The Secret History

by

Donna Tartt

The Secret History: Chapter 4 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Richard is concerned that school is about start and he’s only heard from Henry and Bunny. The day before classes resume, Richard visits Julian’s office and Julian says that he hasn’t seen anyone except Bunny. He also tells Richard that Henry was sick while in Italy, though he doesn’t go into detail. Richard is annoyed that his friends haven’t called or come to visit and so he tries to go to them. First, he goes to Bunny’s room only to find that he’s gone, and then he calls Francis. Francis answers the phone but uses a fake voice. This annoys Richard so he hangs up.
Like the reader, Richard is drawn to his friends’ strange behavior, even though he is also annoyed by it. By the end of the previous semester, Richard felt bonded to his classmates, especially Charles and Camilla, whom he hasn’t even heard from since they’ve been back. Additionally, Julian once again demonstrates that he is aware of his student’s lives outside of the classroom, especially Henry’s.
Themes
Manipulation and Paranoia Theme Icon
Restless, Richard stays up reading. After a few hours, he leaves his room to go to the Commons, where he finds Bunny drunk and watching TV. Richard asks Bunny where everyone is, but Bunny says he doesn’t know. Richard also inquiries about what happened between Bunny and Henry in Rome, to which Bunny cryptically responds, “He’s not what you think he is.” Richard doesn’t know what to make of this. For a moment, he thinks it is possible that Henry made a sexual pass at Bunny, but he quickly dismisses the idea. Richard doesn’t think that Henry is gay and, even if he was, he certainly wouldn’t be interested in Bunny. Contemplating this makes Richard tired, so he excuses himself and goes to bed.
Bunny’s response is startling, particularly because he and Henry were previously best friends. Although Richard is right to quickly dismiss that Henry is gay, sexual attraction between the male Greek students does show up throughout the novel.
Themes
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Richard wakes up the next day planning to do some Greek homework but then realizes he left his textbook at Henry’s apartment. He tries to call Henry, but no one answers. As such, he makes his way to Henry’s apartment, where he finds that no one is home. He unlocks the door and immediately locates his book. On his way out of the apartment, Richard spots a piece of paper with what looks like flight information and a telephone number. Curious, Richard calls the number and pretends to be Henry. In doing so, he learns that Henry has a flight to Argentina scheduled for the following day. More bewildered than ever, Richard leaves the apartment.
During this section of the novel, Richard plays detective and finds that his friends are not particularly good at hiding their secrets. Already, he’s caught Francis pretending to be someone else on the phone and now he’s quickly ascertained that his friends might be trying to leave the country. Such carelessness wouldn’t normally be noteworthy, but this is the same group that the reader already knows will eventually commit murder. In the case of Henry, who always seems two steps ahead of everyone else, it is possible that what looks like carelessness is actually the result of meticulous planning. In other words, it is possible that Henry wanted Richard to find the flight logs. 
Themes
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Classes begin the same day, Thursday, though Richard doesn’t have class with Julian until the following Monday. Richard spends his day wondering what is going on with the Greek students and whether Bunny knows about it. The next day, Richard calls Francis’s mother in Boston to try to figure out the truth. Francis’s mother is alarmed when Richard insinuates that Francis is not in school, so Richard makes up an excuse so as not to worry her and then hangs up the phone.
As time stretches on, the tension for both Richard and the reader is agonizing. At this point, it is clear that something significant is going on, yet the reveal of what that thing is gets repeatedly delayed. Every time it seems like Tartt is close to revealing something, another obstacle appears, such as Richard not having class with Julian until the following week.
Themes
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Shortly after the phone call, Richard runs into Bunny, who asks him whether he’s seen anyone else. Richard says he hasn’t. Then, the two of them have a conversation about what happened in Italy, though Bunny doesn’t provide any specific answers. When Richard asks him if the problem is money-related, Bunny responds, “That Henry . . . I love him, and you love him, but just between the two of us I think he’s got a little bit of Jew blood.” Bunny thinks that Henry worries about whether people like him for him or for his money. However, he does not go into further detail.
Although Bunny knows more about the situation than he lets on, he doesn’t know where the others are either. Bunny’s comment about Henry—on top of being anti-Semitic—does not ring true to what is known about Henry so far or what will appear in the rest of the book. Henry doesn’t seem to worry about whether people like him for his money, though he does get annoyed by someone like Bunny who overtly takes advantage of his wealth.
Themes
Class and Identity Theme Icon
Richard spends the weekend thinking about his fellow Greek students while eagerly anticipating his first class with Julian, which he hopes will provide him with answers. When Monday arrives, Richard goes to class to find everyone there and acting normal. Everyone gives Richard and Julian elaborate excuses for why they haven’t been in contact, although Richard doesn’t believe them. After class, Richard returns to his room and continues to contemplate the situation. While lying in bed, he hears a knock on the door, which turns out to be Henry. Henry asks Richard if he will take a drive with him, and Richard accepts.
More tension is built up, and then once again, nothing of significance happens. Although it is clear his friends are lying, Richard is still no closer to learning the truth. However, Henry’s offer to take a drive makes it sound as though answers are finally coming. 
Themes
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First, Henry and Richard go to an estate sale and then to dinner. At dinner, Henry abruptly asks, “Don’t you want to know about our trip to Argentina.” Richard is surprised that Henry knows that he knows about Argentina. However, Henry explains that when he called the airline to cancel his ticket, they were confused because someone had just called to confirm the previous day. Before Richard can get more answers, Henry suggests that they go to Francis’s apartment.
Again, Henry postpones telling Richard the truth, although this time it seems as though the truth is finally coming.
Themes
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When they arrive at Francis’s place, Francis is not home. Henry tells Richard that he is out at a movie with Bunny. Then, Henry explains that he and the other Greek students didn’t go to Argentina because of money issues. Although each member of the group is quite wealthy, they all have limitations on how much of their wealth they can access at any given time. As such, they decided the move was too risky. Richard, his head still reeling, says, “Henry, what in God’s name have you done?” Henry tells Richard to guess, to which Richard responds, “You killed somebody.”
Henry’s initial explanation is underwhelming; the group’s financial situation is not what Richard is interested in hearing about. Nonetheless, the group’s overall lack of finances is surprising given the opulent lifestyle they usually lead, suggesting that something else is going on. Richard’s guess, that Henry has killed someone, is both shocking and unsurprising. On the one hand, it seems impossible that a group of charismatic, intelligent, and well-to-do Greek students would’ve killed someone. On the other, the many rumors Richard has heard and the strange behavior he’s observed point precisely to such a crime.
Themes
The Human Capacity for Violence Theme Icon
Class and Identity Theme Icon
Quotes
Richard’s guess turns out to be correct. Henry admits that he and the other Greek students—excluding Bunny—accidentally killed someone while taking part in a bacchanal. Richard has a hard time believing him, but Henry swears it is true. After the conversation about Dionysian madness took place the previous semester, the Greek students made it their goal to have a similar experience. They experimented with drinking, drugs, prayer, and even poison in an attempt to induce Dionysian madness. Henry tells Richard that he almost caught them many times; the random injuries, the strange mixture on the stove, and the bizarre conversation about bedsheets were all related to the rituals they’d been performing. However, for a long time, they did not achieve the results they were looking for.
Finally, the big reveal arrives, and the novel’s dark side begins to show itself. As it turns out, the rumors Richard heard about his friends being devil worshippers wasn’t too far off the mark. If anything, their activities are even more extreme than Richard could have imagined. From here on out, a prominent theme in the novel is the human capacity for violence. Despite their unassuming nature and privileged upbrings, the Greek students commit a horrific act of violence. Not only that, but the reader already knows that they will eventually commit another terrible act of violence, this time with Richard’s help. This moment in the novel marks the beginning of Richard’s transition from a more or less average college student to someone capable of murder.
Themes
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Beauty and Terror Theme Icon
Henry thinks that their initial attempts to induce Dionysian madness failed because their belief wasn’t genuine. From then on, all the members of the group took the rituals incredibly seriously, except Bunny. As such, Bunny was exiled from participating in future rituals. Shortly after Bunny’s expulsion, the Greek students succeeded in inducing Dionysian madness. Henry tells Richard that the experience was amazing and indescribable. Richard interrupts to inquire about the sexual nature of the rituals, and though Henry admits that sex was a part of it, he refuses to go into detail.
Although Bunny’s intelligence is often called into question throughout the novel, here he appears to be the only sane and rational member of the group. Bunny treats the rituals like they are parties, while the others treat them as though they are serious intellectual or religious pursuits. Bunny’s reaction closely tracks with the typical social atmosphere of a college environment, yet this behavior gets him exiled. Additionally, Henry’s admission that sex was a part of the rituals is rather startling, considering that two members of the group are siblings.
Themes
The Human Capacity for Violence Theme Icon
Intellectual Pursuits and Reasonability   Theme Icon
Literary Devices
Henry says that he’s forgotten much of the night, though he knows that the group ran through the woods for many miles. However, when he came to, he found himself covered in blood with a dead man at his feet. Each of the members of the bacchanal have slightly different versions of what occurred, but ultimately no one is sure how the man died. Frightened, they left the body and escaped without anyone seeing them. Henry is disturbed by the incident but would not be worried about being caught if not for Bunny. Before he can explain further, Francis returns home.
This section of the novel utilizes multiple levels of unreliability. Not only is Richard un unreliable narrator, but he is also now narrating Henry telling him about an event, which Henry himself claims to not fully remember. In fact, neither murder in the novel is narrated in detail, making the violence seem distant from the characters who commit it. 
Themes
The Human Capacity for Violence Theme Icon
Manipulation and Paranoia Theme Icon
Quotes
Literary Devices