A World of Curiosities

“He’d chosen to spend his adult life tracking killers, looking into the minds of madmen. Exploring the dark caverns and fissures where acts of murder were born and raised, nurtured, protected and sent out into the world.”

This quotation describes Gamache’s difficult vocation and his approach to solving crimes. In this novel, and throughout the series, Gamache does not typically rely on sophisticated technology but focuses on deep insight into the minds of criminals. This approach comes at a cost; this quotation uses the metaphor of dark, hidden places to describe the depths of warped psychology (and also sets the stage for the motif of hidden spaces within the novel, including the sealed room and Gamache’s basement room). The quotation’s metaphor comparing acts of murder to children being conceived and nurtured also subtly foreshadows the eventual connection between two criminals (Fleming turns out to be Fiona’s biological father).

“Jean-Guy felt drawn to this man, this stranger. Felt his DNA attach itself to him, like a mariner lashed to the mast in a ferocious storm, to keep him from being swept overboard.”

This quotation occurs in the retrospective narrative describing the investigation of Clotilde Arsenault’s murder, which brings Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir together for the first time and forever changes both of their lives. They end up working closely together, and Jean-Guy marries Gamache’s daughter, Annie. The metaphor of a sailor tying himself to part of a ship (the mast) conveys how strongly the two men relate, as well as how Jean-Guy perceives Gamache: as a source of support, security, and safety.