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Chapter 98
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Da Vinci Code, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Conspiracies and Secrets
Art and Symbolism
Faith vs. Knowledge
Sacred Femininity and Revisionist History
Power and Manipulation
Summary
Analysis
Still pointing his gun at Langdon and Sophie, Teabing insists he didn’t mean for them to get involved in his plans. He explains that Saunière intentionally failed to reveal the Grail during the End of Days, thereby betraying everyone who risked their lives for the secret. Sophie realizes Teabing is the one responsible for her grandfather’s murder. Teabing alleges the Church pressured Saunière not to reveal the Grail documents by murdering all his family members except Sophie, who was kept alive to ensure he would never dare release the documents. Sophie is overwhelmed by the possibility that this is the family secret her grandfather longed to tell her.
Teabing’s attempt to explain himself suggests he still needs Langdon and Sophie’s help. To that end, he tries to persuade them his actions—killing Saunière and the others—were justified. According to Teabing, Saunière was a coward who refused to reveal the Grail secret, shirking his duty because he feared the Church would kill Sophie. By framing his own murderous plan this way, Teabing tries to argue that the Church is still primarily at fault and Saunière was no longer worthy of possessing the Priory’s secret. It's important to note, though, that Teabing offers no proof that the Church was to blame for Sophie’s family’s murders.
Themes
Langdon is incredulous that Teabing murdered the curator. But Teabing insists someone had to take action to expose the truth and stand up to the Church. He wants Langdon and Sophie to help him, implying that Sophie is to blame for rejecting Saunière and driving him into silence. Teabing gives Langdon the cryptex—he hasn’t solved the riddle. When Langdon refuses to help, Teabing says it would have been simpler if he and Rémy had killed Langdon and Sophie when they first arrived at the château. He blames Saunière and the sénéchaux for lying to Silas about the keystone’s location—if they had told the truth, Langdon and Sophie wouldn’t be involved.
Teabing’s uncompromising belief that the Grail secret should be shared with the world motivated him to murder Saunière and take that sacred duty upon himself. Based on his distaste for the Church and its historic persecution of the Priory, it heavily implies that Teabing also wants to publicly expose what he perceives as Christianity’s false narrative. His conviction that truth and knowledge are more important than anything else (even human life) leave him guiltless in his own mind. He even blames Saunière for lying to Silas and necessitating more suffering, and he refuses to acknowledge the way he manipulated all parties to violent ends.
Themes
When Teabing realized Saunière left a message for Sophie and Langdon, he was planning to offer help when they arrived at the château. Once Teabing saw Saunière’s intricate codes, he decided to overpower Silas (who he’d ordered to come steal the keystone) and use Langdon and Sophie’s knowledge. Internally, Teabing recalls how, after the incident at Temple Church, he tipped off police to Silas’s location and killed Rémy by putting peanut dust in the flask (he’s allergic). His gun set off Westminster Abbey’s metal detectors, but he blamed it on his crutches. Now, Teabing asks Sophie and Langdon to work with him to find the Grail. Sophie refuses. Teabing turns the gun on Langdon and presses him for an answer.
Themes
