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Chapter 18
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Eagle of the Ninth, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Freedom and Slavery
Friendship and Trust
Dignity and Shared Humanity
The Roman Conquest of Britain
The Military, Identity, and Honor
Summary
Analysis
Esca and Marcus decide to try to not have to kill the hunters. They knock down the first two who come through the door easily, and Esca manages to overpower the third. The one man who’s still conscious is Liathan. Marcus speaks to him while Esca binds and gags the others. Marcus tells Liathan that when the other hunters arrive, Liathan will tell them to go back and that he and Esca aren’t here—or Marcus will toss the Eagle into the lake. They hear hoofbeats below, and after a silence, Liathan leans over the parapet and tells the hunters that nobody is here. After the hunters are gone, Liathan makes one last attempt to tackle Esca and Marcus before they tie him up. Esca then goes to check on Liathan’s ponies.
In a sign of how much they’ve come to humanize the tribesmen, Esca and Marcus go out of their way to not kill them—they just want to bind them long enough to make their escape. In the same vein, Liathan’s willingness to go along with Marcus’s plan, as upset as he is about it, suggests that he too doesn’t really want to see Marcus and Esca die.
Active
Themes
Liathan asks Marcus why he pretended to be an oculist and stole the Eagle. Marcus reminds Liathan that he healed his nephew’s eyes, and he reveals that the Eagle was from his father’s legion. Liathan marvels that Tradui was right: Tradui said that Marcus looked like the Roman chieftain’s son, and then they pieced together what happened. When Liathan was preparing to leave for the hunt, Tradui gave him the signet ring to give to Marcus—while also encouraging Liathan to kill Marcus and leave the ring with Marcus’s body. Now, Marcus takes the ring from the leather thong around Liathan’s neck and puts it on. He thanks Liathan and promises to let the ponies loose on this side of the Wall. Esca gags Liathan, and then he and Marcus gallop south.
Even as Marcus sees the tribesmen as his enemies, it’s impossible to ignore their respect for him. It’s limited, to be sure—Tradui wants Marcus to have the ring so he can have this memento from his father, but he also would prefer that the ring go to Marcus’s corpse—but it’s nevertheless a sign of respect. In return, all Marcus can really do is thank Liathan and promise to turn the ponies loose, making it so that he’s not stealing an important resource from the tribes in addition to stealing the Eagle.
Active
Themes
Marcus and Esca reach the Wall before dawn and demand that a guard open the gate in Caesar’s name. Marcus asks to speak to the Commander, and a while later, Marcus is surprised to find himself speaking to none other than Drusillus. It takes a minute for Drusillus to recognize Marcus, and he’s confused by Marcus’s wild appearance. Marcus sets his bundle on the table, says it’s the Ninth Legion’s Eagle, and collapses.
Active
Themes
