These Violent Delights

Benedikt and Marshall, who live together, discuss the city’s reaction to the madness. Benedikt points out that most people have not become more cautious. Instead, he observes that people are taking more risks, and the city has become even more crowded and crime-ridden. Marshall asserts that it is the people, not the city, who have become more violent: “Those who do not care, those who are violent, those who delight in that which is terrible—[…] they thrive. The city has not grown more violent. It is a matter of the people changing” (153).

They look for a live patient with the madness so Lourens can have someone to treat, but they give up after searching the alleyways of the city. Meanwhile, Kathleen visits the Bund, the financial district of the city. She asks the bankers if they know anything about the madness, but they dismiss her questions since most of them do not believe the madness is real. Then an older woman tells Kathleen she saw the monster dive into the river. The woman, who recognizes that Kathleen is from the Scarlet Gang, begs her to protect the people of the city.