How the Light Gets In

“But Isabelle Lacoste had been in the Sûreté long enough to know how much easier it was to shoot than to talk. How much easier it was to shout than to be reasonable. How much easier it was to humiliate and demean and misuse authority than to be dignified and courteous, even to those who were themselves none of those things.”

This quote explores how cultures of evil are bred. In the showdown between Gamache and Francoeur’s leadership, the issue is not that one man is naturally good and the other naturally evil. Francoeur’s willingness to do what is easy rather than what is right is what has slowly evolved into a climate of bullying and mistreatment.

“Why do decent young men and women become bullies? Why do soldiers dream of being heroes but end up abusing prisoners and shooting civilians? Why do politicians become corrupt? Why do cops beat suspects senseless and break the laws they’re meant to protect? [...] Because everyone else does.”

This quote examines how evil grows. The novel reinforces the idea that evil, whether in an individual murderer or an abusive system, does not happen overnight, but is nurtured in over time by isolation or passive tolerance.

“Gamache knew, though, that what was a disadvantage was also an advantage. They were so easily overlooked, dismissed, especially by people who believed themselves invisible and invincible.”

Gamache and the Brunels’ strength is that they are courageous even if they are outnumbered. Francoeur’s downfall is that his pride makes him unable to recognize the threat they pose to his mission—he thinks that he is invincible because he doesn’t recognize the power of things like loyalty and courage.

“He stared at the pill bottle, and felt like a man halfway across a bridge. Afraid to take the pill and afraid not to. Afraid of going into the bunker, afraid of running away. He was afraid of dying and he was afraid of living.”

Through Beauvoir’s struggle, Penny shows the complexity of addiction and fear. Beauvoir is not weak willed or gutless—he is deeply traumatized and afraid. He feels trapped by his involvement with Francoeur and even more trapped by his fear.

“There was no way to explain how that home looked to weary travelers who’d come to the end of the road. He wondered, in a moment that startled him, whether that’s what this little village was. The end of the road? And like most ends, not an end at all.”

This quotation highlights the significance of Three Pines as a place of refuge. Three Pines is a place of strength and restoration. In this moment, Gamache realizes that the conflict between him and Francoeur—good and evil—could come to its end at Three Pines, foreshadowing the final conflict in the woods and the village, and Gamache’s eventual retirement to Three Pines.

“The place felt like what it was. An old kitchen, in an old home, in a very old village. It smelled of bacon and baking. It smelled of rosemary and thyme and mandarin oranges. And coq au vin.”

This is more than an endearing description of the Longpré home. What is welcoming about the scene to Gamache is how honest everything is. Three Pines is a place where appearances don’t need to be kept up to survive against the world. Gamache is defending a way of life—honesty and goodness.

“He needed to keep his fear at bay. A little was good. Kept him sharp. But fear, unchecked, became terror and terror grew into panic and panic created chaos. And then all hell broke loose.”

This quotation shows the recurring theme of courage in the face of fear that Penny explores throughout the novel. While Gamache is aware of the threat that Francoeur poses, he allows it to fuel his mission against him rather than terrify him into a frenzy. Gamache’s ability to stay calm and focused under pressure is what makes him unique as a leader.

“The killing was the catalyst, but it almost always started as something small, invisible to the naked eye. It was often years, decades old. A slight that rankled and grew and infected the host. Until what had been human became a walking resentment. Covered in skin. Passing as human. Passing as happy. Until something happened.”

Evil is not always obvious, but often lurks under the surface. In this quotation, Gamache explains how he finds murderers by tracing negative emotions to their root. Similarly, to find the depths of the corruption within the Sûreté, Gamache has to follow the story back to the beginning.

“They’re in disguise,” she said, lowering the picture. “They made their bodies a costume, so no one would know who they were. More like armor really, than a costume.”

The Ouellet quintuplets grow up in the spotlight, with the added pressure of keeping their brother’s identity a secret. This quotation shows how that upbringing has caused them to close themselves off to the world. Words like “disguise” and “armor” are used for a metaphorical military context, showing how surviving in everyday life is a kind of conflict for the sisters.

“Our lives are like a house. Some people are allowed on the lawn, some onto the porch, some get into the vestibule or kitchen. The better friends are invited deeper into our home, into our living room.”

Isolation and Companionship is a recurring theme throughout the novel. Gamache and Myrna use the metaphor of a house to explain how Constance never let anyone in—which is what caused her lifelong pain. 

‘“Only the mariner was spared,’ said Gamache, ‘To stew. When he was finally rescued he realized that he could only be free if he talked about what had happened.’”

Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” is about a crewmember who witnessed the death of an innocent and lived to tell the tale. This foreshadows the key to Constance’s murder—her having witnessed her sister’s death at the hands of her brother. André murdered Constance when she couldn’t take the guilt anymore and wanted to come clean to Myrna. This allusion to Coleridge’s poem also reinforces the liberation people might find through sharing their stories, rather than hiding their past from others.

“And then no number of woodsmen, of huntsmen, of villagers, of demented poets, of glorious painters and innkeepers could stop what would happen. To Three Pines. To everyone in it. Armand Gamache turned his back on the sleeping village, and went inside.”

In this moment, Gamache knows that Francoeur will come to Three Pines, bringing his evil with him. Gamache has to turn his back on the village he loves and allow Francoeur to infiltrate Three Pines in order for their conflict to reach its resolution.

1.  ‘“You think we will have less fear tomorrow?’ He asked.

‘Not less fear,’ she said. ‘But perhaps more courage.’”

Everyone who helps Gamache shows great courage. The Brunels and Nichol risk not only their jobs, but perhaps their lives. In this quote, Thérèse Brunel shows that courage isn’t ignoring the danger at hand, but the ability to overcome fear to do the right thing.

“Did Constance finally realize that her mother had loved her? Was that the albatross she’d been lugging around all her life? Not some terrible wrong, but the horror that came from realizing, too late, that she hadn’t been wronged? That she’d been loved all along?”

Several characters are unable to recognize the love that is offered to them. While Constance doesn’t seem to have been able to accept her mother’s love growing up, she tries to replicate it later in life. This quote describes Beauvoir’s position just as much—in the end, he realizes that Gamache did not wrong him by leaving him on the factory floor but was forced to make a horrible decision in order to do the right thing.

“We’ve killed his career, his department. We’ve killed his credibility and broken his spirit. No need to kill the man, just yet. Not unless he gets too close. But he won’t. I have him distracted […] By dangling someone he cares about over the edge.”

This quotation shows how Francoeur takes his own success for granted and what he is willing to do to get it. He sees others as pawns for his own advancement. Exacerbating Beauvoir’s addiction and risking Beauvoir’s life is just one move in Francoeur’s long game for power and to destroy Gamache.

“The sun was setting. He looked at his watch. 4:17. The time the sun should be going down. Still, it always seemed too soon. He rocked himself gently in the chair, staring at Montréal. Such a chaotic city. Always was. But a vibrant city too. Alive and messy.”

In this moment, Gamache remembers what he is fighting for. While Francoeur and Renault want to destroy Montréal for their own power, Gamache loves the city and the people within it. Gamache embraces things that are real, even if they aren’t perfect.

“Armand Gamache had always held unfashionable beliefs. He believed that light would banish the shadows. That kindness was more powerful than cruelty, and that goodness existed even in the most desperate places. He believed that evil had its limits. But looking at the young men and women staring at him now, who’d seen something terrible about to happen and had done nothing, Chief Inspector Gamache wondered if he could have been wrong all this time.”

In How the Light Gets In, Gamache’s beliefs are questioned more than ever before. As Francoeur’s agents watch Beauvoir break down, screaming at and hitting Gamache, Gamache wonders whether good can conquer evil after all. This quotation shows both the importance of hope in the battle of good against evil, and the role that complicity plays in perpetuating evil systems.

“But Gamache knew the enemy wasn’t just over the edge. It was on the platform with him.”

As Gamache climbs the duck blind to move the snow off of the satellite dish, he has to overcome his own fear for the sake of the mission. This quotation shows the importance of courage. Gamache’s greatest obstacle is fear, not Francoeur.

“It was as though, in that fateful meeting, something had changed in each man’s DNA. Up until then, both had been driven, but ultimately decent. There was a limit to how far they were willing to go. But when Arnot met Renard, and Renard met Arnot, that limit, that line, had vanished. He’d seen it in others, the consequences of failing to choose companions wisely. One slightly immoral person was a problem. Two together was a catastrophe.”

This quotation explores how evil can be catalyzed by two corrupt forces working together, complicating Penny’s exploration of the dangers of isolation and the healing power of community. Renard and Arnot’s evil desires fed off of each other, growing more intense as they reinforced and legitimized each other’s most corrupt plans and ideas.

“Georges Renard was not satisfied with being the Premier of a province. He wanted to be the father of a new country. He’d rather rule in hell than serve in heaven.”

The desire for power and control is what drives Renard and Francoeur both. This quote shows the fundamental difference between them and Gamache. While Gamache is humble, Renard is willing to risk everything for control, placing his own ego and ambition over the moral good.

‘“Myrna needs a customer too in her bookstore,’ said Clara. ‘I’m going.’

‘Call it a library dear,’ said Ruth, ‘Or they’ll know you’re just pretending.’”

This quotation shows the tremendous courage of Gamache’s friends in Three Pines. Olivier, Myrna, Clara, and Ruth all leave their hiding places to face Francoeur and his men and buy Gamache more time. Ruth’s joke shows their courage in the face of danger.

“Addiction’s a terrible thing. It’ll steal your health, your friends, family, careers. Judgement. It’ll steal your soul. And when there’s nothing left, it takes your life.”

As the Brunels and Gabri watch Beauvoir from the window, they realize that he is perhaps the most dangerous person in Three Pines. Addiction has taken everything from him, leaving him with nothing to lose. And yet, they retain their compassion for Beauvoir, understanding how his experiences have contributed to his predicament.

“Beauvoir stared at the keys in his hand, then at the thin, wrinkled, wretched old face. And the rheumy eyes that, in the bright sunshine, seemed to be leaking light.”

This quote shows that, at her core, Ruth is full of goodness and love. She might swear at others and seem harsh, but she cares deeply for Beauvoir. This reinforces the theme that appearances do not always show what is really under the surface.