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Part 5, Chapter 8
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Razor’s Edge, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Wisdom and the Meaning of Life
Social Norms and Conformity
Trauma and Self-Destruction
Snobbishness, Social Status, and Cosmopolitanism
Truth and the Problem of Evil
Summary
Analysis
Somerset returns to Elliott’s room after the bishop leaves. Elliott says that because the bishop came, he’ll enter heaven with a letter of introduction from a prince of the Church. Somerset says, “I’m afraid you’ll find the company very mixed.” Elliott responds by saying that the Bible says that there are class distinctions in heaven just as on Earth, and he’s sure he’ll belong to the higher classes in heaven. “Believe me,” Elliott says, “there’ll be none of this damned equality in heaven.” Elliott says he wants to answer Edna’s invitation and dictates his response to Somerset.
Elliott clarifies that, through his donations to the church, he has been playing the long game. He’s sought to increase his status in life through those donations, which led the Church to give Elliott what seems to be a fictional aristocratic title. But Elliott is also convinced that heaven will be divided into a social hierarchy similar to the one on earth, and he believes his campaign to curry favor with the Catholic Church has also secured him that kind of status in the afterlife. Somerset voices the novel’s point of view, though, when he responds to Elliott’s explanation of his scheme with wry circumspection (“I’m afraid you’ll find the company very mixed”).
Themes
He can’t make it, Elliott says, because he has a previous commitment with “his Blessed Lord.” He chuckles. Elliott holds onto the card and adds, “The old bitch.” Those are Elliott’s final words. He falls into a coma shortly after. Somerset falls asleep, and the sound of a death rattle awakens him. He checks Elliott’s pulse and finds that he has died. The next morning, Somerset meets Isabel and Gray at the train station and tells them Elliott is dead. Somerset later receives a letter from Elliott with instructions that it should be delivered upon Elliott’s death. The letter explains what Elliott wants for his funeral, and Somerset ensures that his wishes are followed.
Elliott dies alone, except for Somerset, who seems to have become his one true friend, or at least the one person who genuinely cares about Elliott. Elliott’s final words are a disparaging remark aimed at the person who didn’t invite him to a party, reflecting the novel’s view that Elliott’s obsession with status is ultimately shallow, comic, pitiable, and has led him nowhere, despite his unrelenting efforts throughout his life.
Themes
