All the Devils are Here

“He hadn’t actually thought of that bench as being in front of The Gates of Hell. He thought of it as the place where he’d found a measure of freedom from crushing grief. Where he’d found the possibility of peace. Where he’d found happiness, with lemon curd on his chin and icing sugar down his sweater.”

This quote emphasizes the juxtaposition that Penny develops between hell and heaven throughout the novel. Though the name of the location may be “The Gates of Hell,” it is possible to find peace in spaces named after chaotic places. This quote also foreshadows Gamache's intentions to protect and defend Stephen Horowitz (it was with Stephen in Paris that Gamache could find his way out of his own hell—the tragic loss of his parents as a child). The imagery of the sugary lemon curd is repeated throughout the book as a connection between young Gamache and older Gamache.

“Less a hunter than an explorer, Armand Gamache delved into what people thought, but mostly how they felt. Because that was where actions were conceived.”

This characterization of Inspector Gamache is crucial to understanding both his role and his mission. Armand Gamache is an expert in his field because he looks at human behavior through an intellectual lens. He is a human analyzer, not a judge of actions. This quality is what makes him uniquely good at his job and is also what makes him an excellent protagonist for mystery-thriller fiction.

“‘I guess that’s where your investigative skills come in […] Voyons. I have absolutely no reason to suspect anything’s wrong. If I did, I’d direct you to it. You’re here to make sure we don’t, intentionally or not, open a lane to the land of the dead […] We design things that improve quality of life. But that, if they fall apart, take lives.”

This quote is one of Penny’s first indications to her reader that something is amiss at GHS Engineering. It seems odd that Carol Gossette feels the need to hire a former homicide investigator to work at a private engineering firm. Her insistence that Jean-Guy has been hired to make sure that their engineering projects don’t inadvertently take lives is ominous in tone. It’s a foreshadowing of GHS Engineering’s secrets: They are, in fact, opening a lane to the land of the dead. But this is also a complex foreshadow because it posits Carole Gossette as a potential foe, someone who wants to plant a homicide investigator to check a box. In fact, Madame Gossette is genuine and honest in her concern that engineering projects can, purely by mistake, ruin people’s lives.

“Gamache turned an astonished face to his friend. ‘You’re joking, of course.’ He examined Dussault. ‘The Terror was partly inspired by the Age of Enlightenment. How many Protestants massacred, how many men and women guillotined, how many Jews hunted and killed? How many innocents murdered by terrorists here in the City of Light would agree with you? There’re devils here. You of all people know that.”

In this quote, Penny establishes a tension between Paris as a vibrant, beautiful city and Paris as a place of complex danger. This tension will last throughout the novel, in part to highlight how out of place Armand and his French-Canadian family are in France. It emphasizes that Armand is a guest—albeit a comfortable one with a good relationship—in Paris, thus setting him up as the outsider that is necessary to take down the evil forces at work in Paris. It also establishes a motif of Paris as both setting and character with its own history. Paris’s history in the Enlightenment, Renaissance, and World War II, is continuously alluded to in the novel.

“What he did know was that while it was necessary to go through various scenarios, there was folly, there was danger in landing too heavily on one particular theory early in an investigation. Too often the investigators became invested in that theory and began interpreting evidence to fit.”

This quote highlights the vast experience Armand Gamache brings to the plot. His role as primary protagonist is useful because he can see the nuances in each scene Penny develops. In this quote, Penny’s past books starring Inspector Gamache are alluded to, but the quote also works to foreshadow potential disputes with the other detectives he will work with in Paris. This quote also emphasized the importance of having rational and hyper-intelligent detectives such as Gamache.

“Gamache shook his head. His godfather was a complicated man. He kept his own counsel, and always had. His early experiences in the war had taught him that the fewer people who knew what was going on, the safer everyone was.”

Penny consistently alludes to Stephen’s history in World War II. This context is important as a motif throughout the story. Because of our past experiences, we are all formed to trust or distrust others. Furthermore, his time in the war has made Stephen somewhat of an enigma of a person—at once trustworthy and suspicious. References to Stephen’s time in the war are important in understanding who Stephen is and how he gets himself into situations that threaten his life. World War II is also the epitome of good and evil. Gamache is often thinking about how good people can do bad things, which is the highlighted lesson the world learned after the Holocaust.

“As much as Reine-Marie loved history, she had no desire to live in it. A city, a quartier, a street, a person needed to evolve. Though the fact she was walking in Zora’s footsteps always comforted her. She was retracing a route the elderly woman had taken almost every day of her life in Paris. Both before and after the war, Zora would have come along the same sidewall […].”

Reine-Marie’s acknowledgement of Paris as a city of walking in other people’s histories is poignant and important to the story. No matter how much they can appreciate the setting of Paris, the Gamaches are out of place in this city. Penny’s other Inspector Gamache books take place in Québec, but here in France the Gamache family is challenged by their outsider status. No matter how fancy and pretty the city is, how good the food may be, Reine-Marie misses her homey and cozy village. In Paris, the entire Gamache family is living somebody else’s life, namely, the lives of Zora and Stephen who came before them.

“If knowledge was power, both wanted to be the most powerful man in any room. Neither carried a gun. What they carried was a brain, and in that brain was information.”

Here, Penny emphasizes the parallelism between Armand and Claude. As foes, they are perfect rivals because, as highlighted in this quote, they think and fight using the same strategies. Both incredibly smart, savvy, and courageous, Armand and Claude can either be best colleagues or mortal enemies. This quote foreshadows conflict between them, and highlights Claude as Armand’s ultimate nemesis.

“They both […] seemed kind. Not at all threatening. But where in Gamache the elder it took the form of confidence and authority, in the younger it came across as charm. Which, while pleasant, could be superficial. Often was. A sort of genial wrapping paper hiding, what? Neediness? Insecurity?”

This duality of characterization between Armand and his son Daniel is important to characterization and to foreshadow more conflict with Daniel. The reader is invited, through Fontaine’s sharp eyes, to see that Armand and Daniel have a hard time getting along because they are too similar at the same time as being too different. Daniel’s superficiality is especially important here, as it leaves the reader questioning his motives, lifestyle, and relationship with Stephen.

“[Armand] managed to look both authoritative and trustworthy. Here was a man who naturally belonged. It would take an extraordinary person to challenge him. And, once challenged, to stop him. Now, the other fellow? She looked at Beauvoir. Handsome, she thought. But there was something almost wild about him. As though he was just pretending to be civilized.”

This quote juxtaposes the personalities of Armand and Jean-Guy. While Armand seems calm and not to be messed with, Jean-Guy’s wildness makes him a more unpredictable character. This juxtaposition is important because of Armand and Jean-Guy’s close personal and professional relationship. In the same way that Daniel and Armand are similar yet different at their core, so too are Armand and Jean-Guy. The more Penny can contrast Armand to other characters, the more the reader can understand the main protagonist’s many layers.

“‘Hell is the truth seen too late,’ said Reine-Marie as she poured out more coffee. ‘Thomas Hobbes.’”

This allusion to Thomas Hobbes is important for two reasons. The first is the quote itself, which distills the issues the Gamache family are currently facing. Armand in particular finds himself in a special kind of hell in which he isn’t sure if Stephen and Claude, long-time friends, have lied and betrayed him. Secondly, Thomas Hobbes’s famous philosophical theory on the social contract is applicable to the twists and turns of human morality that Penny explores throughout the novel.

‘“That’s no snowflake,’ said Reine-Marie. ‘That’s a promise, and a warning. Clever…Making it look like one thing while actually being something else. Hiding its real nature. An insignia like that is more than just a corporate logo. It’s a symbol. It means something. Most paramilitary emblems do.’”

The symbol of the Helm of Awe proves that the intricacies of GHS Engineering’s system is even more subtle than Armand had suspected. SecurForte, an elite private security organization owned by GHS Engineering, adhere to their own codes and languages, hidden behind their emblem. This physical manifestation that acts as a symbol of strength and warning highlights the thought that “all the devils are here.” SecurForte provides security for a number of companies, but little do the people who work around them know what SecurForte is truly capable of. This emphasizes Penny’s overall message that it’s too easy to ignore what’s right in front of you.

“If anyone else in a homicide investigation had blatantly lied about knowing the victim, they’d move way up the suspect list. And Daniel’s actions were suspect, at the very least.”

This quote signifies a major plot twist in the novel. To have to wonder about Daniel’s motives, about what kind of trouble he could get in, brings the crime of Stephen’s attack closer to Armand’s home and heart. As an inspector, Armand has been able to keep his family safe. But what if one of his family members is involved in the very crime Armand is investigating? This plot twist also suggests that Armand could be wrong about Claude’s motives. Maybe Claude is acting strangely about this investigation because he is investigating Armand’s son.

“Armand found himself on the Pont d’Arcole. The bridge that led across the Seine to the hôpital Hôtel-Dieu. Its name, Arcole, was a bit of a mystery, as with so much in Paris.”

This quote emphasizes a secondary character in the novel: the city of Paris. With its complex history written all over its cityscape, Paris is itself a mystery to Armand, who knows it well but is not himself Parisian. Paris is the setting of a monumental case in Armand’s life, but its characterizations of light, good food, and romantic history is juxtaposed with the criminal activity brewing under Stephen’s case.

“In the factory, none of your agents broke and ran. You were disciplined, trained, dedicated. A tight team. But still, no one faces that kind of hell and keeps moving forward unless they know there’s a good reason. A higher purpose…I used to believe that, too…That what I did was important. That it mattered. But I don’t anymore. That’s why the video is watched over and over by ex-special forces. It reminds us of what we once were. What we once had […] Self-respect.”

When Jean-Guy catches Loiselle and forces him to explain himself, Loiselle tells him about watching a leaked video of Jean-Guy and other agents following Gamache into a bloodbath. This quote is important for two reasons. The first is that it provides an important plot twist in which Loiselle, who has been tasked with following and intimidating Jean-Guy, switches his alliance, and provides him with information. The second is more metaphorical. Jean-Guy’s relationship with Armand proves that comradery can inspire action against horrific forces, highlighting that SecurForte’s weakness (the missing link of that comradery and shared purpose) is Armand and Jean-Guy’s strength.

“His father gave him a nod of approval, and Daniel felt something stir. What he saw now wasn’t the man who’d made his mother cry […] What Daniel saw was a senior investigator, with a clear mind and a quiet, but complete, authority. This was, Daniel thought, someone he could get behind. He had no beef with Chief Inspector Gamache. It was Dad he had the problem with.”

Daniel and his father’s strained relationship now threaten Daniel’s safety. Without the ability to fully trust his father, Daniel continues to find himself in deeper trouble with the attack on Stephen and murder of Alex Plessner. Daniel’s recognition that there could be layers of his father, some of which he won’t like and others that he can respect, is at least a step in the healing of their relationship. This quote also highlights, through Daniel’s eyes, how multi-layered Armand Gamache is. He is both stone-cold in his intelligence and resolve, and affectionate and loving to his family. Gamache doesn’t necessarily meet the stereotypes of a hardened homicide detective, unlike Jean-Guy. This makes Gamache an ideal protagonist.

“Was Xavier Loiselle an ally, or a spy? Was he a member of their Resistance, or a collaborator?”

This quote highlights Penny’s emphasis on the language of WWII history in France. The events of World War II continue to influence Parisian thought and society today, a cultural point Penny uses to emphasize the difficult nature of determining good versus bad in the people around us. During World War II, average citizens were placed in circumstances that forced them into acquiescing to evil or fighting for good. Stephen, a physical embodiment of this historical tension, is in a war of his own and it is up to Armand to find out who switched from good to bad.

“Had these two men, individual decent, somehow warped each other? Found, fed, magnified, justified the worst in each other? Until the unthinkable became acceptable became normal?”

This characterization of Thierry and Claude is an important juxtaposition to the relationship between their Canadian counterpart, Jean-Guy and Armand. While Jean-Guy and Armand bring out the best in one another, it could have been that their dangerous jobs, the pressures of their salaries, and their personalities and powers could have sent them in the opposite direction. This juxtaposition highlights the strong and pivotal bond between Armand and Jean-Guy. This characterization also echoes Penny’s overall theme that good people can do bad things, because Penny gives Thierry and Claude the space to be identified as formerly good.

“Or perhaps because she’d woken up in her nice bed, in a nice neighborhood of Paris, expecting a nice quiet Sunday, and had instead been swept up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, then down into the bowels of the George V. Swept into another world. One where people killed other people. For reasons as yet obscure.”

This quote emphasizes Paris as a dynamic character within the novel. The disparate locations—as high as the Eiffel Tower and as low as the basements of old buildings—highlights how diverse and expansive Paris is. This characterization of the setting allows Penny to keep her mystery unfolding with multilayered urgency.

“‘Too late,’ said Dussault. ‘It’s already here. The funny thing about Hell is that we assume it’s obvious. Fire, brimstone. We’ll be plunged into it by some horrific event in our live. But the truth is, Hell can be as subtle as Heaven.’ He looked around. ‘Sometimes we don’t recognize we’ve wandered into Hell until it’s too late.’”

Dussault re-invokes a major motif of the novel: that hell is all around us in the most subtle of ways. The symbolism of hell versus heaven is important because it emphasizes the dire stakes the Gamache family is in. It also acknowledges that the world around us is not only imperfect but potentially evil in ways we can’t even recognize. This quote is also important in that Claude, who is betraying his friend Armand, acknowledges that he is involved in something hellish. Could his acknowledgement imply that he is involved somehow against his will? Or is he suggesting that it is easy, natural even, to fall into hell?

“Hell might be empty, but there was evidence of the divine in their midst, too. The trick, as Stephen had taught him in the garden of that Musée Rodin so many years ago, was to see both. Dreadful deeds were obvious. The divine was often harder to see.”

In a book with so many allusions to hell and darkness, here Armand considers the possibility of heaven too. After all, the dichotomy of hell requires that heaven exist too. This quote is important because it highlights Penny’s claim that it’s easy to sink into darkness, and sometimes it’s harder to look for the good in the world. This idea that “the divine was often harder to see” is also a foreshadow of Claude and Stephen’s heroic deeds.

“He took a step toward her and she cringed. And Armand Gamache, a good, decent man, understood how good, decent people could resort to torture. If time was too short and the stakes too high.”

This quote emphasizes the many layers of Armand Gamache. Though he is an ideal protagonist for his courage, love for his family, and respect for the law, it is helpful for the reader to see Armand as capable of the same misdeeds that he suspects of others like Claude Dussault. If one of Penny’s themes is that good people can fall into bad situations and therefore bad actions, then it’s important to show that Armand, like all other humans, is also capable of this duality. The point here is that, despite Armand’s desire to inflict physical harm, he prevents himself from doing so, proving yet again that he is control of his emotions and moral to his core.

“The he sat back down, his legs weak. If this was the right thing to do, why did it feel so wrong? But no, it didn’t feel wrong. It felt wretched. Horrific. A nightmare. But sometimes ‘right’ felt like that.”

When Armand makes the decision to take Stephen off life support, he is indirectly killing his godfather. The burden of this responsibility is heartbreaking, more so because of how much wasteful, tragic death Armand has seen in his career. What’s notable here is the acknowledgement that doing the right thing doesn’t always feel good; in fact, sometimes it feels awful. This emphasizes Armand’s constant drive to always do the right thing. It is a consistent characterization that helps keep all the disparate parts of this winding narrative together.