The Foreign and the Occult

Where it surfaces

• VII: The Great Paul Lessingham

  Lessingham's allusion to the Rue de Rabagas and his fear of a past connected to foreign, occult experiences underscore the theme of the exotic and threatening.

• A Morning Visitor

  The visitor's Oriental appearance, claim to be a child of Isis, and mesmeric abilities embody the exotic and occult threat.

• XVIII: The Apotheosis of the Beetle

  The Beetle is described as an Oriental figure with uncanny eyes and powers, linking foreignness to occult menace.

• XXXI: The Terror by Day

  The Eastern carpet, the depiction of Isis and human sacrifice, and the beetle motif evoke foreign and occult elements that intrude into the familiar English setting.

• After Twenty Years

  The Rue de Rabagas and the 'Woman of the Songs' represent an exotic, threatening foreign influence that continues to haunt Lessingham.

• A Bringer of Tidings

  The Beetle is referred to as an 'Oriental friend' and an 'infernal conjurer,' linking the threat directly to foreign and occult forces.

• Miss Louisa Coleman

  The mysterious tenant, Mohamed el Kheir, is an 'Arab party' whose appearance, voice, and behavior are portrayed as alien and sinister, reinforcing the link between foreignness and occult menace.

• XLII: The Quarry Doubles

  The Beetle's Arab disguise and his mysterious, unsettling presence highlight themes of foreignness and occult influence.

• XLIII: The Murder at Mrs. ’Enderson’s

  The Beetle is described as a 'diabolical Asiatic' and linked to an idolatrous sect in Cairo, reinforcing the theme of foreign occult menace.

• XLV: All That Mrs. ’Enderson Knew

  The 'Harab party' is portrayed as a mysterious, foreign figure with strange habits, a large bundle, and a queer way of talking, embodying the occult and alien threat central to the novel.

• The Sudden Stopping

  The Beetle is described as an 'Arab' with a bundle, reinforcing his exotic and menacing otherness.