The Silkworm: Chapters 28-29: "Her practical thoughts for his comfort"

Despite my feelings about Robin risking missing the funeral, Chapter 28 is a personal favorite of mine for a number of reasons. 

• First, it is the first time Robin (and we readers) see Strike using crutches, and the vulnerable state that leaves him in. Hearing about the inconveniences and indignities this entails (having to search for a safety pin for his pants leg, sliding down the stairs on his butt like a child) helps us appreciate how important the prothesis is for his life and his work. 
• Second, this is perhaps Robin's best opportunity to shine since she modeled the green dress at Vashti's. She shows her house-elf like efficiency, getting a practical four-wheel drive car for the journey, packing coffee and shortbread for the journey and navigating the snowy highway in a way that almost immediately appears to neutralize Strike's conditioned aversion to any non-professional drivers (especially women ones). This is before she shows off her advanced driving skills and saves them from a near-certain pileup with the jack-knifing center. 
• Third, we see Strike letting his guard down around Robin for the first time in a while---  and no eleven pints of Doom Bar to facilitate the sharing. As he puts it: "His antipathy to discussing his leg had been dissolved by warm coffee, their discussion and her practical thoughts for his comfort."

One bit of visual imagery that supports this new understanding happens when Strike initially approaches the car.

Robin knew she must not offer help; she could feel an exclusion zone around him as though he were telepathically rejecting all offers of assistance or sympath, but she was worried he would not be able to get inside unaided. Strike threw his crutches into the back seat and stood for a moment precariously balanced; then, with a show of upper-body strength she had never seen before, pulled himself smoothly into the car. 

Contrast his to Al's Alf Romeo Spider that we will see at book's end: "It had been agony on Strike's knee to get in and out of the low-slung vehicle." Also, it "careens" all over the road when Al tries to tail the taxi and is, in its owner's words: "shit on ice."  Another indicator of how well suited Robin and Strike are as busines, and eventual life partners. 

If this emotional intimacy had not developed on the drive down, the meeting of minds in the Burger King later would not have been possible. 

I do have to wonder if it is a bad idea to talk to Ilsa Herbert while in a car. The pile-up on the way to Devon happens just after Strike hangs up the phone with her; then, on the way back, they come across another accident just after speaking to her again. 

Like any good house-elf, Robin shows amazing and heretofore unexpected magical powers when her advanced driving skills save the day.  This is a great Book 2-Book 6 echo, with Robin's "There was a kid in that Civic!" echoing her "There's a twelve-year-old girl!" outside of the Upcotts, and her rushing off while Strike is left to struggle with his crutches, in the car, unable to help as he wishes. The lack of this scene in the TV adaptation was one of the biggest disappointments; somehow, Robin driving through a muddy field just isn't the same. 

And Strike's comment that she drives like a military officer "trained to make a getaway under fire" is prescient for TRG, when she does exactly that in Strike's BMW. 

Onto Chapter 29 and Danial Chard's rather interesting vacation home. Once again, I will refer you to the Strike and Ellacott Files recent podcast on this chapter, where they take an in-depth and often hilarious look at the place, and what might go on there, particularly between Chard and Mannie,  If any Etsy shops start carrying "Free Nenita" t-shirts, I'll buy one. 

I think the question of what, exactly, is going on with Chard and his manservant is left intentionally ambiguous, but it seems unsavory, to say the least. At the very least, Chard seems to have persuaded his employee to pose nude for him; an inappropriate abuse of power, which makes it plausible to believe he did the same thing to Joe North. And if Robin caught a glimpse of the portrait on her way to the staff bathroom, you can bet poor Nenita has as well. Like the podcasters, I find the open-air bedroom suspended on cables a bit odd, not to mention potentially dangerous. This is the closest thing I could find to the description was an outdoor balcony like the one pictured here.  I was relieved to see the railing around it, because I was visualizing Chard accidentally knocking his bureau or wardrobe down to the main living area, or perhaps suffering a tragic sleepwalking accident.  As for how exactly Chard broke his leg, I suspect a situation much like that of Amir and Sir Christopher in Lethal White; the employee smacking his boss to ward off an unwanted sexual advance. 

But, the most fun I had in this chapter was to google "dissected angel statue" and learn that Chard actually owns a (presumed!) copy of an actual piece of art, "Anatomy of an Angel" by Damien Hirst. The sculpture can be seen in the Ekebergparken in Olso, Norway, although, in 2019 (five years after The Silkworm was published) it was displayed in Leeds.  Maybe Rachel Ledwell saw it. 

My first thought, upon seeing a picture of the sculpture, was how much of the guts were exposed. This, coupled with the anatomical models and pictures in Chard's studio, is supposed to raise the possibility that Chard could have the knowledge needed to successfully disembowel someone. This is also yet another image of slaughter or sacrifice that is supposed to evoked Quine's trussed-up corpse, adding to the collection of  opening meat market, the animal testing lab and Lucy's joint of lamb. The angel's face also made me think of Quine's "single burned-out eye socket, just visible." 

The artist himself, like Quine, is controversial and, to some, rather gross. He is well-known for displaying animals (including sharks, cows, and sheep) preserved in formaldehyde, a pratice some critic say is not worthy to be called "art." He has also been accused of plagiarism a number of times, including by a toy company that resulted in a financial settlement. 

FYI, I shared the angel finding with my favorite podcasters: you can find their take on the art and artist here.

The discovery that the dissected angel statue was an actual piece of art made me wonder if this unusual house was also based on a real building. Renovated tithebarns are apparently popular in the UK---  many seem to he used as wedding venues. A quick google search did not show anything that looked like Daniel Chard's place, though I did come across this eatery in Stocktonbury that seems to have had one wall replaced with glass. 

Onto poor Robin who, as thanks for saving her boss's life on the highway, is first made dizzy by the combination of Chard's roof, artwork and (most of all) the delayed stress response to the near-crash, then banished to the kitchen like a common chauffeur

"No, she can't sit outside in the snow."

Thanks a heap, Danny Boy. And is your water in short supply? I hope she happens to mention the nude of the houseboy in open court. 

But, if she hadn't gotten so angry at Chard and Strike, she might not have spoken up in Burger King, so I guess it all worked out. 

As for Chard himself, he does himself no favors in the interview. He makes it clear his murdered author matters little to him, and is more interested in proving Jerry Waldegrave's "treachery" than in bringing a killer to justice. It's also clear he'd rather talk about art and architecture than about his own business. It's little wonder Strike doesn't care much what he thinks by the time of Pinkelman's party. 

And with that....  I'm officially caught up on my blogging.  Next time, the Burger King confrontation and Robin's depressing visit to Masham. 

Comments welcome!  Though some find it easier on the Substack version of this blog.