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Louise references a line from the T. S. Eliot play Murder in the Cathedral throughout the novel: “Some malady is coming upon us. We wait. We wait.” What is the “malady” in The Grey Wolf? What are the characters waiting for?
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The “malady” is a threat and I think “some” not only speaks to the need for definition, but can also be interpreted as those who could be murdered for revealing it, to the specific biological weapon of mass destruction that would poison thousands.
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The malady is distrust and looking for certainty of someone/something in which to place that trust. “One of us, thought Lacoste. There were few more dangerous phrases. Partly because it held truth. There were teams, tribes, families, companies. Friends. Us. But it was rarely just a description of a group. There was, about it, a distinction. ‘Us’ implies there was a ‘Them.’ And ‘Us’ was better than ‘Them.'” The division that distrust causes to divide and conquer. This is what is so scary about the United States now.
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The word ‘malady’ can be defined as, “a sickness or disorder of the body or mind” according to Google. So is the malady the poisoning of the water that could harm and/or kill thousands of Canadians or is it the black wolf threatening to take over the government of Canada? Is the malady the greed for money and power that is at play? Is it the emotional strain on Gamache, Jean-Guy, Isabelle, and the Abbot as they race around from country to country trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together? Each one not knowing who they can truly trust? I think the malady is all of these things. Along with the fear of not knowing when to alert the public of the possible impending doom.
They wait for all the puzzle pieces to fall into place. They wait for the perfect time to stop an eco-terrorist attack before it happens. They wait so they can end it before the black wolves can regroup and chaos takes over. And now we wait. We wait for a year to find out what the next problem is. What the next malady looks like. To find out who the other grey and black wolves are.
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Just commenting to say that these are all great answers! Yes, Carol, definitely. Nancy, I think your parallel with current events in the US now is spot on. And Libby, I agree with all the possibilities and I love your tie in with our wait for TBW. Clever!!
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Once again, so many interesting comments about both this story and contemporary issues!
This line is one that Dom Philippe knows Armand will connect with him, a line Armand will remember from their time together in the Abbey of St. Gilbert, a reference that the abbot believes will convince Armand to pursue the clues he is leaving. By this time, I think, Dom Phillipe has returned from seeing Frere Robert.
In “Murder in the Cathedral,” this line is spoken by the poor people, the folks who just want to be left alone and get by when they learn that the archbishop is planning to return from exile, a prospect that portends violence and disorder for them. The “malady” for them sounds to me like the chaos, civil disorder, potential violence and autocratic rule that is the scenario that would likely follow sabotage of Montreal’s water supply.
Armand has already considered this and laid it out for Jean-Guy and Isabelle and Reine-Marie. I am not sure if Dom Phillipe anticipates the same political outcome but this line is surely fitting.
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“…they learn that the archbishop is planning to return from exile, a prospect that portends violence and disorder for them. The “malady” for them sounds to me like the chaos, civil disorder, potential violence and autocratic rule… ”
Thank you, Jane, this is to me the perfect interpretation of “the malady” because it respects the original context of the quote and gives it an acutely modern meaning.
I know that most of us are living too much in the present moment to ignore this black shadow. It almost reminds me of the final Harry Potter book where the hints of darkness become a distinct spectre of fascism.
Maybe the dark wolf is just about corruption in corporations, in governments, in institutions like the church. Maybe it is about more.
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I love the answers I’m seeing here. Such great examples and different takes on the question! I love reading them.
In both TGW and TBM, when this phrase was quoted, it seemed to me an acknowledgement and awareness that some nameless dread was coming –“something wicked this way comes.” In TBM, the peace of the monastery was shattered by the horrible murder, and the murderer was amongst them. It was a malady of the soul at play, and they were waiting for the resolution that would reveal the perpetrator, even while dreading it. In TGW, it’s very similar, but on an even broader scale. The malady to me was the act of terrorism that was about to occur, and also the sick, soulless people who were orchestrating that act. Armand and his team had to wait for information and insights to be revealed as they pieced the puzzle together under the pressure of a ticking time bomb; they waited for the other shoe to drop; for the excrement to hit the fan, so to speak, all the while dreading that they would run out of time. They waited for the monsters to be revealed, with the sickening knowledge that some of those monsters were people that they worked with or for and should have been able to trust. And as Libby so aptly notes, there is even more malady afoot! -
Everyone’s answers are fascinating and add so many more layers of depth than what I originally considered! I confess my thoughts on it were straightforward and more around the malady of body rather than mind, as Libby mentions. We first heard this quote in A Beautiful Mystery and it’s how Gamache can connect the dots to Dom Philippe. Gamache remarks that Monsieur Gilbert (Dom Philippe) had visited Three Pines and brought with him “some malady” and this connects the dots further for him…some malady…water. So the threat to the drinking water is the malady. But bigger still is the malady of death itself. The TS Eliot quote is almost like a Greek chorus chanting their messages of doom. So for me it’s the unassuming Montrealers who are the likely Greek chorus. They are waiting, unaware that the malady (toxin) is coming for them. I also thought Gamache and his team are also, in a sense, waiting for death to descend. They are aware of what is coming but are racing to prevent it.
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So impressed by all the answers here. I’m both excited and anxious for the next book after reading several of you describe the malady as the powerful darker forces behind the plot who are still busily at work. The one thing I noted was that Armand is the most affected and damaged by the malady (well, other than the people who got murdered because of it). I’m thinking of what Libby wrote about disorder of mind and body and how Gamache now has night terrors and a concussion and hearing loss.
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Every answer here makes perfect sense. After I read one, I nod and think, “yes, she’s got it”. Then I read the next and, again, I nod and think the same as the last. And on and on, until I reach the bottom of the page with the big empty box. And then I think, how can I add something of quality to this conversation? My initial thoughts for the answers have already been expressed, and always, someone here knows how to express the ideas I had much more eloquently than I could ever hope to do. So I’ll just say thank you to all. There are so many more possibilities than I could have imagined on my own and I am grateful to you all for sharing your thoughts to help me better understand and enjoy all the different aspects to the book.
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