The Silkworm

“Robin had not told Strike the date of her and Matthew’s wedding, nor that she had told Matthew that she wished to invite her boss.”

Strike’s contentious relationship with Ellacott’s fiancé is established early on. Ellacott herself is typically caught in the middle, attempting to soothe both men’s egos and keep the peace. This moment reflects the novel’s theme of Gender and Power, as Ellacott hides information not to deceive, but to protect the fragile masculine pride of the two men who attempt to control her emotional bandwidth.

“Egotistical bastard, he sounded, flouncing off into the darkness with his precious book.”

At first, Strike assumes Quine’s wife is correct that he has run away to a retreat. As he relaxes at home after taking her case, he has regret about taking it but imagines finding Quine easily and returning him to his family. The mocking tone underscores how Ego and Vanity as a Destructive Force are projected onto Quine even before his death. Strike’s language mirrors the theatricality he assumes defines Quine’s disappearance.

“No, he don’t like talking about work while he’s—Orlando, put it down.”

Leonora Quine is characterized as an overwhelmed mother through scenes like this one, in which she yells at her misbehaving daughter during a phone conversation with Strike. This quote also shows the folksy dialect that Leonora speaks in, a common Galbraith trope to indicate that a character is inherently good. The interruption and fractured syntax mimic Leonora’s fragmented life, while her informal speech marks her as working-class and, within the logic of the novel, more emotionally sincere.

“Owen Quine was a large, pale and portly man of around sixty, with straggly yellow-white hair and a pointed Van Dyke beard. His eyes appeared to be different colors, which gave a particular intensity to his stare. For the photograph he had wrapped himself in what seemed to be a Tyrolean cape and was wearing a feather-trimmed trilby.”

Galbraith often employs vivid physical descriptions of characters. In many cases, a character’s physical appearance is closely tied to their personality, morals, and function within the story. Owen Quine’s large size and extravagant dress are used to emphasize his large ego. This passage exemplifies the grotesque through visual excess. His mismatched eyes and eccentric costume create a carnivalesque aura, foreshadowing his symbolic role in the satirical world of Bombyx Mori.

“Seven weeks until she became Mrs. Matthew…but if he had ever known her fiance’s surname, he could not recall it.”

Strike’s opinion of Matthew is typically shown through though his private thoughts. He cannot remember the man’s name but thinks of Ellacott as becoming “Mrs. Matthew.” This helps paint a picture of Strike’s personal jealously of the fiancé, and his worry that Ellacott will step away from her job once she is married. The reduction of Ellacott’s identity to a possessive form reinforces the theme of Identity and Performance. Even Strike, despite his respect for her intellect, unconsciously views her through a patriarchal lens.

“The agent was a bully in a familiar mold: one of those older women who capitalized, weather consciously or not, on the fact that they awoke in those who were susceptible childhood memories of demanding and all-powerful mothers.”

This quote references Elizabeth Tassel, who is eventually revealed as the murderer. Galbraith describes her physical space (cramped and dirty, but guarded by a large Doberman) and body (plain, sickly, but sharply dressed) before offering this line. This line is used to establish that Strike, who had a very loving mother, is not intimidated by this kind of performative power. The psychological language in this metaphor implies that power, particularly female power, is often read through personal bias, reinforcing the theme of Gender and Power and highlighting Tassel’s manipulative use of persona.

“As she drew nearer, the straining buttons on the betrayed a heavy, apple-shaped torso.”

From afar, Kathryn Kent is described with flowing red hair, stylish clothes, and slender legs. As she gets closer to Strike he begins to see her large body and aged appearance. This is an example of how Galbraith uses physical appearance as clues to a character’s nature. The shift in perception functions almost cinematically, using zoom and reveal as literary technique. The distortion mirrors Strike’s suspicions about her emotional instability.

“Your not telling me anything my friends, mySsister and my own Mother don’t tell me all the time.”

This is an excerpt from Kathryn Kent’s blog, in which she talks about being an author of several books. Galbraith uses poor grammar and sentence structure to portray Kathryn as an over-confident writer. The blog’s errors suggest a delusional voice that craves respect without command of craft. This mirrors the theme of Ego and Vanity as a Destructive Force, especially in the literary world.

“Bombyx’s gender appeared strangely mutable. Quite apart from his apparent ability to breast-feed, he was soon showing signs of pregnancy, despite continuing to pleasure a number of apparently nymphomaniac women who strayed regularly across his path.”

This line appears in Bombyx Mori. It is an example of how gender difference is used to help portray a grotesque image in Galbraith’s work. Women who are sexually attracted to a pregnant, lactating man are described as “nymphomaniacs.” The use of gender imagery reflects not only physical absurdity but moral chaos. It ties into the theme of Identity and Performance, as characters in Bombyx Mori operate as distorted masks of real people, altering gender, desire, and power into symbols of literary revenge.

“A carcass: trussed, stinking and rotting, empty and gutted, lying on the floor instead of hanging from a metal hook where it surely belonged. But what looked like a slaughtered pig wore human clothing.”

This is the first description of Owen Quine’s body when Strike finds it in the abandoned house. Galbraith employs meat imagery several times in the novel, typically in lurid ways. This passage is also an example of the body horror that the Cormoran Strike books are known for. The simile of Quine as a butchered pig literalizes the satire of Bombyx Mori, merging the grotesque with the symbolic. The horror here functions as metaphor: Quine has become what his writing made of others.

“And by the same power of will that in the army had enabled him to fall instantly asleep on bare concrete, on rocky ground, on lumpy camp beds that squeaked rusty complaints about his bulk whenever he moved, he slid smoothly into sleep like a warship sliding out into dark water.”

Often, chapters end with Strike falling asleep, with the ease of his sleep determined by how fraught the case is at any given moment. This passage is also an example of the way Strike’s military career is often alluded to in the novel as a way to show his resilience. The warship simile evokes weight, history, and stoic momentum, characterizing Strike’s body as disciplined machinery. The lyrical cadence softens his toughness, contrasting emotional turmoil with physical surrender.

“She lifted onto the table a small basket covered in cellophane, adorned with ribbon and containing Cornish food and drink: beer, cider, sweets, and mustard.”

The contents of the gift basic are a classic Rowling tactic; good characters are portrayed with markers of old fashioned, rural British life. The cellophane and ribbon project superficial cheer, which contrasts with the tense and emotionally fraught context in which the basket is delivered. The basket’s contents form a pastoral metonym for domestic virtue, while the cellophane’s artificial sheen underlines the disconnect between intention and emotion. This symbolic dissonance reflects the novel’s theme of Identity and Performance.

“The smell of wet wool, grime, and Gore-Tex filled their nostrils as they talked, holding the same pole as three miserable looking Italian backpackers.”

The sensory imagery invokes an atmosphere of discomfort and urban claustrophobia. The shared pole underlines the forced intimacy of public transportation. Describing the backpackers as “miserable-looking” subtly mocks the romanticism of travel, grounding the scene in a realist, almost comic tone that reflects Strike’s world weary attitude.

“Could he imagine Elizabeth Tassel in her smart black suit, with her scarlet lipstick and her undisguised fury at Owen Quine, returning here under cover of darkness stained with blood and acid, carrying a bag full of intestines?”

Galbraith often contrasts physical imagery to heighten the mystery. In this scene, Strike tries to imagine Tassel, who obviously strives to be well put together, going through the gruesome tasks needed to pull off the murder. The violent and visceral contrast between elegance and horror underscores the theme of Ego and Vanity as a Destructive Force. Tassel’s polished façade belies her capacity for brutality, making her appearance a costume of power and composure.

“Owen Quine had not thought women had any place in literature: he, Strike, had a secret prejudice too—but what choice did he have, with his knee screaming for mercy and no automatic car for hire?”

Although Strike is typically portrayed as the moral center of his stories, Galbraith shows elements of his internal flaws and prejudice. When Ellacott offers to drive the pair to Devon, he is unsure, because he doesn’t trust women drivers. The line quietly embeds the theme of Gender and Power within Strike’s internal monologue. Even as he respects Ellacott’s intellect, his instinctive doubt betrays his inherited biases, which shape, and sometimes slow, her ascent.

“This was real life, after all, Matthew, and home…”

Robin begins to unravel when she travels to Yorkshire for Matthew’s mother’s funeral. The world of Strike, and the Quine murder scene, seems very distant as she interacts with the people and places of her childhood. The phrase “real life” functions ironically. Robin’s longing for the stability of home is undermined by her growing realization that what once felt safe now feels performative. The identity she’s claimed in London now conflicts with the role she is expected to resume.

“Simpson’s spoke to Strike in an old and familiar language, of hierarchy, order and stately decorum.”

Strike is a military man at heart, and despite his humble living situation and lack of respect for unearned authority, he is drawn to places with an old-fashioned patriarchal air. He is often drawn to men’s clubs and similar venues. The personification of the venue emphasizes how physical space in the novel reinforces ideological structure. The quote reflects Strike’s nostalgia for systems that offer clarity, even as he critiques the power they confer.

“The Adam’s apple on her scratched, marked throat was still prominent. She buried her hands in her pockets again.”

Pointing out Pippa’s Adam’s apple is Galbraith’s way of confirming her status as a transgender person. This reflects a common trope in anti-trans circles, in which a prominent Adam’s apple is often used as evidence that someone was assigned male at birth. The anatomical focus here is not neutral; it frames Pippa’s gender through the lens of physical scrutiny. This moment reflects the broader tension in the novel around Identity and Performance, demonstrating how gender is policed, perceived, and punished.

“Alerted by phone, Strike and Robin watched the news spread online where, minute by minute, the story proliferated like multiplying bacteria.”

Galbraith often uses metaphor in her books. In this case, the image of news as bacteria highlights the idea that the media spreads stories in an out-of-control manner, often obscuring the actual truth within wild speculation. The metaphor of proliferation suggests contamination rather than communication. In a novel obsessed with authorship and interpretation, this moment casts narrative as infectious. Truth becomes distorted by the very medium that carries it.

“Flames darted, knives flickered, heavy iron pans moved hither and thither.”

Violent, food related imagery abounds in the novel. Sometimes the imagery is very direct and obvious, such as the way Quine’s body is found staged like a feast. In other cases, such as this scene, it is less pronounced. The personification of cooking creates a chaotic, almost ritualistic atmosphere, as domestic space becomes symbolic battleground. The sensory details here foreshadow the collision of violence and performance that culminates in the book’s climax.

“Anstis had neither the wit for the imagination to appreciate a theory that explained every oddity of the killing, but which would seem to him incredible compared to the easy solution, riddled with inconsistencies and unanswered questions though the case against Leonora was.”

Although Strike has personal respect for Anstis, he questions the policeman’s ability to accurately investigate the Quine case. He believes it to be too nuanced and complicated for the police to handle, and that only he has the intellectual capacity to tie all the loose ends together.

“[W]riters are a savage breed, Mr. Strike.”

This phrase highlights one of the main running themes of the novel: that the literary world is a dark and dangerous place. It is spoken by Fancourt but could easily have been a quote from any of the people in Quine’s world. This aphorism functions as metacommentary on the entire novel. In a book where fiction literally kills, the line elevates authorship to both weapon and wound. The phrase also directly invokes the theme of Ego and Vanity as a Destructive Force within artistic communities.

“She had the dead, blank eyes of a shark.”

This metaphor is used to describe Tassel when she is exposed as the murderer. It reflects back to the scene earlier in the book in which Strike recalls his childhood friend being attacked by a shark. When he remembers that incident, he realizes the killer has shark-like qualities.