There Is No Devil

In this final section, the novel reaches its climax and denouement. The narrative’s climactic murder scene is staged within the symbolic architecture of Cole’s labyrinth, a setting that externalizes the psychological complexities of the conflict and brings the theme of Vengeance as a Dark and Alternative Form of Justice to its violent fruition. The fight itself is chaotic and primal, a “brutal, bloody melee” where the objective is to survive and kill (228). This setting strips away the pretenses of civilization, reducing the conflict to its most basic elements. Mara’s ultimate act of slashing Shaw’s throat is the culmination of her transformation through the narrative: She is no longer a pawn in the men’s war but a decisive actor who claims her own form of justice. Her perception of the murder, in which Shaw’s spurting blood creates a “crimson parabola” against the snow (230), reframes a grotesque act as an aesthetic experience. Her declaration that she has “never seen anything so beautiful” confirms her complete alignment with Cole’s worldview (230), where violence is a source of terrible beauty.

The scene where Mara and Cole have sex beside Shaw’s body continues this fusion of the beautiful and the brutal, with imagery that equates blood with paint and sex with a continuation of the kill, as Cole’s hands leave “red streaks vivid as paint” on Mara’s skin (231). This technique is central to the novel’s thematic argument that creation and destruction, love and violence, or art and murder are two sides of the same coin. The narrative choice to place their first truly reciprocal sexual encounter immediately after Shaw’s murder, beside his cooling body, is a deliberate subversion of romance tropes. These concluding chapters radically finalize the novel’s exploration of Redefining Love Through Control and Submission, cementing Mara and Cole’s bond through a climactic shared act of violent transgression. This act is the ultimate consummation of their relationship, a ritual that consecrates their union in blood. It is in this moment of shared violence that their dynamic shifts from dominance and submission to a partnership of equals. Cole’s declaration, “I love you” (232), is significant precisely because it follows Mara’s demonstration of her capacity for lethal violence, suggesting that Cole loves her as an active participant in their shared darkness.

The resolution of Mara’s character arc is inextricably linked to the theme of Art as an Expression of Identity and Experience, which posits that artistic liberation can only be achieved after a violent catharsis. The labyrinth, a monumental work of art, becomes Mara and Cole’s instrument of justice, dissolving the boundary between Cole’s creative and destructive impulses. Similarly, Mara’s journey culminates in a triumphant art exhibition, but only after she has systematically eliminated the figures who have sought to frame her as a victim: Shaw and her mother. Tori’s murder is presented as the final, necessary step in Mara’s self-actualization. It is a calculated and cold performance of vengeance, which Mara describes to Cole with an assertive sense of finality, stating that the act “feels right […] It feels good” (247). This act directly enables Mara’s artistic breakthrough. Her new, confident series of paintings reflects a newfound power and an outward-facing vision rather than an inward-looking examination of trauma. By painting a history where women hold power, Mara is, in effect, painting her own reality. The narrative structure reinforces this connection by placing her artistic success as the consequence of her vengeful acts.

Through its plot resolution, the novel deliberately inverts conventional moral frameworks, presenting a world where institutional justice fails and personal, extralegal violence is rewarded with happiness and freedom. The official conclusion to the Beast of the Bay case is an explicit farce when Officer Hawks is publicly celebrated for solving a crime that he had no part in stopping and the true nature of events remains concealed. This outcome reinforces the idea that established systems of justice are inept and irrelevant to the protagonists’ moral universe. Mara and Cole now operate entirely outside this system, planting evidence to secure their impunity. Their success is absolute; they face no legal repercussions for their murders and are instead rewarded with professional acclaim and a romantic escape. The Epilogue functions as a dark version of the traditional “happily ever after,” portraying a couple whose bliss is founded on their shared capacity for violence. The final scene, where Mara playfully mimes slitting a man’s throat, is a moment of levity and shared understanding that reaffirms their bond, transforming a violent gesture into an inside joke. This concluding image serves as the novel’s definitive statement: For these characters, true liberation is found in embracing their darkest impulses.