Death and Sacrifice

Where it surfaces

• VI

  The Duke romanticizes death as a 'fiery rapture' and a 'true bridal,' viewing it as a noble escape from unrequited love.

• VII

  The Duke's plan to drown himself for Zuleika exemplifies the theme of romantic sacrifice, treating death as the ultimate expression of love.

• VIII

  The Duke declares his intention to die for Zuleika, and the other diners vow to follow him, treating death as a romantic and voluntary act.

• Chapter IX

  The Duke's planned suicide for Zuleika is central; Zuleika's black pearls symbolize her mourning and acceptance of his sacrifice.

• The Concert and the Aftermath

  The Duke's contemplation of his planned death for Zuleika, and the crowd's 'tragic passion' and 'doom,' permeate the chapter.

• XI

  The narrator's reference to the Duke's 'unforgettable thing' and the hour of grace foreshadows themes of sacrifice and mortality.

• XII

  Craddock writes a will bequeathing everything to Zuleika, foreshadowing the theme of dying for love that pervades the novel.

• XIII

  The Duke contemplates his pledge to die for Zuleika, but begins to question the necessity of his sacrifice.

• Chapter XIV

  The Duke calmly prepares for his own funeral after receiving the omen, embracing death as a noble sacrifice.

• XV

  The Duke's futile attempts to prevent the mass suicide highlight the conflict between noble self-sacrifice and the absurdity of dying for love.

• XVIII

  The Duke's resolve to die in his full regalia underscores his acceptance of death as a final act of self-definition.

• XIX

  The Duke deliberately drowns himself for Zuleika, and many other youths emulate him, turning death into a mass spectacle.

• XX

  The chapter centers on the Duke's suicide and the mass drownings of undergraduates, all framed as sacrifices for love.

• XXI

  The chapter alludes to the deaths of the undergraduates, with Zuleika's melancholy and the empty Hall underscoring the sacrifice.

• Chapter XXII

  Noaks' fall and death, followed by his survival, underscore the theme of sacrifice and the fine line between cowardice and heroism.

• XXIII

  The mass suicide of undergraduates for Zuleika and her contemplation of a convent as a form of self-sacrifice underscore the theme.

• XXIV

  The chapter reflects on the meaning of the deaths and Zuleika's troubled conscience about those who died for her.