50 pages • 1 hour read
Christopher BuehlmanBetween Two Fires
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2012A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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The Possibility of Redemption
Content Warning: This source material contains sexual assault and the threat of sexual assault on minors, as well as alcohol addiction and extreme instances of body horror. It also depicts societal anti-gay bias and antisemitism.
Through Thomas’s internal transformation, Buehlman emphasizes that forgiveness and rebirth are possible for anyone. Thomas’s desire for vengeance almost compromises his soul, yet Delphine sees his goodness even through his violent actions. Thomas’s choice to forgive others changes the trajectory of his life and his soul’s destination, showing the possibility of change and renewal.
Thomas’s turn from vengeance toward sacrificial love encapsulates the process of redemption. Although Delphine sees a devil by his soul when she meets him, she does not let Thomas’s violence deter her from showing him love and compassion. Delphine knows that fear of Hell or suffering will not help Thomas; the only thing that truly changes people’s hearts, the novel suggests, is complete love and acceptance. However, while Thomas learns to temper his violence, he does not show a major shift in character until Delphine baptizes him, which requires that he first forgive Marguerite and any others who have wronged him. Through Delphine’s example of accepting Thomas himself, Thomas realizes that true freedom requires forgiving the people who hurt him—that is, sacrificing his personal grievance in favor of empathy. Once Thomas forgives Marguerite, he transforms into a new person, as symbolized by his literal change in appearance to resemble the Comte d’Évreux.
The close association between love, sacrifice, and redemption is not surprising given the novel’s reliance on Christian cosmology, and the ultimate act of redemption in the novel comes from Delphine’s sacrifice, which parallels the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Delphine personally sacrifices herself to save Pope Clement by taking a spear through her stomach that was meant for him (the placement of the spear in Delphin’s side makes the connection between Delphine and Jesus clearer still). The angels that emerge from her body then triumph over evil, meaning that Delphine’s death not only saves Clement’s life but allows for humanity’s ultimate redemption. Buehlman highlights this through the imagery of the devil coming out of the river as an angel. This demonic transformation encapsulates Delphine’s final message: that forgiveness can change the course of a person’s life and lead them toward redemption and peace.
The Everyday Nature of Good and Evil
Between Two Fires juxtaposes a cosmic battle between angels and demons with what might seem by contrast the relatively trivial sins and virtues of humanity. However, Buehlman repeatedly shows the two conflicts between good and evil to be interrelated; the novel can even be read allegorically, with humanity’s best and worst traits anthropomorphized in angels and demons. Every time Delphine, Thomas, or Matthieu faces an angel or a demon, they simultaneously face their own humanity, their seemingly minor acts adding up to nothing less than good or evil themselves.
Although the novel contains no shortage of unquestionably immoral acts (e.g., the attempted rape of Delphine with which it begins), the vices of the main characters are generally subtler. Matthieu’s alcohol addiction, for example, would not be considered a sin by contemporary standards, and yet it leaves him vulnerable to the manipulations of the devil posing as the seigneur. Similarly, what Thomas faces in his battle with the monster in the river is fear, symbolized by the creature’s mockery of the farmer’s dying screams. Fear is also at play in Delphine’s refusal to open the door to Jehan’s house even when they hear a baby screaming. After the battle, the possessed statue taunts Delphine, reminding her that she did not want to help a baby. The demon’s taunts remind Delphine of her own selfishness. In the context of the story, such fears seem reasonable; in fact, Delphine was right not to open the door, even if her motivations were suspect. Nevertheless, the novel suggests that fear nevertheless crosses over into immorality when it causes a person to value their own life over another’s.
In contrast to the worst parts of humanity, the presence of angels represents the best parts of humanity. Notably, the angels in Between Two Fires are fallible; they want to do the right thing but may struggle to do so. For example, Delphine, having learned her lesson of selfishness in Paris, reprimands the angel outside of Auxerre for not helping the townspeople. The angel—who is crying and wringing its hands when Delphine sees it, anxious about the townspeople but too fearful to do anything—redeems itself by saving Delphine from the mob and fighting against Rutger and the lion-knight. Although the angel’s decision leads to its destruction, its compassion, ineffectual as it initially seems, ultimately changes the course of history.
Human Free Will Versus Predestination
Christianity’s understanding of God as omnipotent and omniscient has traditionally posed challenges to the idea of human choice. If God knows and ordains the entire course of human history, it then should logically follow that free will does not exist. In Between Two Fires, this potential fatalism is amplified by the dire state of the world, which seems set on a catastrophic course. Likewise, characters such as Thomas and Matthieu simply assume that they are beyond saving. However, the novel ultimately vindicates the idea of free will, showing not only how Thomas chooses the redemption Delphine offers but also how his choices resonate positively beyond himself.
The narrative as a whole moves from a sense of fatalism to an embrace of free will. Thomas’s choices before the novel begins suggest that Thomas’s soul is destined for Hell. His violence and obsession with revenge, whether freely chosen or foreordained, seem to have set him on an unalterable path toward damnation; Delphine even sees a devil standing next to him. However, when Delphine’s actions show him the way toward redemption and renewal, he chooses to change his lifestyle. Thomas’s transformation shows the power of free will, but even then, the forces of evil seem too horrible for a human to overcome. Nevertheless, Matthieu tells Delphine that he would never let harm come to her, choosing to privilege love and hope over what seems like inevitable defeat. The demons do not factor this love into their plan, which leads to their downfall.
The novel therefore suggests not only that, given free will, humans will generally choose well, but also that their choices can have significant positive repercussions; they can even save the world from destruction. Although Delphine is in some sense destined for her Christlike role, she must also choose to embrace it. She does so when she jumps in front of Pope Clement, revealing the ability of humanity to make difficult decisions at personal cost. Through humanity’s ensuing triumph over the forces of evil, the novel demonstrates free will’s lasting effect on the state of the world.
