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Chapter 96
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
Langdon and Sophie enter Westminster Abbey, where more than 3000 people are entombed. Guards usher them through a metal detector. Because of the rain, the abbey is mostly empty, which makes Langdon fearful of a repeat of the Temple Church altercation. Sophie reminds him no one here can be armed because of the security system. She is determined to retrieve the cryptex without police help, intending to intercept Teabing’s captors. Given the abbey’s vast size, Langdon suggests they find a docent and ask for directions to Newton’s tomb.
Westminster Abbey is an Anglican church in London which has hosted many prestigious events, including coronations, since its construction in the 11th century. Unlike the Temple Church, the abbey also contains thousands of tombs, including Isaac Newton’s. Sophie’s plan to retrieve Teabing and the cryptex without police intervention suggests she still hopes to follow Saunière’s clues to their conclusion.
Themes
Some distance away, out of sight of the abbey’s other visitors, the Teacher peruses Sir Isaac Newton’s tomb. A pyramid rises behind the sarcophagus, from which a massive orb protrudes. The orb depicts heavenly bodies, alluding to Newton’s study of astronomy, but the Teacher can’t determine what orb is missing. Glancing toward the main altar, he sees a docent leading Langdon and Sophie toward the tomb. Hiding behind a choir screen, the Teacher feels the revolver he snuck in by flashing his identification card. He hopes to use Langdon and Sophie’s knowledge to solve the second cryptex and plans to lure them somewhere else in the abbey.
Themes
