Till We Have Faces: Part 1: Chapter 19 Summary & Analysis

Often the most important part of a day takes up the least time, Orual says. It takes very long to prepare for Orual’s battle with Argan, even though the battle itself is short. Orual wants the Fox to come well-dressed, but he doesn’t like the clothes of Glome. Then Bardia wants Orual to remove her veil for the fight so that it doesn’t hinder her vision, but she refuses. Eventually she has her servant, Poobi, sew her a hood with eye holes. It makes her look like a ghost, so hopefully it will frighten Argan. All of them, including Trunia, set out on horseback. Trunia asks where the champion is, but Orual makes him wait to find out.

Nobles wait at the palace gate to accompany the party. Orual thinks of Psyche going this way to heal the people and then to be sacrificed. She wonders if she is becoming Psyche by also being an offering to the gods. Now she can only think of maintaining a show of bravery. The nobles around her think she’ll lose the battle, but the commoners are celebrating in the streets. They don’t actually care about Orual; they’re excited for the free entertainment.

Once at the appointed place, Arnom must sacrifice a bull. Argan sits with his men on the other end of the field. Orual finds it strange that one of them will soon kill the other. Both of them eat a bit of the bull and take oaths. The preparations seem endless. Finally all is ready, and the Fox is very distressed. Trunia is shocked when Orual reveals herself as the champion. She and Argan start to fight.

Argan doesn’t begin to respect Orual until she skins his hand with her sword. She isn’t afraid anymore because the fight seems just like her practice bouts with Bardia. Before long, she knows he won’t kill her, but she worries she won’t kill him either. If it lasts too long, his strength might tire her out. Then she sees his face change, and she doesn’t understand why; it’s the look of someone who knows he’s about to die. When he makes a mistake, she cuts his leg where it will never stop bleeding.

Everyone runs to Argan, but he can’t be saved. Orual suddenly feels weak and different, perhaps the way women feel when they lose their virginity. Bardia and the Fox run to congratulate her, and she weeps. She has to talk to everyone and do many things and she wishes for peace and quiet. She mounts her horse and takes Trunia’s hand. They face the soldiers from Phars and ask whether they have any doubts about who will be the next king of Phars. Some gallop away, but most declare allegiance to Trunia.

Bardia tells Orual she must have a feast for the important nobles. They don’t have much food, but they’ll make do. She immediately must act the woman’s part again, arranging for guests. On the ride back to the palace, Trunia begs her to let him see her face, and, as this kind of attention is so unknown to her, she enjoys it immensely. Everything seems wonderful, but she also knows that the gods always do this before they ruin things.

When they reach the palace, a slave girl whispers to Bardia, and he worriedly tells Orual that he must go home because his wife is giving birth. Orual wants to be angry, but instead she gives him a fine ring to offer to Ungit for his wife’s sake. Orual behind thinks bitterly that she is nothing more than Bardia’s work—his real life lies with his family.

The banquet that night is the only one Orual sits all the way through. In future, she only comes in briefly to give a speech, which creates a useful impression of her. At this banquet, she is the only woman. Most of her feels she shouldn’t be there, but the queenly part of her feels like both a warrior and a woman alluring to Trunia.

After the banquet, Orual thinks how disgusting men are. They got drunk and ate with no manners at all. She wonders if Bardia acts that way, which brings on loneliness for both him and Psyche. She wishes she could have married Bardia and had Psyche as their daughter. She discovers that if she drinks enough, her grief seems noble. She revels in her sorrows. When she goes to bed, she thinks she hears a girl crying, but tells herself it’s only the chains in the well. She must not investigate because she is a great Queen and a brave warrior. She has her servant Poobi shut the window, contemplates how she could have killed the King, and decides that the Queen will kill Orual.