Piranesi: Part 2 Summary & Analysis

Piranesi meets the “Other” in the Second Western Hall. He tells Piranesi the subject of his research today is Piranesi himself, and he asks Piranesi what he can remember. Citing his deep knowledge of the House, Piranesi claims to remember everything. The Other asks him if he remembers “Batter-sea,” confusing Piranesi; he does not believe such a word exists. Then Piranesi laughs, realizing that the Other is simply testing him to make sure he is not lying about what he does remember; “Batter-sea” is a “control question.” Laughing, the Other admits this is true.

The Other asks what happened to Piranesi’s broken glasses; Piranesi explains he is experimenting with different methods of repairing them. A Tide crashes in the Hall below, and the Other anxiously asks if they should leave. Piranesi reassures him, but the Other is still nervous. Piranesi explains that the Other was once carried away by the Tides, almost drowning; since then, he has been afraid of them. Piranesi reassures the Other that the Tides will not affect them. In the evening, Piranesi goes to fish alone. As he casts his net, he has a series of visions, seeing “scribbles” and strange lights and hearing loud noises. They seem related to “Batter-sea,” but they fade before Piranesi can get any clarity. 

Piranesi recounts a story from the past Winter. Collecting seaweed for fuel and food, he sees a “white, shining cross” in the sky which he recognizes as an Albatross. As it nears, Piranesi wonders whether he and the Albatross are meant to “merge” and become an angel. The Albatross passes over him, and Piranesi feels a release of tension. The bird lands and Piranesi welcomes it. The next day, Piranesi returns to find a second Albatross— the original’s mate. Seeing them struggle to build a nest, he provides them with seaweed; though seaweed is valuable, he wants to honor the new members of the House. The Albatross give birth to a chick and Piranesi names the year after the Albatross.

Piranesi wakes to find a cloud has entered the Hall he is sleeping in. This is a result of the ceiling having collapsed two years prior. The cloud’s presence makes the space chill and grey, and Piranesi notes the absence of birds. He finds them in a different hall, perched on statues. Piranesi describes the “Drowned Halls,” halls which, being full of broken masonry and collapsed roofs, have filled up with rain. Piranesi claims these are good for fishing, particularly beneath the moon.

Piranesi describes how he used to fear the Tides. Though he sensed there was a pattern to them, he did not yet understand it. Out of hunger, however, he was forced to explore, eventually discovering the surplus of fish in the Drowned Halls. Piranesi recounts how once, having not eaten in two days, he ascended to the Upper Halls to fish in the Drowned Halls. On his way, however, he gets turned around and finds himself in an unfamiliar, fog-filled Hall with gruesome, violent statues. Piranesi carefully treads across the Hall, but accidentally steps into open air. He clings to a statue and pulls himself up. The next day the fog clears, and Piranesi sees a Drowned Hall several dozen meters below.

Piranesi tells another story, this one about the birds that occupy the House. Though typically Piranesi thinks of them as unintelligent, on certain occasions they have shown remarkable insight. Piranesi describes how they once instructed him to collect extra food by flying to different statues representing “industriousness.” The next day, an unexpected storm wiped out his food supply, and Piranesi was glad to have the extra food. Piranesi hypothesizes that bird intelligence is collective, and with this in mind, he interprets another message. The birds land on several statues with ambiguous meanings, making this message far more complicated than the last. Piranesi interprets the message as: A message from afar. Obscure Writing. Innocence eroded.

The Other prepares to perform a ritual designed to transfer the “Great and Secret Knowledge” to him and Piranesi. Piranesi asks to stay, and the Other asks only that he remain quiet. The Other explains his intention to summon the spirit of Addy Doramus, a dead king who supposedly possessed the knowledge. Piranesi asks which of the dead Addy is, and the Other grows annoyed, confused by the question. The Other practices the ritual, naming each of the powers desired, such as immortality, invisibility, and flight. Piranesi expresses disinterest in all powers except the last. Looking dissatisfied, the Other says he should be performing the ritual for some powerful energy source.

The Other complains at the lack of living things in the House. Piranesi privately disagrees, thinking of many counter-examples. He suggests the Other perform the ritual for a star, and the Other agrees but laments the repetitious nature of the House. Piranesi takes offense, but he says nothing. Instead, he tells the Other of a Hall with only one Doorway and no Windows and a powerful aura. The Other asks Piranesi to take him there but is disheartened to discover how far it is. The Other asks what stars are visible from the Hall, but Piranesi cannot remember. The Other promises Piranesi a pair of shoes for the journey if he collects information for him. 

Piranesi finds a cardboard box labeled “AQUARIUM” with a pair of shoes in it. They fit perfectly, and Piranesi is content. Piranesi lists the other things provided by the Other during their time together, including a sleeping bag, fishing nets, matches, multivitamins, various foodstuffs, notebooks, office supplies, and bowls. Piranesi is grateful for these gifts, but he wonders why the House gives them to the Other and not him. Perhaps, Piranesi reflects, the House knows that the Other would die without such assistance.

Piranesi visits the dead, bringing each of them an offering of food and drink. He whispers the name Addy Domarus to each of them, hoping one will signal it is theirs. Instead, nothing happens, and Piranesi feels a sense of repudiation from the corpses. The next day Piranesi sets off for the One-Hundred-and-Ninety-Second Western Hall, the one with only one doorway. The House shows Piranesi many wonders along the way, including a staircase of Mussels and several unique statues. Piranesi reaches his destination, but he is put off by the “Absolute Darkness” of the Hall. He fears the invisible statues will turn out to be grotesque. He delays entering the Hall, eating and drinking and journaling outside the door.

Piranesi enters the Hall. It is very dark, and there are no birds. Piranesi is unsettled, but he manages to drift off to sleep because of the familiar sound of the Sea in the Lower Halls. Piranesi awakes to the moon shining in the Doorway. The statues are illuminated too, and Piranesi observes that they represent a crowd. For a moment, he understands what it might be like if there were thousands of people in the world. Piranesi makes notes of the constellations and departs. His experience pushes him to abandon his belief in the Great and Secret Knowledge, reflecting that the House is not a “means to an end.”

Piranesi decides to pursue a new science, one that follows the data instead of single-mindedly searching out a single objective. On his way back to share his revelation with the Other, Piranesi encounters ripped-up pieces of paper. He reads the words “minotaur,” “slave,” and “kill him.” Piranesi wonders who wrote this and searches for the rest of the pieces, finding 47 of them. However, the last remaining scraps of paper are woven into the nests of several aggressive herring gulls. Piranesi decides to return when they’ve abandoned the nests to collect the rest of the paper.

The next day, Piranesi explains his revelation about the insignificance of The Great and Secret Knowledge to the Other. The Other grows upset, explaining that their quest is a “great project,” designed to return a lost knowledge to humanity. He then explains that if Piranesi abandons the quest, the two of them will cease to be colleagues, an upsetting thought to Piranesi. Finally, the Other tells Piranesi that his revelation about knowledge is not new—in fact, Piranesi has had it several times. The Other explains that, while Piranesi’s memory of the labyrinth is perfect, he consistently forgets days and dates. This is why the Other must set objectives, not Piranesi.

Reflecting the next day, Piranesi expresses disbelief about the Other’s claim. He cannot find any evidence of memory loss and reflects that there is no third party to say which one of them is right. Piranesi decides to read through his journal to look for any discrepancies, though he does not have time for it yet. Until he can, he will operate on the assumption that the Other is wrong. The next day Piranesi writes a letter to the Other. It states that, while no longer confident in the scientific legitimacy of the Other’s search, he will continue to help him.

The next morning, the Other asks if Piranesi has seen anyone else in the labyrinth. Piranesi says no, and the Other asks him to promise not to speak to anyone if he ever does. Piranesi is confused at this request, and the Other explains that he has met this sixteenth person—“16”—before and that they are his enemy. The Other reassures Piranesi that 16 does not know his way here, and Piranesi questions how the Other met him, since the Other never travels far from the First Vestibule. The Other looks horrified and does not answer the question.

Piranesi updates his journal entry for 16. The next day, Piranesi visits the First Vestibule, a place he rarely goes, despite it being the centerpiece of his hall-numbering system. He reckons he must have felt a strong connection to it but cannot remember why. Piranesi wonders if he is forgetting things, like the Other claims. The First Vestibule is larger than the other Vestibules and has eight imposing minotaur statues. It is colder than the other halls and smells of rain, metal, and petrol. He follows the scent and arrives at two minotaur statues. Their shadows create an optical illusion. Piranesi feels as though he is staring down a corridor from which strange smells and sounds also emanate. He hears footsteps and a loud, angry voice.

Piranesi leaps back. When he returns to the statues, the illusion is gone, as are the lights and noises. Piranesi discovers a piece of paper blowing in the wind. Signed by someone named Laurence, it asks for its reader to provide instructions to the statue of the elderly fox teaching other woodland creatures. There is a blank space for a response and Piranesi writes back, reasoning that Laurence might be from a distant hall. He gives exact directions to the fox statue and expresses his hope that Laurence is alive— if not, he promises to bring food to Laurence’s remains. He signs “Your Friend” and puts the paper at the foot of a minotaur.