Previous
The Lizard
The novel begins in a dull, grey town which, we come to realize, represents the afterlife. The grey town is lonely, and the people who live there are always fighting and yelling at one another. For some, the grey town is Hell—a place where humans are punished for eternity (though their punishment consists of arguing, fighting, and loneliness, rather than the stereotypical fire and brimstone). For others, though, the grey town is a form of Purgatory—a place where souls live for a time, before eventually migrating to Heaven.
The Grey Town Quotes in The Great Divorce
The The Great Divorce quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Grey Town. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 2
Quotes
That's one of the disappointments. I thought you'd meet interesting historical characters. But you don't: they're too far away.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
I'd start a little business. I'd have something to sell. You'd soon get people coming to live near—centralization. Two fully-inhabited streets would accommodate the people that are now spread over a million square miles of empty streets. I'd make a nice little profit and be a public benefactor as well.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4
Quotes
“What I'd like to understand,” said the Ghost, “is what you're here for, as pleased as Punch, you, a bloody murderer, while I've been walking the streets down there and living in a place like a pigsty all these years.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9
Quotes
“But I don't understand. Is judgment not final? Is there really a way out of Hell into Heaven?”
“It depends on the way ye’re using the words. If they leave that grey town behind it will not have been Hell. To any that leaves it, it is Purgatory.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Great Divorce LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Grey Town Symbol Timeline in The Great Divorce
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Grey Town appears in The Great Divorce. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...explains that many people choose not to ride the bus because they prefer the “ grey town .” The Poet tried to survive in the town by forming a “circle” of intellectuals....
(full context)
Chapter 2
...throwing himself in front of the train, the Poet has spent his time in the grey town .
(full context)
...fight is over, the Narrator finds that the bus is still flying over the enormous grey town , and he’s sitting next to a different man, one who’s older than the Poet.
(full context)
The Narrator asks his new neighbor, the “Intelligent Man,” about the grey town , and the neighbor explains that the grey town has existed forever. There are always...
(full context)
...in the Narrator: he’s trying to find a way to convince the people in the grey town to move toward the bus stop instead of drifting away from it. The problem with...
(full context)
...the Narrator that when it’s nighttime, “They” come outside. At this time, everybody in the grey town must be indoors for protection. The Narrator is confused—how could their houses keep “Them” out,...
(full context)
...the man claims, the Intelligent Man is wrong to try to sell commodities in the grey town ; commodities are vulgar and “Earth-bound.” The man concludes by praising the grey town for...
(full context)
Chapter 3
...back?” The Driver explains that the passengers are under no obligation to return to the grey town . Someone shouts out that the people would be happier back in the grey town,...
(full context)
Chapter 4
...to walk around the river, while he has has to spend his time in the grey town . Len explains that the Big Ghost will understand soon enough. The Big Ghost continues...
(full context)
Chapter 5
...to know the spirit well; he refers to the spirit’s “father,” who lives in the grey town , a long way from the bus. The ghost claims that he refuses to believe...
(full context)
Dick explains that the fat ghost was sent to the grey town because he was an apostate—he committed “sins of intellect.” The ghost is confused—he claims that...
(full context)
...happiness in Heaven, but the ghost insists that he has to be back in the grey town to “read a paper.” He reminds Dick that Christ was “a very young man” when...
(full context)
Chapter 9
...way out of Hell into Heaven?” MacDonald replies that the people who live in the grey town are in Hell. But the people who manage to leave the grey town behind will...
(full context)
...souls who leave the Valley of the Shadow of Life and go back to the grey town have made a choice—but what choice, exactly, have they made? MacDonald replies by quoting the...
(full context)
