Chapters 41-50 Summary
Chapter 41
Chapter Characters:
Bishop Aringarosa
Vatican officials
Chapter Summary:
At Castel Gandolfo, Bishop Aringarosa enters the library, where he finds the
Secretariat Vaticana and two Italian cardinals. They give Aringarosa a
briefcase containing Vatican bearer bonds worth twenty million euros. Although
they would have preferred giving cash to Aringarosa because the bonds are
traceable to the Vatican Bank, Aringarosa remembers the Teacher suggesting
bonds as insurance: "We are all in this together now."
Aringarosa then heads for Paris.
Chapter Themes:
The power of belief, and the need to believe.
Chapter 42
Chapter Characters:
Robert Langdon
Sophie Neveu
Bezu Fache
JéromeCollet
Chapter Summary:
At the Depository Bank of Zurich, Sophie and Langdon repeatedly use the key to
pass through barriers. When they enter the bank, a guard guides them to the
elevator to their floor. Having seen their pictures being circulated by the
French police on television, the guard reports to the bank manager that two
fugitives are in the bank, and then he calls Interpol.
When they get to the lavish room awaiting them, a banker explains how the boxes work: they need an account number to go with the key (which Langdon and Sophie do not have at present). The banker receives a call and leaves the room, locking them inside.
Across town, Fache calls Collet to tell him that Interpol was tipped off and that Langdon and Sophie are at the bank.
Chapter Themes:
The human world is encoded with meaning.
Chapter 43
Chapter Characters:
Robert Langdon
Sophie Neveu
André Vernet
Chapter Summary:
André Vernet (president of the Paris branch of Depository Bank of Zurich) was
awakened by a subordinate, who told him of the fugitives. Wanting a gold-key
client who is also a fugitive out of his bank as soon as possible, he hurries
to Sophie and Langdon. Recognizing Sophie, he seems surprised, more so when he
learns Saunière is dead. He tells them that Saunière was a dear friend but that
he does not have the secret code to the vault. Sophie shows Vernet the Priory
of Sion seal on the key her grandfather had left her. She said her grandfather
wanted to give her something and wonders if the contents of his safe-deposit
box have anything to do with the Sangreal. Vernet says he knows nothing.
A phone call lets Vernet know that the police are there. Not wanting an arrest to be made at his bank, Vernet leaves the room to arrange Sophie and Langdon's escape. Soon thereafter, Langdon realizes they already have the code, from the first line of Saunière's last message: "13-3-2-21-1-1-8-5."
Chapter Themes:
The human world is encoded with meaning.
The influence of the past upon the present.
Chapter 44
Chapter Characters:
Robert Langdon
Sophie Neveu
Chapter Summary:
Langdon types in the ten digits, but Sophie decides they need to reorder them
into the Fibonacci sequence, "1-1-2-3-5-8-13-21." They enter the reordered
numbers, and a robotic claw moves through the vault, eventually bringing them a
crate with a polished wooden box in it.
The rosewood box has an inlaid five-petal rose on it, which Langdon explains is a Priory symbol for the Holy Grail. They open the lid and realize the object inside is not the Cup of Christ.
Chapter Themes:
The human world is encoded with meaning.
The influence of the past upon the presen.
Chapter 45
Chapter Characters:
Robert Langdon
Sophie Neveu
André Vernet
JéromeCollet
Chapter Summary:
Vernet enters, letting them know the police have blocked the street. Vernet is surprised to see that they had accessed Saunière's account and wants them out of the bank. He...
(This entire section contains 1079 words.)
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guides them into an armored car, and poses as the driver to get them through Collet's blockade.
Chapter Themes:
The human world is encoded with meaning.
The centrality of human relationships, especially male-female
relationships.
Chapter 46
Chapter Characters:
Silas, the albino monk
The Teacher
Chapter Summary:
Alone in his room, Silas is weak from self-flagellation and despair. He
remembers learning from Aringarosa five months earlier that something terrible
would happen in six months. He calls the Teacher to tell them all is lost, but
the Teacher tells him that Sauniere transferred information, and so there is
still hope.
Chapter Themes:
The power of belief, and the need to believe.
The influence of the past upon the presen.
Chapter 47
Chapter Characters:
Robert Langdon
Sophie Neveu
Chapter Summary:
In the armored car, Sophie and Langdon open the box. Inside they find a
cryptex, an encoded cylinder with different disks that can be turned to spell
out key phrases, modeled on Da Vinci's designs. The cryptex contains a simple
booby trap, so that if one attempts to open it without the correct code, one
destroys the message inside. As Sophie explains the cryptex and Langdon the
historical symbolism of the rose, Langdon realizes what it is.
Chapter Themes:
The human world is encoded with meaning.
The centrality of human relationships, especially male-female
relationships.
The influence of the past upon the present.
Chapter 48
Chapter Characters:
Robert Langdon
Sophie Neveu
Andre Vernet
Chapter Summary:
Langdon realizes he's holding the Priory's keystone. As he explains why he
thinks so, he also explains the Priory's policy of having four top members who
all knew where the Grail was, but with the knowledge transmitted only orally
(never written down). After Langdon's explanation, Sophie suggests that her
grandfather was the Grand Master. Their suppositions are interrupted when
Vernet stops the truck and draws a gun on them.
Chapter Themes:
The human world is encoded with meaning.
The centrality of human relationships, especially male-female
relationships.
The influence of the past upon the present.
Chapter 49
Chapter Characters:
Robert Langdon
Sophie Neveu
Andre Vernet
Chapter Summary:
Vernet explains that he's doing this because of the four murders—Sauniere and
three others—which Langdon and Sophie realize are the four top members of the
Priory. He tries to take the box, to recover property he considers stolen, but
Langdon and Sophie overpower him and drive away with the truck and box.
Chapter Themes:
The human world is encoded with meaning.
The centrality of human relationships, especially male-female
relationships.
The power of belief, and the need to believe.
Chapter 50
Chapter Characters:
Bishop Aringarosa
Chapter Summary:
In the hills near Castel Gandolfo, Bishop Aringarosa learns he has no cell
phone service, which makes him fear that the Teacher will think he's betrayed
him.
Chapter Themes:
The power of belief, and the need to believe.
