care about Orual; they’re excited for the free entertainment. Once at the appointed place, Arnom must sacrifice a bull. Argan sits with his men on the other end of the field. Orual finds it strange that one of them will soon kill the other. Both eat a bit of the bull and take oaths. The preparations seem endless. Finally, all is ready, and the Fox is very distressed. Trunia is shocked when Orual reveals herself as the champion. She and Argan start to fight. Argan doesn’t begin to respect Orual until she skins his hand with her sword. She isn’t afraid anymore because the fight seems just like her practice bouts with Bardia. Before long, she knows he won’t kill her, but she worries she won’t kill him either. If it lasts too long, his strength might tire her out. Then she sees his face change, and she doesn’t understand why; it’s the look of someone who knows he’s about to die. When he makes a mistake, she cuts his leg where it will never stop bleeding. Everyone runs to Argan, but he can’t be saved. Orual suddenly feels weak and different, perhaps the way women feel when they lose their virginity. Bardia and the Fox run to congratulate her, and she weeps. She must talk to everyone and do many things and she wish for peace and quiet. She mounts her horse and takes Trunia’s hand. They face the soldiers from Phars and ask whether they have any doubts about who will be the next king of Phars. Some gallop away, but most declare allegiance to Trunia. Bardia tells Orual she must have a feast for the important nobles. They don’t have much food, but they’ll make do. She immediately must act the woman’s part again, arranging for guests. On the ride back to the palace, Trunia begs her to let him see her face, and, as this kind of attention is so unknown to her, she enjoys it immensely. Everything seems wonderful, but she also knows that the gods always do this before they ruin things. When they reach the palace, a slave girl whispers to Bardia, and he worriedly tells Orual that he must go home because his wife is giving birth. Orual wants to be angry, but instead she gives him a fine ring to offer to Ungit for his wife’s sake. Orual behind thinks bitterly that she is nothing more than Bardia’s work—his real life lies with his family. The banquet that night is the only one Orual sits all the way through. In future, she only comes in briefly to give a speech, which creates a useful impression of her. At this banquet, she is the only woman. Most of her feels she shouldn’t be there, but the queenly part of her feels like both a warrior and a woman alluring to Trunia. After the banquet, Orual thinks how disgusting men are. They got drunk and ate with no manners at all. She wonders if Bardia acts that way, which brings on loneliness for both him and Psyche. She wishes she could have married Bardia and had Psyche as their daughter. She discovers that if she drinks enough, her grief seems noble. She revels in her sorrows. When she goes to bed, she thinks she hears a girl crying, but tells herself it’s only the chains in the well. She must not investigate because she is a great Queen and a brave warrior. She has her servant Poobi shut the window, contemplates how she could have killed the King, and decides that the Queen will kill Orual. Chapter 20: The next day, they burn the King’s body. The day after, Redival becomes engaged to Trunia. Finally, the palace goes back to normal. As the years pass, the narrator becomes more the Queen and less Orual. Orual has been trapped far within the Queen. The Queen knows that the stories about her reign greatly exaggerate most of what she’s done. In truth, she fights three wars alongside her soldiers. Bardia and another noble really lead the army, and whenever she finds herself in battle, she wishes she weren’t there. The only time she does anything great is once, when Bardia is surrounded and she kills seven men to save him. The Queen’s strength comes from her excellent advisors, Bardia and the Fox, who are honest and loyal. It helps that they don’t think of her as a woman (essentially due to her ugliness). Her strength also comes from her veil. When people can’t see her face, they find her voice beautiful. As fewer people remember ever seeing her face, they begin to speculate about what the veil hides, guessing that she has an animal’s face or no face at all. Some say her beauty is so tremendous that it would drive men mad or make Ungit jealous. In sum, the Queen becomes an object of mystery and fear, which adds to her power. Early on, the Queen moves to a different side of the palace to avoid the sound of the chains in the well. But no matter where she goes, she finds that she can still hear the sound at night. She’s terrified of it, but she’s also scared of not hearing it, in case one day it will be Psyche. However, she knows that if Psyche were alive and wanted to return, she already would have. When she thinks Psyche must be dead or a slave, she goes to the Pillar Room to bury herself in work. For years, she has agents all over the world searching for Psyche, to no avail. In the first year of her reign, the Queen hangs Batta after finding out that she has always blackmailed the other slaves into giving her valuables. She sells or frees many slaves, giving the freed ones their own homes and sometimes letting them marry for love. She sets Poobi free. Many of the freed slaves become successful and loyal subjects. The Queen also makes the silver mines more productive. The King only used them as a place to send people as punishment, and they never made much money. The Queen finds a good overseer, buys strong slaves, provides good living conditions, and lets the slaves go after they have each mined a certain amount of silver. The mines become a source of wealth for the kingdom. The Queen gives the Fox pleasant rooms and land, as well as money to buy books. Traders come to Glome once they realize that someone in Glome is buying books, though the books are very expensive. Orual and the Fox manage to buy eighteen books, which is impressive for Glome. They have Homer, Patroclus, Euripides, Socrates, and Heraclitus, among others. Arnom and other noblemen begin to learn from the Fox. The Queen begins getting to know her nobles, and she meets Bardia’s wife, Ansit. She expected her to be beautiful, but, in fact, she is not. The Queen tries hard to be polite and loving to Ansit, but Ansit speaks little around her. The Queen wonders if Ansit might be jealous of her. The Queen knows that Ansit has borne Bardia’s children, but she has never shared the hardships of war with him. The Queen knows a side of Bardia that Ansit doesn’t. Bardia goes back and forth between them, never thinking of any conflict the two women might have. The Queen doesn’t like having to sacrifice in the house of Ungit. At least Ungit is weaker now, she thinks. Arnom has let more light into the temple and he keeps it cleaner. He is also learning from the Fox to see the gods philosophically. He orders a woman-shaped statue of Ungit like the Greeks have— a contrast to the old, blank stone statue. He must send away men who have learned from the Greeks to have the statue made. The Queen contributes money, feeling that the new statue helps to destroy the Ungit that used to terrify her. When the statue is finished, it becomes a wonder and an object of pilgrimage. The Queen realizes she’ll never find a room where she can’t hear the chains in the well, so she builds ridiculously thick walls around the well. She can no longer hear the sound, but for a while she’s tormented by dreams that she has walled up Psyche or Orual. The dreams eventually end, and the next year she defeats the kingdom of Essur. The Fox grows old and plays a less active role; he writes a history of Glome, once in Greek and once in Glome’s language. He doesn’t know Glome’s language as well as he thinks he does, but the Queen doesn’t tell him this. As he ages, he strays from philosophy towards beauty and poetry. Sometimes he mistakes the Queen for Psyche or other people. The Queen doesn’t have much time for the Fox. She makes many changes for the good of Glome, but she doesn’t care much about them in the long run. Every night, she must retreat alone to her own empty being. She hates evenings and mornings, and the days and years feel irritatingly repetitive. The Fox dies, and the Queen writes Greek verses for his gravestone. He is buried behind the pear trees, where he, Psyche, and Orual were happy. Life goes on until the Queen decides she’s sick of seeing the same places over and over. She decides she’ll travel to other kingdoms and let her advisors take care of Glome in her absence, since it’s in such good shape. She leaves three days later, taking Bardia’s son Ilerdia and Poobi’s daughter, Alit. Chapter 21: The Queen first goes to Phars. Because they harvest later there, the party sees everything happening that just finished in Glome. They stay in Trunia’s palace and the Queen notices that Redival (now his wife) has become fat and ugly. Trunia ignores Redival but gets on well with the Queen. His second son, Daaran, will inherit the throne when the Queen dies. She knows she could love him, but she refuses to make herself vulnerable in that way again. When they leave Phars, they pass through mountains to enter Essur. The Queen and her companions become good friends and enjoy their travels together through the beautiful land. They spend three nights with the King of Essur. Both he and his wife act deferentially to the Queen. The Queen planned to go home after this, but she hears of a hot spring nearby and decides to visit. It’s an autumn day, and the Queen promises herself that she’ll start resting more when she returns home, and that she will let Bardia rest too. They’ve done enough. The party finds a good camping place near the spring. Sitting alone in the forest, the Queen hears a temple bell. She walks towards the sound and finds a small white temple with Greek columns. Inside the temple, it’s very quiet, cool, and clean. The altar holds a wooden statue of a woman with a black veil over her face. The Queen likes this much better than the house of Ungit. A priest appears and asks for an offering, which the Queen gives, inquiring as to the name of the goddess. The priest says she is called Istra. This is a common name, so the Queen doesn’t react. The priest of Istra explains that she is a young goddess who used to be a mortal. The Queen pays him to tell the story. The priest of Istra tells the story as though he has often repeated it, and the Queen realizes that he’s telling the story of her own life and Psyche’s. A goddess was jealous of Istra’s beauty and forced her to be sacrificed on a mountain, and the goddess’s son took her to his palace, where he came to her only in darkness. The priest claims that the god couldn’t show his face because his mother would be angry with him for marrying her enemy, which the Queen thinks is silly. The Queen is glad she’s only hearing this story now, since she’s not as disturbed by it as she would have been in the past. She asks how the priest of Istra came to hear this story, but he’s confused and says only that it’s the sacred story of the goddess. As he continues telling it, the Queen suddenly becomes angry. He has the story wrong, she says, when he claims that both sisters went to visit Istra and saw her palace. The Queen thinks the gods have mangled her story to spite her. There’s no other way a human would have learned of the palace’s existence. The gods have revealed part of the truth to a mortal but have hidden the most important part—the fact that they made Orual guess whether the palace was real. In the world of the story, the gods present themselves clearly instead of asking humans to figure out what’s true. In that kind of world, Orual would not have blundered. It seems entirely unfair to tell the story as though Orual could see the palace. But she knows that the story will be spread in this form, which makes her doubt the truth of other sacred stories. The Queen asks the priest of Istra why the sisters wanted to get Istra away from the god if they had seen the palace. He replies that they were jealous of all that she had. In that moment, the Queen decides to write this complaint against the gods. For years she has kept away from the gods, almost believing they didn’t exist. But now she knows the gods are still against her, and they know all and have unending strength. She must write the truth and make a case against them. The Queen is disgusted that the gods would use such a debasing lie by saying that she was jealous of Psyche. The priest speaks of Istra weeping, and the Queen can almost hear it. He says that Istra wanders and the goddess forces her to complete many seemingly impossible tasks; when she finishes them all, the goddess will let her go, and Istra will become a goddess herself. This corresponds in the temple with the removal of the black veil from her statue. The Queen asks when Istra’s veil will be removed. The priest of Istra says they do it every spring, but the Queen wants to know whether Istra has become a goddess yet in real life. The priest doesn’t understand and tells of the rituals for different seasons. The Queen suggests that the sisters in the story might tell a different tale, and he says that jealous people always do. The Queen leaves the temple to find that the sun has set. She hides her emotions from her companions. The next day, though, she realizes that she can’t be happy until she writes her case against the gods. As they travel back to Glome, she hardly notices what goes on around them. Instead, she remembers every detail of her own story, freeing “Orual” from that place deep inside her. She feels sorrow, but always more indignation. She must write quickly, she thinks, before the gods can stop her. She urges her companions to ride farther each day and wakes them early in the mornings. She becomes silent, and they wonder what’s wrong.