72 pages • 2 hours read
Dan BrownAngels and Demons
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2000A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Conflict Between Science and Religion
The conflict between science and religion is introduced as an important theme in Leonardo Vetra’s office. Robert Langdon learns from Maximilian Kohler that Vetra considered himself a “theo-physicist.” Langdon believes Vetra’s professions—a Catholic priest and a particle physicist—to be at odds with each other, revealing the societal conception of science being at odds with religious values and belief systems. Indeed, through Langdon’s work as an art historian specializing in religious history, Langdon identifies that “science and religion had been oil and water since day one […] arch-enemies […] unmixable” (44). However, Vetra believed that “God’s handwriting was visible in the natural order all around us. Through science he hoped to prove God’s existence to the doubting masses” (44). Vetra’s discovery of antimatter, which implies that something could be created from nothing, suggests that both creationism and the Big Bang Theory could be verified. These two theories—the creation theories proposed by science and Christianity—could be unified through the experiment whereby matter and antimatter were created. In proving these two beliefs are compatible, Vetra hoped to bring together science and religion under a common belief system.
Unlike Vetra, the Camerlengo believes that the Catholic Church is threatened by the rapid rate of scientific progress, which proceeds at a staggering pace “with no ethical instructions attached” (535). The Camerlengo, who believes that science is threatened by religion, plays on the traditional conflict between science and religion in his ruse; he planned to “forge modern demons for modern man” and thereby dethrone science (536). Scientific progress, the Camerlengo argues, condemns religion “as the opiate of the masses” and denounces God, rather than conceding that the workings of God are beyond the understanding of man (534). The Camerlengo believes that Vetra’s work is so threatening because “the day science substantiates God in a lab is the day people stop needing faith” (534).
The Camerlengo frames the antimatter threat as coming from the Illuminati, an ancient brotherhood of scientists who had to hide their existence from the Catholic Church. By framing the threat as coming from scientists and then defeating that threat, the Camerlengo hopes that religion can triumph over science in the hearts of people, resulting in a resurgence of faith in the workings of God and the Church’s traditions. His plan is ironic; in aiming to preserve the “ethical instructions” of the Church, he kills many people. In elevating Vetra over Camerlengo, the novel supports the idea of religion and science coexisting rather than one triumphing over the other.
Symbology
Symbology drives the novel’s plot; the Illuminati ambigram stamped on Vetra’s dead body leads to the involvement of Langdon, who is an expert in religious symbology. The ambigram, combined with the antimatter theft and relocation to Vatican City, leads Langdon and Kohler to conclude that the Illuminati is still active and is planning to destroy the Vatican. This initiates the climactic section of the plot, in which Langdon and Vittoria try to save the four cardinals. The Hassassin, allegedly working on behalf of the Illuminati brotherhood, has placed them along a route of clues out forth by 16th-century Illuminati scientists and sculptors, making Langdon a singular hero, the only person capable of following the map. The role of symbology in the text posits art history as an important discipline, on par with Vittoria’s physics and the Vatican’s theology.
Symbology directs Langdon and Vittoria on their quest. With the assistance of Galileo’s Diagramma, they follow a series of symbolic clues left for 16th-century scientists to reach the Church of Illumination. Initially, Langdon misinterprets Galileo’s first clue, which refers to “Santi’s earthly tomb with demon’s hole,” as meaning Raphael Santi’s tomb, which is in the Pantheon (222). Instead, Langdon realizes at the last minute that this must mean a tomb constructed by Raphael. They do not reach the Church at Santa Maria del Popolo—symbolically linked to the element of earth for its previous name: Capella della Terra—in time to save the first cardinal. Following the line indicated by a pointing angel statue, they work out that the next clue is a relief in St. Peter’s Square: Bernini’s West Ponente. Gusts of air point symbolically away from Vatican City on the relief, reflecting the Illuminati members’ belief that illumination lies away from the Church. The separation of church doctrine and illumination is emphasized by the incorporation of the four elements—earth, air, fire, and water—which are revered in pagan religions.
Following the direction of the gusts of wind, Langdon works out that the next clue must be at the Church where the sculpture The Ecstacy of St. Teresa is located. Symbolically, the work was declared inappropriate by the Vatican; it depicts a saint in the throes of an ecstatic, sexual experience. The fiery spear of the angel in the statue points to the next clue, The Fountain of the Four Rivers, symbolically linked to the element water. Finally, Langdon sees the final clue: a lone dove. This is the “pagan” symbol for angels and points to the Castle of the Angel, where the Church of Illumination is located. Other Illuminati symbols, including stars, obelisks, and pyramids, abound in the symbolic clue map. These symbols reveal the truth of the situation, while the Camerlengo uses religious language and imagery to obfuscate his deceptions.
Symbolically, the Church of Illumination is located in the Castle of the Angel, a building affiliated with Vatican City that is connected to the Vatican by secret underground tunnels. The existence of the Illuminati meeting place in this Vatican-controlled area symbolizes the resistance and determination of scientists, who were threatened with torture and death for continuing to operate despite the Vatican’s ban on their brotherhood.
The History and Traditions of the Catholic Church
Angels and Demons explores the history of the Catholic Church, particularly parts that expose the cruelty and violence harnessed by the Church against perceived enemies. The characters in the novel confront a situation in which these ancient enemies have allegedly united against the Church in an act of revenge. In reality, the Church is being attacked from within. In a ruse to claim power for himself and the Church, the Camerlengo attributes these actions to ancient enemies to create fear.
The Hassassin, the hired assassin and thief who does the bidding of Janus, the alleged head of the Illuminati, often refers to “the thousands of Muslims slaughtered during the Crusades” (391). His anger at the unprovoked deaths of Muslims killed in the name of Christianity inspires him in completing the tasks assigned by Janus. The Hassassin revels in killing Christians and the chance to destabilize and destroy the Catholic Church as revenge for his slaughtered ancestors. This motive is shaky, emphasized by the fact that Hassassin is unwittingly helping the Church cement its power.
The violent deaths of four Illuminati scientists in the 16th century, who were symbolically branded with crosses and left in the streets of Rome, inspire the alleged Illuminati revenge plot: the four preferiti are killed on the four altars of science. These revenge murders intentionally invoke those Illuminati deaths, incorporating symbology, to make the Illuminati’s involvement palpable. The Hassassin and the Illuminati give the Camerlengo tangible enemies to work against in his bid for power, and the media, public, and fellow clergy eagerly latch onto this explanation.
Angels and Demons also explores the traditions of the Catholic Church. When a Pope dies, strict rituals are followed. The Camerlengo speaks the Pope’s name three times to confirm his death, after which the Camerlengo follows ordained procedures: “[B]y law there was no autopsy. Then he had sealed the Pope’s bedroom, destroyed the papal fisherman’s ring, shattered the die used to make lead seals, and arranged for the funeral” (185). Again, the Camerlengo is able to use doctrine to his advantage. He killed the Pope himself, and he can cover up his crime by following prescribed rituals.
According to Catholic ritual, eligible cardinals are locked in the Sistine Chapel for conclave to elect a new Pope. Ballots are taken according to specific rituals; the ballots are burned ceremonially, and black smoke indicates that a Pope has not yet been chosen, while white smoke indicates that a consensus has been reached. These traditions serve as the backdrop of the climactic action in Angels and Demons, providing dramatic interludes between scenes of Langdon and Vittoria’s excursions to Rome’s churches and sculptures. The adherence to the ancient rituals despite the emergency adds suspense to the proceedings and raises the stakes, as the cardinals remain in Vatican City as the antimatter canister nears the time of its explosion. This hints at the enduring nature of religious institutions, particularly the Catholic Church.
