Homage to Catalonia: Chapter 12 Summary & Analysis

At night, Orwell keeps a low profile, trying not to be caught by the police, while during the day he can lead a regular life, carefully avoiding spending time near POUM buildings. On his first day as a fugitive, he meets his wife and two friends, McNair and Cottman, at the British Consulate to try to obtain a passport to leave the country.

There, his friends tell him that Bob Smillie has died. While they initially believe he has been shot, Orwell later discovers that he probably died of appendicitis, an ordinary illness left untreated in prison. The news overwhelms Orwell, who cannot understand the senselessness of such a death. Smillie was a twenty-two-year old boy whom Orwell considered one of the strongest, most able men in the militia. He cannot fathom how such a tough, talented, courageous fighter could have been left to die like this, alone and neglected, because of senseless political rivalries.

That afternoon, Orwell and his wife visit Kopp. In the makeshift prison, Orwell notices that most of the prisoners are poor, working-class men who rely on their wives to bring them the bare minimum of food. The place is extremely crowded and, among the prisoners, Orwell notices children and wounded men alike.

When Kopp arrives, he is cheerful and lighthearted. He tells Orwell and his wife that he will probably be shot, but does not seem bothered by the news. During the conversation, Orwell realizes that the letter from the Ministry of War that was confiscated from Kopp could play an important role in getting him out of prison. The letter was addressed to an important colonel, and reaching out to that officer directly might help get Kopp free. Orwell decides to leave immediately and meet the man in person.

When Orwell arrives at the War Department, bearing a letter that Kopp has written for the colonel, he is stopped by an Assault Guard who demands to see his papers. Orwell shows him his hospital discharge ticket and, as the man lets him through, Orwell realizes that he can’t read. Orwell is sent a variety of different directions by people who do not actually know where the colonel’s office is. He feels that he is stuck in a nightmare. Meanwhile, time to is running out, as Orwell believes that Kopp could be shot any time soon.

Finally, Orwell is able to find the office and meet the colonel’s secretary. When Orwell confesses that Kopp was part of the POUM, the secretary reacts with panic. Orwell is forced to admit that he, too, was part of the POUM militia, and is convinced that the man will order his arrest immediately. However, to Orwell’s surprise, the man leads him to the Chief of Police without saying a word. There, after the secretary engages in a violent conversation with the police, he emerges with Kopp’s confiscated letter from the Ministry of War. Despite this surprising success, this letter was ultimately not able to free Kopp.

On his way out, as Orwell is saying goodbye to the secretary, the man decides to shake Orwell’s hand. Orwell is deeply moved by this gesture, for in the atmosphere of political rivalry that has overtaken the city, such a gesture means publicly shaking hands with the enemy. Orwell reflects that such a gesture is typical of the Spanish nobility of character. Despite his horrible memories of Spain, he admits that he has almost nothing to complain about when it comes to Spanish generosity.

Orwell recounts an anecdote to illustrate his belief in Spanish nobility. When the secret police searched his hotel room, he explains, they examined every single object and possible hiding place in the room. However, since Orwell’s wife was lying in bed, they refused to inspect the bed. Even though Orwell had nothing to hide, he explains that, had he been a Fascist spy, he very well could have concealed secret documents there. The police’s refusal to inspect the bed, therefore, made their entire search for pro-Fascist material fruitless. This is an episode, Orwell assesses, where the Spanish deference to a woman’s privacy proved more important than their brutal, Communist-style police tactics.

In the meantime, with his companions McNair and Cottman, Orwell hides at night and pretends to be a rich English tourist during the day. The situation, to him, is so absurd that he cannot truly consider himself in danger, since he believes that he has done nothing wrong.

Finally, one morning after receiving their passports from the British consulate, Orwell and his wife head to the train station. While waiting for the train, Orwell writes a final letter to the Ministry of War to try to get Kopp liberated. None of his efforts have any effect and Kopp remains in prison. Like so many other foreigners, Kopp is later sent to a secret prison and Orwell does not hear from him after this.

Orwell and his wife succeed in boarding the train. They make sure to sit in the dining-car and, as they look like normal tourists, are left alone by the police. Orwell notes with irony that, when he arrived in Spain, showing off wealth was dangerous. At that time, to be respectable, one had to appear working class, while six months later the opposite is true. Thanks to inefficient Spanish bureaucracy, Orwell’s name does not appear on the border authorities’ list of wanted people, and he and his wife are able to cross the border.

As soon as they arrive in France, Orwell buys as many cigarettes as he can. Orwell and his wife get off the train at Banyuls, the first station. In the town, when they mention their story to strangers, they are treated with hostility and they realize that the town is largely pro-Franco. Once in France, instead of feeling relieved, the couple remains animated by what they have witnessed in Spain and ordinary civilian life suddenly seems boring. Their one secret desire is to return to Spain and share the plight of their friends and comrades.

Orwell explains that, however horrible his memories of Spain might be, what he experienced there has left him with indelible memories, feelings, and sensations that, in the end, he is grateful to have had. After witnessing the horrors of the war, Orwell is in fact moved by optimism and a strong belief in the inherent dignity and generosity of human beings. He warns the reader that his account is inevitably marked by his personal point of view and opinions, and that this book, like any other account of the Spanish Civil War, should be regarded critically as containing mistakes and personal opinions.

After stopping in Paris, the couple returns to England. There, when Orwell witnesses the unchanged rhythm of everyday English life, isolated from all the violence in other parts of the world, he realizes how peacefully oblivious his home country is. In a dark, foreboding tone, he concludes that the only way the country could be woken from its comfortable lethargy would be through the attack of bombs.