CHAPTER SUMMARIES WITH NOTES

CHAPTERS 21 - 25

Summary

Sophie is surprised that she did not think of the message as an anagram because her grandfather loved anagrams. Sophie decides her grandfather must have left another message for her at the Mona Lisa. Langdon agrees to meet her at the U.S. Embassy. As Langdon leaves, he thinks about Saunière’s request that Sophie find him. Langdon knows Saunière must have thought he could be helpful for something besides unscrabling an anagram. As Langdon thinks about Saunière’s career and interests, he realizes he must go back to Sophie and help her--there is more to the mystery than she thinks. Langdon rushes back inside the Louvre.

Silas sits in the church and gazes at the Rose Line, which crosses the width of the church. This is where he was told by the men he murdered that he could find the keystone. At the same time, Aringarosa lands in Rome. He is prepared to collect twenty-million euro.

Langdon and Sophie reunite at the painting. Langdon asks Sophie if the letters “P.S.” from Saunière’s message mean anything else to her; he asks if she has seen them somewhere before. She is startled by the question because she does remember seeing them on an intricate key she uncovered in her grandfather’s bedroom. Her grandfather told her she must learn to respect his privacy. He told her the letters were her secret initials. From then on, he called her Princess Sophie. Langdon tells Sophie that he believes her grandfather was a member of a secret pagan cult called the Priory of Sion, which has held many famous members throughout its history. Meanwhile, Fache is infuriated as he finds the bar of soap in the truck he believed was transporting Langdon.

Sister Sandrine secretly watches as Silas looks for something with which to break the churchÂ’s tiled floor. She realizes that Silas is not who he claims to be. His presence is a call of distress from the brotherhood. She must act quickly.

Fache calls the U.S. Embassy and learns that messages are no longer retrieved with an access code. Fache remembers that Langdon used his cell phone to place the call and redials the number. Fache hears the message Sophie left for Langdon.

Notes

These chapters begin the rising action portion of the plot. The rising action details the battle between the protagonists and antagonist until the climax is reached. During this section a series of turning points will occur in which important information will become apparent and furthering forces and deterring forces with aid or delay the protagonists in their final goals.

In this section we also begin to learn that Jacques Saunière is a master of double entendres. Sophie immediately thought “P.S.” meant Princess Sophie, the nickname her grandfather gave her as a child. When Langdon asks if it could mean something else, they realize it also means “Priory of Sion,” the secret pagan society to which her grandfather belonged. The use of double entendres will become an important pattern with Saunière’s clues throughout the novel.

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