Till We Have Faces: Part 1: Chapter 17 Summary & Analysis

A tall man comes out of the bushes and tries to kiss Orual, calling her pretty, but she takes out her dagger and points out that she’s veiled. He replies that anyone with her voice must be beautiful. Orual has never been approached this way before, and almost doesn’t want it to end, but she demands to know who the man is. He says he needs the King’s help and must speak with him.

Orual reveals that she is the Queen, unless the King recovers. The man says he is Trunia of Phars and has come looking for protection. He is at war with his brother and father, the king of Phars. He had to escape, got lost, and ended up in Glome, where his horse went lame. He wants Orual to hide him for a day so that he can sneak back into Phars. Orual says that if she takes him in she has to defend him, and they don’t have the strength to go to war with Phars. She’ll have to take him prisoner instead.

Trunia tries to run away, but he trips and hurts himself. He submits to being a prisoner, and Orual says she’ll save him from his brother if she can do it without going to war. She calls the guards, who bring him into the castle.

Orual goes to the King’s bedroom. He seems worse, and he can’t speak. The Fox tells her that he’s just received word that Argan of Phars is ten miles away with cavalry, seeking Trunia. Orual feels shocked and reveals to the Fox and Bardia that Trunia is in the palace. She brings them to the Pillar Room to get away from the King and sends Trunia to the room where Psyche was kept before the sacrifice.

Orual, Bardia, and the Fox agree that Trunia will probably rule Phars in the end, since most people hate Argan and think him a coward. Furthermore, Trunia will treat Glome well in the future if they help him now—but in the meantime they can’t face a war with Phars.

Orual has an idea and asks Bardia how good Argan is with a sword. Bardia replies that he and Orual are both better than Argan. Orual points out that Argan won’t want to do anything that would make him seem more of a coward, so he’ll have to accept if they propose single combat for Trunia’s life. Bardia approves of the idea. Even if they lose the combat, they will have done their best by Trunia, and if they succeed, Trunia will be their friend as king of Phars.

Orual proposes that their champion must be someone so low that it would be shameful for Argan to refuse to fight. The Fox and Bardia are skeptical. Orual clarifies that she means Argan must fight a woman. She hasn’t told the Fox that she’s learned to use a sword, and he’s confused. Bardia understands, but doesn’t want Orual to risk her life. He admits that she has more skill than Argan, but she could still fall prey to bad luck. Bardia explains the situation to the Fox, saying again that he wishes Orual had been born a man. He means well, but it hurts her.

The Fox thinks the plan is scandalous—Greeks are more sensitive to social conventions than the people of Glome. Orual points out that she’s already so ugly that she might as well become manlier by fighting. Furthermore, the people of Glome might not accept her as Queen, because they don’t know much about her. They’ll be more likely to welcome her if she has acted like a hero. Bardia agrees. The Fox fears losing her, but Orual has made her decision. She orders them to send a messenger to Argan to inform him of the place and time of the combat. If she dies, he gets Trunia. If he dies, Trunia can return freely to Phars.

Orual goes to bed, knowing that Bardia will send the message. Once she’s alone, she realizes it feels like someone called “the Queen,” not Orual, has been acting in her place. She’s amazed at what the Queen has done and no longer believes she can kill Argan. She worries her courage will fail when she has to fight, and imagines everyone being ashamed of her. They would all think that Psyche was better than Orual, both in beauty and bravery. She insists to herself that Psyche could never do what she’s doing.

Orual realizes that she’s thinking the way she did when she was sick and Psyche seemed like her enemy. She begins to think the gods have sent Argan to kill her, and this will be a good way to die. For the past few hours she’s forgotten the desolation of her life because she had so much to do as Queen. She promises herself that if she’s actually allowed to become Queen, she’ll throw herself into it entirely to keep herself from remembering her desolation. She wants to trick the gods by turning her old self, Orual, into a new self, the Queen.

Orual goes to the King’s chamber, where Batta sits at his bedside. He’s awake, but can’t speak. He looks terrified when he sees Orual. She thinks that some people wouldn’t blame her if she murdered him. She’s afraid that he’ll survive his illness, for she feels free and doesn’t want to go back to being a prisoner if he pulls through. Finally, she realizes that even if he does survive, he’ll be insane. She sleeps deeply that night.