The Beautiful Mystery

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2012

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Chapter 3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-10

Chapters 11-14

Chapters 15-17

Chapters 18-21

Chapters 22-25

Chapters 26-29

Chapters 30-34

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Background

Literary Context: Detective Fiction

The detective novel became prominent in English in the 19th century, most prominently through the works of Edgar Allen Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Wilkie Collins. In the 20th century, the Golden Age of Detective fiction, exemplified by the works of Agatha Christie, focused on the detective as a lone genius who reveals the culprit at the novel’s denouement. Christie’s Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple are mostly static characters who remain largely unaltered by the cases they investigate, however horrific or tragic.

Late-20th-century British novelist P.D. James significantly expanded the “crime story” genre: Her main protagonist Adam Dalgliesh has a complex inner life and his character development and aging process are recurring themes in her novels, which follow him from his early career in the 1970s to a final appearance in 2008. Dalgliesh is contemplative and often confronts complex moral problems in his murder investigations.

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Penny published a tribute to P.D. James and cited her as a key influence in her understanding of the mystery genre. One Dalgliesh novel, Death in Holy Orders, published in 2001, takes place at a remote theological college, similar to Penny’s choice of a monastic setting for The Beautiful Mystery. Gamache and Beauvoir, like Dalgliesh, undergo trials and changes of heart during the novel series. Beauvoir becomes a more compassionate and subtle investigator, while Gamache confronts the limits of his ability to singlehandedly combat corruption in the Sûreté.

Historical Context: The Catholic Church in Medieval Europe/The Early Protestant Reformation

In the Medieval Europe, Catholic monasteries were centers of learning and political power. Not all medieval monks were ordained priests, but most monastic communities were governed by rules of conduct. Perhaps the best known was the Rule of St. Benedict, established by Benedict of Nursia, which mandated that monks focus on labor, reading, and prayer. The Psalms, chanted at regular intervals—the Divine Office—was a key structuring point of the monastic day. This is still the case for the monks in Penny’s novel.

The Catholic Church acted as a powerful social and political force in Europe, and the relationship between secular and religious authority could be fraught. Most Both Gamache and the abbot refer to this history when they recall the fate of the Gilbertines and the earlier conflict between King Henry II and Thomas à Becket. Henry II wanted secular courts to have jurisdiction over clergy members; Becket’s intransigence to this idea resulted in his murder. Though Henry publicly repented, monarchical power in ensuing decades until dramatically, King Henry VIII split from the Roman Church and declared himself the head of the church in England. The real Gilbertines did not survive Henry subsequent dissolution of the monastery system in Britain, though Penny’s fictional offshoot of the Gilbertines fled to Canada to avoid persecution for heresy by the Inquisition—a church office that still exists in modern times and is represented in the novel by Frère Sebastien.

Catholicism in Québec/The Quiet Revolution

France first colonized Québec in the early 1600s, though much of Canada became a British colony in the subsequent 150 years. Britain preserved religious freedom and French legal customs in Québec to prevent the province from joining the United States. As a result, the Roman Catholic Church became a dominant social force in the province, while political tensions with the Anglophone elites shaped much of the province’s politics. Church influence extended to education, politics, and social life. This began to change dramatically in the 1960s, a period historians call the Quiet Revolution. Growing discontent with the church-controlled school system and was accompanied by greater provincial control of welfare services and utilities. The church was seen as an obstacle to Québec’s progress and ability to thrive within Canada. Québec nationalism and the defense of the French language acquired new salience during this period. Penny touches on these issues throughout the Gamache series. Beauvoir often serves as the voice of Francophone Québec, baffled by Anglophone expressions and culture. Both Beauvoir and Gamache are products of modern Québec, who lead largely secular lives. For both men, the Gilbertine monks are a reminder of Canada’s past.