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Chapter 49
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Da Vinci Code, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Conspiracies and Secrets
Art and Symbolism
Faith vs. Knowledge
Sacred Femininity and Revisionist History
Power and Manipulation
Summary
Analysis
Bishop Aringarosa leaves Castel Gandolfo in his unmarked transport. The Vatican bonds in his lap are worth 20 million euro, which he’ll pay the Teacher in exchange for even greater power. Realizing his phone has no signal, Aringarosa worries something has gone wrong without his knowledge. The Teacher never leaves voicemails, having acquired his own secret intel through electronic eavesdropping. As a precaution, the Teacher gave the bishop no contact number. Aringarosa worries the man will take his silence as a sign he has run off with the money.
Here, it is finally clear that Aringarosa is paying the Teacher to help him find (and presumably destroy) the Holy Grail. It’s worth noting that the Teacher obtains his information (which likely helped him find Saunière and the sénéchaux) through electronic snooping—the very thing that caused the Priory to stop speaking the Grail’s location aloud. Aringarosa’s anxiety suggests he is not accustomed to criminal activity and doesn’t completely trust the Teacher.
Active
Themes
