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Part 3, Chapter 2
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Satanic Verses, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Fallibility of Prophets
Immigration and Identity
Religion and Blasphemy
Racial Prejudice and Xenophobia
Metamorphosis and Identity
Summary
Analysis
Saladin finds himself trapped in a police van, surrounded by immigration officers and policemen who show no compassion. They ridicule him relentlessly, tearing off his pajamas and exposing the grotesque transformation his body has undergone. His legs have become muscular and hairy, ending in cloven hooves, and his penis has grown to an alarming size. The officers find his new appearance and make crude jokes, delighting in his discomfort. Notably, none of them seems to find Saladin’s transformation particularly strange.
The officers’ indifference to Saladin’s physical changes suggests a normalization of cruelty and otherness. Saladin’s experience exposes how those in power often turn difference into a spectacle, using it as an excuse for humiliation. The lack of shock at his new appearance speaks to a society that routinely devalues and dehumanizes those it considers “different.”
Themes
Saladin lies on the floor of the van as the policemen hold him down and restrict his movements. His horns repeatedly bang against the hard surfaces around him, causing him further pain. He considers the possibility that he might have died in the plane explosion and that everything happening now is some form of afterlife, but he dismisses this idea, realizing that the pain feels too real.
Saladin’s horns repeatedly banging against the van’s hard surfaces add to his physical torment and disorientation. His thoughts about the possibility of being in some kind of purgatory reflect his psychological struggle to make sense of his suffering. Meanwhile, his realization that this is no afterlife highlight the hellish reality of his present situation, where his suffering is disturbingly tangible.
Themes
The van rumbles on, and Saladin grows increasingly desperate. The officers’ taunts grow crueler as they force him to clean up his own excrement, which now resembles the pellets of a goat. The officers push Saladin’s face into the mess and laugh at his disgusted reaction. Saladin attempts to assert his dignity, but their laughter and mockery drown out his words. Eventually, the officers get sick of torturing Saladin and discuss sports instead. However, after some time, they remember Saladin’s presence and begin abusing him again.
This act reduces Saladin to a subhuman status, forcing him to perform animalistic functions. His attempts to speak and assert his dignity are drowned out by the officers’ taunts, showing how difficult it is to claim one’s humanity in the face of such relentless dehumanization. Additionally, the officers’ switch from taunting Saladin to discussing sports, only to return to abusing him, illustrates the banality of their cruelty.
Themes
Saladin’s mind drifts as the beatings continue. He begins to feel detached from his body, as though the pain is happening to someone else. His thoughts become jumbled, and he loses track of time. The officers and policemen, meanwhile, discuss the need for increased surveillance and more control over the population. Eventually, the van halts, and the officers realize they face a problem. A check with the Police National Computer confirms that Saladin is a British citizen, which complicates their plans. They debate what to do with him, considering ways to cover up their mistreatment. Eventually, they decide to knock him out and leave him.
As the abuse continues, Saladin begins to feel detached from his body, his mind drifting away as a defense mechanism. The officers’ conversation about increasing surveillance and controlling the population reveals the systemic nature of their cruelty. They view Saladin not as a person but as a problem to manage, highlighting how power systems reduce individuals to categories, dehumanizing them in order to maintain order and control.
Themes
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Saladin wakes up in a hospital bed, coughing up green slime from his lungs. His body feels frozen, and he struggles to make sense of his surroundings. A nurse named Hyacinth Phillips introduces herself and begins a brutal treatment regimen to clear his lungs, which leaves him feeling even more battered than before. Despite his initial resistance, Saladin has no choice but to endure the painful sessions, as Hyacinth firmly tells him that he needs them to get better.
Saladin’s awakening in the hospital introduces another layer of dehumanization. The nurse, Hyacinth Phillips, administers harsh treatments that, while intended to heal, further his sense of violation and helplessness. Her rigid insistence on these brutal methods suggests that care, in this context, is just another form of control.
Themes
During his recovery, Saladin becomes aware of the strange noises around him—animal sounds, cries of pain, and the continuous wailing of a woman in labor. The stench of the hospital, a mixture of jungle and farmyard odors, combined with the sounds of suffering, overwhelms his senses. Determined to regain some control over his situation, Saladin attempts to stand, but his new legs betray him, and he collapses to the floor.
Stein’s visit to the hospital reinforces the futility of seeking justice in a system designed to protect its own. His warning to Saladin not to bother filing a complaint reveals the corruption within the police force. Saladin’s sense of isolation deepens as he realizes he cannot fight back against the forces reshaping him, both physically and socially.
Themes
While Saladin is the hospital, one of the policemen, Stein, pays him a visit. Stein warns Saladin that he shouldn’t bother filing a complaint, as he and the other officers have made sure it will not be taken seriously. That night, Saladin receives a visit from a manticore, a creature with the body of a man and the head of a tiger. The manticore explains that the mutations affecting them all result from the authorities’ power of description: they are being reshaped by the way they are perceived.
The manticore’s speech introduces a broader critique of how society and authority impose identities on individuals, effectively reshaping their realities. The manticore’s invitation to escape provides Saladin with a choice: stay and be further molded by the oppressive system, or flee and risk an uncertain future. This moment is a turning point for Saladin: he can choose to reclaim some agency over his fate, however fraught it may be.
Themes
The manticore tells Saladin that he and several others are planning to escape the hospital immanently. The manticore invites Saladin to come along, warning him that his transformation will only grow worse if he stays. Ultimately, Saladin agrees to escape with the manticore, hoping to take back control over his life. As he runs through the night, Saladin catches glimpses of other escapees—men and women who have been transformed into bizarre, monstrous forms, part plant, part animal, or even part building. Ultimately, the escape plan is successful, though Saladin struggles to see what he should do now that he is free.
As Saladin escapes with the manticore and glimpses the other transformed beings, he witnesses the diversity of altered identities who have similarly been abused. The sight of these grotesque forms reinforces the idea that breaking free from physical confinement does not mean escaping the psychological scars or societal perceptions that shaped them. Still, this is an important moment for Saladin, who finally breaks free after a night of excessive abuse.
Themes
