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Chapter 85
Themes
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
In the sanctuary, Silas holds a gun to Sophie’s back. Rémy instructed him to retrieve the keystone and kill no one. Langdon holds up the cryptex, saying he’ll give it to Silas if he lets Sophie and Teabing go. Otherwise, he will break it. Watching from the shadows, Rémy is alarmed. The cryptex is his key to one-third of the Teacher’s payout from Opus Dei. The Teacher has forbidden Rémy from revealing himself, since it will necessitate more murders. He also told Rémy the tomb is not in the Temple Church, but they must take the cryptex before the others figure it out. Worried Langdon will destroy it, Rémy steps from the shadows and points his gun at Teabing’s head.
The Teacher has instructed Rémy to stay hidden, presumably because revealing himself as an accomplice would somehow implicate the Teacher himself. Though Langdon understands the cryptex’s importance to the Grail quest, he values his friends’ lives more. For the Teacher to have told Rémy that the group is investigating the wrong site, the two must have spoken since arriving in England. Furthermore, the Teacher must have significant knowledge of Grail lore to be so confident they are in the wrong place. Rémy’s selfish motives drive him to disobey the Teacher’s directive and show himself to the others.
Themes
Rémy tells Langdon to hand over the cryptex, or he’ll shoot Teabing. He has been listening to their conversations and discussing the clues with other knowledgeable Grail-seekers. Langdon says he’d rather the Grail be lost than fall into the wrong hands, but Teabing protests that Rémy would never shoot him. Rémy fires a warning shot. Silas takes the cryptex. Rémy drags Teabing backwards out of the church, intending to use his Grail knowledge in their search. If Langdon or Sophie call the police, Rémy and Silas will kill Teabing. Sophie asks who they’re working for. Rémy smiles and says she’d be surprised to know.
Themes
