The Man Who Was Thursday

“‘I tell you,’ went on Syme with passion, ‘that every time a train comes in I feel that it has broken past batteries of besiegers, and that man has won a battle against chaos.’” 

Syme and Gregory are debating whether poetry is chaos or order. Gregory contends that only when everything is unpredictable and confused can it be poetic. Syme disagrees; he feels when things work, in spite of possible failure, that is poetry. By exploring chaos and order, this quote reflects one of the many dualities explored in the novel. 

“‘You don’t expect me,’ he said, ‘to revolutionise [sic] society on this lawn?’ Syme looked straight into his eyes and smiled sweetly. ‘No, I don’t,’ he said; ‘but I suppose that if you were serious about your anarchism, that is exactly what you would do.’” 

Syme uses Gregory’s words as proof Gregory is not a true anarchist. If he were a real anarchist, he would champion his cause whenever and wherever it was possible. Yet given the later reveal that Gregory is not only a true anarchist but perhaps Satan himself, it stands to reason that his aim here is to manipulate Syme into following him to anarchist meeting where he will be set up to take the role of Thursday. 

“I admit that there may be a slight disproportion, let us say, between the inner arrangements of this excellent hotel and its simple and unpretentious exterior. But that is all our modesty. We are the most modest men that ever lived on earth.” 

Gregory explains to Syme that hiding in plain sight is a tactic the anarchists use. Later, in Chapter 2, Gregory expresses the same idea when he says that if he dresses like an anarchist, no one will believe him. People do not believe what they see; instead, they see what they want to believe. This relates to the persistent theme of appearance versus reality. Moreover, the notion conveyed by the novel of anarchists hiding in plain sight reportedly influenced the early 20th Century Irish revolutionary Michael Collins.

“‘Excuse me if I enjoy myself rather obviously!’ he said to Gregory, smiling. ‘I don’t often have the luck to have a dream like this. It is new to me for a nightmare to lead to a lobster. It is commonly the other way.’”

Syme’s mission is to infiltrate the anarchist council, which could cost him his life. Here, he eats what might be his last supper. The comparison of a dream and a nightmare is a hint to the reader about the nature of the story. Finally, the quote is another example of Chesterton’s sense of humor and wit which continually enliven the narrative.

“‘Don’t you see we’ve checkmated each other?’ cried Syme. ‘I can’t tell the police you are an anarchist. You can’t tell the anarchists I’m a policeman. I can only watch you, knowing what you are; you can only watch me, knowing what I am.’” 

Syme and Gregory are bound by the promises they made to each other. Neither man can reveal the other’s identity without suffering some repercussion. In this way, Chesterton shows how good and evil are necessarily enmeshed, as opposed to being purely binary opposites. This could also be interpreted as a reflection of the holy covenant between the sinner and God. Another interpretation is that it represents the relationship with God and the Devil, as embodied in the final chapter by Sunday and Gregory.

“Being surrounded with every conceivable kind of revolt from infancy, Gabriel had to revolt into something, so he revolted into the only thing left—sanity.” 

Syme embraces order to escape the chaos of his childhood. It sets him on the path that leads to Scotland Yard and the fight against anarchy. He is, effectively, revolting against revolt. Most importantly, the quote humanizes Syme by showing that his anti-anarchy convictions are the result of deep-seated emotional trauma.

“‘I will tell you,’ said the policeman slowly. ‘This is the situation: The head of one of our departments, one of the most celebrated detectives in Europe, has long been of the opinion that a purely intellectual conspiracy would soon threaten the very existence of civilisation [sic]. He is certain that the scientific and artistic worlds are silently bound in a crusade against the Family and the State.’” 

The special police corps fights anarchy on an intellectual level. The anarchists who throw bombs and disrupt momentarily are not the real threat; rather, the thinking behind the chaos, and its potential to deceive people to support their cause, is much more dangerous, and the true target of the operation. Moreover, given that the book eventually reveals itself as a Christian allegory, the threat of anarchy is very much coupled with the threat of atheism.

“Thieves respect property. They merely wish the property to become their property that they may more perfectly respect it. But philosophers dislike property as property; they wish to destroy the very idea of personal possession.” 

The police officer who recruits Syme is explaining the philosophical difference between the intellectual anarchist and the common criminal. The thief respects property. He takes what he wants or needs because he doesn’t have the means to obtain it legally. The philosopher, or anarchist, hates the concept of property and wants to destroy or eliminate all personal property. The dangerous intellectuals are the focus of the special police corps. This quote also speaks to Syme’s metaphysical journey, as it points to the divide between the false philosophy of the anarchist and the true philosophy of the Christian.

“He was typical of each of the tribe; each man was subtly and differently wrong.” 

At first glance, the members of the anarchist council look ordinary, but on closer examination, there is something that isn’t right with each of them. It is part of the deception of the intellectual: evil often looks commonplace until closely examined. This also plays into the author’s contention that a disguise cannot hide one’s true identity, at least not in the eyes of a person imbued with the holy spirit.

“There was a second thought that never came to him. It never occurred to him to be spiritually won over to the enemy. Many moderns, inured to a weak worship of intellect and force, might have wavered in their allegiance under this oppression of a great personality.”

Syme never considered that his proximity to evil might damage his spirituality. It never occurred to him to succumb to the darkness around him, as his dedication is to law and order is that strong. This places Syme in strong contrast to de Worm, who finds himself spiritually damaged by his flirtation with evil and anarchy. 

“He had seen no cab following; he heard no wheels outside the shop; to all mortal appearances the man had come on foot. But the old man could only walk like a snail, and Syme had walked like the wind.”

Syme is puzzled by how the old and frail-looking Professor de Worms can keep up with him. The scene foreshadows the disclosure of the professor’s real identity. It also reflects the increasingly dreamlike qualities of Syme’s journey ever since joining the anarchist council.

“Syme had for a flash the sensation that the cosmos had turned exactly upside down, that all trees were growing downwards and that all stars were under his feet. Then came slowly the opposite conviction.”

The professor reveals he is a police officer and immediately Syme feels his surroundings are unreal. In rapid succession, Syme finds out that each member of the council is a policeman. The constant plot twists and revelations create a surreal mood to the novel and keep the reader off balance to the very end. This quote also mirrors the pattern of holy revelation, by which the world’s nightmarish qualities are revealed, only for those same qualities to be quickly washed away by the acknowledgement of God’s love.

“‘Why, there were three of us there!’ he cried. ‘Three out of seven is a fighting number. If we had only known that we were three!’ The face of Professor de Worms darkened, and he did not look up. ‘We were three,’ he said. ‘If we had been three hundred we could still have done nothing.’” 

The professor’s comment and mood highlight the enormity of their mission. This enormity is even more pronounced at the novel’s conclusion as it is revealed that their mission is not merely a fight against a group of anarchists but a quest to answer the most profound metaphysical questions of the universe. Moreover, Sunday is larger than life and inspires fear in everyone. Despite his fear, Syme declares his intent to face and conquer Sunday. His attitude of courage despite fear foreshadows the praise the men receive from Sunday at the end of the book.

“Through all this ordeal his root horror had been isolation, and there are no words to express the abyss between isolation and having one ally.” 

When Professor de Worms admits he is a police officer, it is a relief and comfort to Syme. Syme had wanted to get away from the company of the other men on the council, which left him alone, and unsure who he could trust. Throughout the book, de Worms continues to be Syme’s closest ally, and their relationship represents the importance of brotherhood in the Christian fight against evil.

“We are trying to steal a secret from a very sharp, very strong, and a very wicked man. I believe there is no man, except the President, of course, who is so seriously startling and formidable as that little grinning fellow in goggles.” 

Here, Professor de Worms warns Syme to be on his guard when the two visit Dr. Bull. Both Syme and the professor judge him to be the “wickedest of all those wicked men” (36). His appearance is made frightful by the dark glasses that obscure his eyes. If the eyes are the windows to the soul, Syme fears that if Bull takes off the glasses, he will see the man has no soul. The effect is doubly unnerving because the rest of his face appears so boyish and innocent.

“‘It was an allusion to my family,’ said Syme firmly. ‘My aunt played Wagner badly. It was a painful subject. We are always being insulted about it.’

‘This seems most extraordinary,’ said the gentleman who was decore, looking doubtfully at the marquis.

‘Oh, I assure you,’ said Syme earnestly, ‘the whole of your conversation was simply packed with sinister allusions to my aunt’s weaknesses.’” 

This dialogue is an example of the author’s sense of humor and the farcical situations in the story. There is a band playing in the distance, and the Marquis remarks casually about the quality of the music. Syme is determined to instigate a duel, and the Marquis’s confusion makes the situation even funnier. Throughout the book, the author uses humor to bring levity to an otherwise serious and threatening narrative.

“He felt a strange and vivid value in all the earth around him, in the grass under his feet; he felt the love of life and in all living things. He could almost fancy that he heard the grass growing; he could almost fancy that even as he stood fresh flowers were springing up and breaking into blossom in the meadow—flowers blood red and burning gold and blue, fulfilling the whole pageant of the spring.” 

Nature symbolizes the order and beauty of the universe the anarchists aim to destroy. Even though Syme believes he will die in the duel, he recognizes the glory of nature around him. In fact, his proximity to death makes him all the more aware of the natural world, foreshadowing the ways in which Syme will find God through a journey of terror and suffering.

“The poor have been rebels, but they have never been anarchists; they have more interest than anyone else in there being some decent government. The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn’t; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all.” 

The Marquis is frustrated Syme doesn’t understand that the actual threat of anarchy is the rich and educated, not the poor. He says the average person relies on government; they rebel against injustice but don’t want to eliminate government. The rich have the resources to control their destinies and see government as a limitation of their freedom. This also suggests that the anarchist movement of the early 20th Century aimed to do little for the underclass. It was less a way of helping the poor in Edwardian England and more a way for the rich to assert their independence from the state.

“‘What are we going to do?’ asked the Professor. ‘At this moment,’ said Syme, with a scientific detachment, ‘I think we are going to smash into a lamppost.’” 

Once again Chesterton interjects humor at the moment of crisis. The detectives and their ally, Colonel Ducroix, are surrounded by enemies and facing certain death. Syme’s expressionless answer to the professor catches the reader off guard. The reply also further highlights the divide between de Worm’s pessimistic outlook and Syme’s more relaxed approach.

“Moderate strength is shown in violence, supreme strength is shown in levity.” 

Here, Dr. Bull explains why he likes Sunday. Sunday has power over the entire Central Anarchist Council, and Bull knows he could wipe them out. It is Sunday’s jovial nature that makes him likable. It takes more strength to refrain from violence than it does to be violent as proof of strength. This is also a subtle jab at anarchists, who wrongly believe their violent plots are displays of true power.

“When I see the horrible back, I am sure the noble face is but a mask. When I see the face but for an instant, I know the back is only a jest. Bad is so bad, that we cannot but think good an accident; good is so good, that we feel certain that evil could be explained.” 

Syme’s view of Sunday from different angles influences his impression of the man. The anarchist and the law represent philosophical differences, and based on the stance of the individual, his or her impression changes. The quote also reflects the extent to which good and evil are wrapped up in notions of identity and disguise, one of the book’s most salient themes.

“‘Have you noticed the odd thing,’ he said, ‘about all your descriptions? Each man of you finds Sunday quite different, yet each man of you can only find one thing to compare him to—the universe itself. Bull finds him like the earth in spring, Gogol like the sun at noonday. The Secretary is reminded of the shapeless protoplasm, and the Inspector of the carelessness of virgin forests. The Professor says he is like a changing landscape. This is queer, but it is queerer still that I also have had my odd notion about the President, and I also find that I think of Sunday as I think of the whole world.’” 

Each character perceives Sunday according to his own, individual point of view. These varied descriptions can perhaps be viewed as how free will manifests: while all of the characters are looking at the same thing, each of them views that thing—in this case, Sunday—differently. Moreover, by describing Sunday as “the whole world,” Syme foreshadows the revelation that Sunday is God or a God-like entity.

“All the six friends compared notes afterwards and quarrelled [sic]; but they all agreed that in some unaccountable way the place reminded them of their boyhood. It was either this elm-top or that crooked path, it was either this scrap of orchard or that shape a window; but each man of them declared that he could remember this place before he could remember his mother.” 

When the detectives see Sunday’s house, each man feels at home. Their vague recollection alludes to being in the presence of God before birth, a spiritual existence, and how Nature and God are one in the same, as Chesterton himself seemed to suggest about Sunday. It is also a fitting setting for the book’s conclusion when Sunday finally puts the men’s minds and souls to rest through an act of holy revelation.