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Part 5, 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
Baal, now an aging poet in Jahilia, witnesses the return of the Prophet Mahound after 25 years in exile. Baal, now a decrepit figure, is mocked by strangers in the street as he heads home through the hardened, decaying city. Jahilia, once vibrant, has become a stagnant, impoverished place under Mahound’s growing power. The city, now cut off from its lifeblood of pilgrims and caravans, struggles to survive. The Grandee of Jahilia (Abu Simbel), once powerful, has grown old and feeble, while his wife Hind, rumored to be a witch, remains unnaturally youthful and fierce.
Baal, once a prominent poet, now embodies the decay of Jahilia under Mahound’s expanding influence. His physical decline parallels the city’s deterioration from a vibrant hub to a lifeless place. As Baal navigates the decaying streets, he becomes a relic in a society that no longer values his once-celebrated dissent. He is a fallen artist who has failed to suppress Mahound’s religious fervor.
Themes
Hind dominates the city, ruling it through her terrifying reputation and a series of public proclamations. The people of Jahilia, despite the city’s decay, continue to see Hind as a symbol of their greatness, forgiving her excesses and believing in her delusions of immortality. Meanwhile, Baal, detached from public life, writes poems of unrequited love, feeling increasingly isolated in the decaying city.
Hind’s youthful appearance, contrasted with the city’s physical decay, embodies the desperation to maintain an illusion of vitality. The people’s continued loyalty to Hind, despite the evident deterioration of their world, indicates the allure of authoritarian figures who offer stability in times of crisis—even if that stability is based on delusion.
Themes
One day, Baal returns home to find Salman the Persian, a former close associate of Mahound. Salman, now disillusioned and fearful of Mahound’s return, shares his story with Baal. He recounts how Mahound’s obsession with control and the endless rules revealed by the Archangel Gibreel led him to question the authenticity of the revelations. Salman admits to secretly altering the verses as he transcribed them, only to find that Mahound never noticed the changes. At first, Salman made minor changes to test if Mahound was paying attention. However, Mahound did not notice the alterations. Thinking it strange, Salman started making far more significant alterations. To his shock, Mahound did not catch these either. Feeling betrayed, Salman abandons Mahound, who he feels has been corrupted by power.
Salman the Persian’s story reveals the cracks in Mahound’s claim to divine authority. By altering the sacred verses and discovering that Mahound does not notice, Salman exposes the potential human fallibility and manipulation behind what is presented as divine revelation. This subversion not only undermines the prophet’s credibility but also demonstrates the vulnerability of any leader who relies on unquestioning obedience. Salman’s disillusionment reflects a broader critique of the dangers inherent in absolute power and the ease with the desire for control can corrupt faith.
Themes
Baal, now in hiding, takes refuge in The Curtain, Jahilia’s most popular brothel, where the Madam disguises him as a eunuch. Inside the brothel, Baal learns from the gossip of the customers that the people of Jahilia are secretly defying Mahound’s rules and continuing to indulge in forbidden pleasures.
Baal’s retreat to The Curtain, is a small act of defiance against Mahound’s religious restrictions. Disguised as a eunuch, he immerses himself in the last bastion of resistance within the city, where people secretly indulge in forbidden pleasures.
Themes
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Baal comes up with a plan to mock Mahound directly. He convinces the Madam to have the 12 sex workers in the brothel take on the identities of Mahound’s 12 wives. The masquerade becomes wildly popular among the men of Jahilia, who flock to the brothel to indulge in this blasphemous fantasy. Baal, now more emboldened, even marries the 12 sex workers, assuming the role of their husband, much like Mahound with his real wives.
The decision to have the 12 sex workers impersonate Mahound’s wives is Baal’s boldest act of satire and rebellion. This masquerade not only mocks the sacred institution of Mahound’s polygamy but also serves as a commentary on the absurdity of religious and patriarchal authority. By marrying the 12 sex workers, Baal ridicules the prophet’s divine authority, turning it into a spectacle for public consumption.
Themes
The success of this scheme attracts attention, and eventually, which leads someone to recognize Baal as an infamous satirist. Baal is arrested and brought to trial alongside the prostitutes. In court, he confesses openly to orchestrating the masquerade. Mahound’s followers, hearing his story, cannot contain their laughter at Baal’s audacity. Mahound, seeing Baal as a dangerous reflection of his own flaws, sentences the poet to death, knowing that Baal’s irreverence is a threat to his authority.
Baal’s arrest and trial mark the climax of his defiance. His open confession of orchestrating the masquerade sees him refusing to be silenced or intimidated. The laughter of Mahound’s followers in court highlights the subversive power of humor and irreverence in undermining authoritarian regimes. Baal’s ability to expose the contradictions in Mahound’s rule makes him a dangerous figure. His execution, though meant to quell dissent, exposes the regime’s fear of mockery and its need to suppress any challenge to its legitimacy.
Themes
The 12 sex workers are sentenced to death by stoning, and Baal is beheaded shortly afterward. Mahound, despite his absolute power, still fears the spirit of Baal, as he dared to mock the very foundations of his rule. Many years later, Hind emerges to celebrate Mahound’s impending death, believing that her witchcraft has finally brought about his end. As Mahound dies in Ayesha’s arms, a vision of Al-Lat visits him and claims responsibility for Baal’s illness, describing it as revenge for her destruction. Mahound accepts his fate, knowing that his time has come. He chooses to enter the kingdom of God, leaving his followers to carry on his legacy.
The execution of Baal and the 12 sex workers does not extinguish the spirit of rebellion. Even in death, Baal’s irreverence haunts Mahound, reflecting the limits of authoritarian power. Hind’s celebration of Mahound’s impending death serves as a reminder that power is never absolute and that resistance, whether through satire or witchcraft, persists. The vision of Al-Lat as Mahound dies further complicates the narrative, suggesting that the divine and the demonic are intertwined and that every act of destruction carries within it the seeds of its own undoing. This suggestion—and the depiction of Mahound in general as a tyrant—is Rushdie’s most controversial statement in the novel. Like the poet Baal, he is speaking against an entire religion, a decision which lead to dire consequences in Rushdie’s real life.
Themes
