The Pelican Brief

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2006

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-9

Chapters 10-18

Chapters 19-27

Chapters 28-36

Chapters 37-45

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Themes

Morality Versus Legality

The Pelican Brief prompts the characters to explore the differences between morality and legality. What is moral is not always legal, while immorality is not necessarily illegal. The FBI, the CIA, and the police, enforcement organizations meant to uphold the law, do not always act in a moral fashion: FBI head Voyles makes illegal bargains with the President, the CIA operates illegally within American borders, and the police struggle to provide help to Darby even when she is in danger. At the same time, police officer Cleve breaks the law to act in a moral fashion, providing help to Grantham through clandestine means.

The novel’s version of the Supreme Court also illustrates the complex morality of the law. The nine Supreme Court Justices all interpret the law differently, but all believe that they are doing so in a moral fashion—a contradiction that has no obvious answer. Rosenberg, a liberal Justice who dissents loudly and often, believes that he has the most moral position, but he is also in a minority on the Court.

Because morality and legality have so little overlap, Mattiece’s plan to kill two Justices so more amenable ones can be installed in their place is almost successful. Rosenberg and Jensen’s murders, illegal and immoral acts, will result in the creation of legal precedent that will bear no stain from the way it was created. The provenance of a policy doesn’t matter once it’s enshrined in law—and in this case, the law will financially benefit the man who instigated a series of assassinations.

The fates of the characters show the drawbacks of a legal system so far removed from morality. The law cannot touch Mattiece, even though everyone knows that he is guilty. The President’s punishment is to not reelected—a public, rather than legal, consequence. The only punishments meted out are self-delivered: One guilty lawyer takes his own life, but others happily flee the country secure in their fortunes.

The Corrupting Power of Money

The Pelican Brief explores the way in which money has the power to corrupt. Its most flawed characters lose their sense of morality, driven to acquire and spend as much money as possible. Money corrupts those who allow it: The greediest, most cynical and most power-hungry characters are also the most corrupt, while others can resist the siren song of money.

Darby is the moral center of the novel. She always acts according to her sense of right and wrong, even putting her life in danger to help Grantham break the story about corruption and murder. She has access to a large sum of money left to her following her father’s death, but she spends it wisely: She puts the money toward her education and rejects conspicuous consumption. Her careful spending allows Darby to reject money’s corrupting influence. Similarly, Callahan denounces the possibility of earning millions as a top-class lawyer. He values his time, freedom, and quality of life, so he dedicates himself to teaching. While he has enough money to live comfortably, he has only a fraction of the earnings of corporate lawyers. Despite his other flaws, Callahan actively avoids money so that he can live as he pleases.

The President’s willingness to protect Mattiece shows the corrupting power of money: The President’s first instinct is to protect his donor, no matter what the pelican brief reveals. Similarly, Mattiece’s law firm works with Mattiece because he pays so well, ignoring his obviously malicious machinations. Finally, Mattiece abandons any morality as he pursues his fortune.

Once in the midst of corruption, it is almost impossible to escape. Morgan, a lawyer in Mattiece’s law firm who has seen this corruption firsthand while amassing a small fortune, can no longer live with himself. However, he knows that he cannot really leave his environment. Instead, he does his best to unburden himself to Grantham and then accepts the inevitability of his own death.

Environmentalism Versus Capitalism

In the novel, two Supreme Court Justices are murdered due to their shared affinity for environmental issues. Thus, environmentalism is a constant theme in the novel; however, most characters relegate actual issues related to the environment to the background. Neither the FBI nor the CIA gives much credence to the pelican brief environmental concerns are so low on their agenda. They care so little for the environment that they dismiss environmentalism as the murderer’s motive.

Those who do take environmentalism seriously suffer consequences. Darby explains to Grantham that lawyers who work on environmental issues end up either broke or dead. The two Justices who put aside their political differences on matters related to the environment are killed for doing so. Environmentalism is thus a life-or-death issue—at least to industry magnates who stand to lose billions if environmental protections go into effect.

The novel argues that environmental concerns cannot coexist with capitalism when the legal system is toothless and corrupt. The villain of the book and all those who work for him are willing to destroy the environment, dredging marshlands for oil in the name of making money. The law can do nothing to stop their machinations, even when they actually murder people who get in their way. The Pelican Brief illustrates how protecting the environment is sidelined in American capitalist culture, where the pursuit of profit is always the most important motivation.