Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The City & the City, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Borders and Doubles
Seeing vs. Unseeing
Crime vs. Punishment
Urban Life and Alienation
Paranoia, Conspiracy, and Illicit Knowledge
Summary
Analysis
It is not possible to fly directly to Besźel from the US; passengers must change in Budapest, Skopje, or Athens. A blockade prevents Americans from flying direct to Ul Qoma, too, but there are direct flights to Ul Qoma from Canada. Borlú and Corwi have gone to Besźel Airport to meet Mahalia Geary’s parents. While they wait, they talk about places they’ve traveled. They watch drivers waiting to collect board members of companies such as VerTech and Sear and Core, and Corwi wonders aloud why corporations are investing in Besźel. They discuss Mahalia’s PhD supervisor, Professor Nancy.
This passage presents the first substantial reason why the divide between Besźel and Ul Qoma is so strictly policed—because they have different relations with other countries around the world. This closely corresponds to the way that international relations work in reality, when global conflicts can spark proxy wars between two neighboring countries (or a split within the same country, such as the Vietnam War).
Themes
Corwi asks why Borlú went to Berlin, and he explains it was for a conference called “Policing Split Cities.” At the time, Berlin was still divided, and there were also sessions on Budapest, Jerusalem, and Besźel and Ul Qoma. Corwi is shocked that Borlú was allowed to attend an event that placed Besźel and Ul Qoma under the label “split city.” Mr. and Mrs. Geary arrive, and Borlú greets them, expressing his sincere condolences. He asks if they want to be taken to their hotel, but they say they’d prefer to go straight to view Mahalia’s body. Mr. Geary asks if they will see Professor Nancy and Mahalia’s friends, but Borlú reminds him that this isn’t possible, as they are in Ul Qoma.
Part of what makes borders so harmful is that they intrude on the most sensitive aspects of social life, including death. Mr and Mrs. Geary come to Besźel because this is where Mahalia’s body was found and where it remains, yet this means they cannot meet her community or see where she actually lived. Although the Besźel/Ul Qoma divide is unique in some ways, grieving families routinely have to deal with border issues like this in the real world, too.
Themes
Mr. and Mrs. Geary are among a very small group of visitors admitted to Besźel without tourist training through the compassionate-entry visa program. This means that they have not taken part in the exam, with both its “theoretical and practical-role-play elements,” that tourists have to take before arriving in Besźel. The training for the exam takes two weeks, and by the end tourists aren’t able to see and unsee on a native level, but are at least prepared to be discreet about seeing the wrong thing, which allows them to avoid any egregious breaches. Borlú takes Mr. and Mrs. Geary to Shukman’s lab, where they “moan” at the sight of their daughter’s dead body.
Outsiders such as tourists and refugees play an important role in the narrative. Unlike native citizens, these outsiders have not internalized the division and alienation that defines life in Besźel and Ul Qoma. In a sense, they provide a much-needed fresh, innocent perspective on life in the cities, highlighting the absurdity of the border and the rules around breaching.
Themes
Mr. Geary says he wants to go to Ul Qoma. Borlú and Corwi are having lunch with the Gearys at their hotel, alongside a young man named James Thacker from the American embassy. Borlú promises that he is in the process of arranging the paperwork that will enable the Gearys to travel to Ul Qoma. Mrs. Geary asks if they will be able to speak to “the Breach” about the case, but Borlú apologetically explains that this will not be possible. Thacker joins in, adding that Breach is “extremely secretive” but that he has no doubt that they will successfully solve the case and prosecute those responsible. He also explains that there will be no trial, only a private tribunal to which the Gearys will not have access.
This passage makes startingly clear how much Breach actually prohibits the pursuit of true justice. Because it is so secretive and opaque, Breach is profoundly undemocratic. The way it approaches crime recalls the justice systems under totalitarian governments, which are defined by a total lack of transparency and accountability, and usually very little justice.
Themes
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Frustrated, Mr. Geary brings up Mahalia’s obsession with Orciny. Thacker seems not to know what Orciny is, and Borlú and Corwi clarify that it is a “folk tale.” Mrs. Geary mentions that Mahalia used to frequently argue with Professor Nancy. She and Mr. Geary then say that it seemed Mahalia was on the verge of some kind of a breakthrough when she died. People were angry about what she had discovered. As the conversation gets more heated, Borlú asks who was angry about Mahalia’s research. The Gearys mentioned that some were nationalists, but before the conversation continues, Corwi and Thacker intervene, suggesting everyone take a moment to calm down.
Mr. and Mrs. Geary are important sources of information about the case, but also unreliable ones. They don’t know anything about the way Besźel and Ul Qoma actually work, and thus, although Mahalia seems to have told them a lot about her research, they are not well-equipped to understand it. Borlú must therefore attempt to decode their impressions in order to arrive at the truth.
Themes
After the Gearys leave, Borlú and Corwi discuss two particularly nasty nationalist groups: Qoma First, and their Besź equivalent, the True Citizens. Borlú comments that Mr. Geary’s assertion that Mahalia angered the nationalists might not be true. Corwi notes that they know she upset the unificationists, and wonders if there are “any extremists she hasn’t made angry.” Borlú suggests they do some more digging while they wait for Breach to pick up the case. This surprises Corwi.
Again, the fact that Mahalia seems to have angered the unificationists as much as the nationalists highlights that the political landscape in Besźel and Ul Qoma is not straightforward. The unificationists and nationalists may be on opposing sides, but there seem to be certain issues which unite them against all odds.
Themes
