Till We Have Faces: Part 1: Chapter 12 Summary & Analysis

Bardia comes to Orual, but she can’t talk about what has happened. Bardia says that they’ll have to stay where they are for the night, even though it’s too close to the gods. Orual follows him to a campfire, and he brings out delicious food. She takes pleasure in her mortal needs and doesn’t think of divine wonders. Bardia suggests that they should lie back to back for warmth, since he’s nothing more than a dog to her. She agrees, but is surprised he’s suggested it. She doesn’t know yet that men hardly see an ugly woman as a woman at all.

Bardia falls asleep quickly but would awaken at any sign of danger. Orual can’t sleep at all due to discomfort and worry. Before dawn, she creeps down to the river for a drink. When she looks up, she sees a huge palace, incredibly beautiful and entirely dark. Somewhere inside, she thinks, something holds Psyche in its arms, and Orual wonders if it will punish her. She knows she must cross the river and ask forgiveness for being angry with Psyche, whom she now sees is almost a goddess. She is frightened and watches for any change in the palace. As she rises to her feet, the palace dissolves into mist.

Orual asks the reader to judge. She wonders if the moment she saw the palace is evidence against her or against the gods. The gods might say it was a sign, but she thinks a sign that is also a riddle is useless. It’s possible that she truly did see the palace, but it’s also possible that, being half asleep and looking through mist, she imagined it. She thinks it unfair for the gods to only send a sign that can’t be proven—they should speak plainly. Orual returns to Bardia but does not tell him what she saw. In fact, she has never told anyone.

They begin their journey home through wind and rain. When they stop for lunch, Orual tells Bardia everything, but leaves out her glimpse of the palace. In response, Bardia says that he tries to stay out of the way of the gods by acting piously. Orual asks whether he thinks Psyche is mad or the palace is real, and Bardia is sure she isn’t mad, but he’s hesitant to offer any advice. He insists that he can’t doubt Psyche’s word about her lover. When Orual asks what sort of lover would keep his face hidden, Bardia admits that it must be something awful, also pointing out that it’s called the Brute.

Orual has already guessed what Bardia put into words, but it’s still a shock to hear it. She knows that Bardia feels very certain of the situation, and she thinks that everyone in Glome would agree with him. Psyche was given to the Shadowbrute, and it ended Glome’s problems. Something godlike and disgusting is using Psyche. For the rest of the journey Orual accepts this story, and it seems clear that any other possibility was just something she imagined to comfort herself.

Orual touches her sword hilt. Before the sacrifice, she swore that she would kill Psyche rather than let a monster have her. Now she swears it again and cries. Doubting herself, she wonders why she should interfere when Psyche is happy. But as they approach the house of Ungit, Orual realizes that there is a deeper way to love than only seeking happiness for the loved one. A father does not want his daughter to be a prostitute, and a woman does not want her beloved to be a coward, even if they would be happy as such. Orual strengthens her resolve to remove Psyche from the Brute. As they enter the city, Bardia says that Orual must enter the palace by a back entrance to avoid the King’s notice.