Symmetry
The idea of symmetry is key to the plot of "." It
is symmetry which drives Red Scharlach, the villain and ultimate orchestrator of Lonnrot's
demise, to kill the detective as he does: he wishes to kill him, in an echo of the way in which
Lonnrot himself killed Scharlach's brother. At the same time, ironically, it is his love for
symmetry, and his capacity to seek it out in the form of patterns, that leads Lonnrot to fall
into Scharlach's trap. As he studies the pattern of the crimes so far committed, Lonnrot
observes that there is a symmetry between them in terms of time and space: he recognizes,
because of this drive to seek symmetry, that the fourth crime must take place in a certain spot
-- which turns out to be the site of Lonnrot's own death.
At the same time,
it is interesting that Lonnrot does detect something sinister in symmetry, even while he does
not understand it. When he enters the house at the end of the story, he notes that it abounds
with "superfluous symmetries and maniacal repetitions," with each statue being
mirrored by another. It is the symmetry of the house, Lonnrot feels, which causes him to feel
that it is enormous and maze-like; its symmetry makes him struggle to find his way, even though
the symmetry of the crimes plotted by Scharlach have served as a "compass" for him. In
one circumstance, symmetry guides; ultimately, however, symmetry entraps.
Deception and "two-facedness"
There are many elements in this story in which all is not as
it seems. Indeed, the story heavily relies upon the deceptive nature of the trap Scharlach has
set for Lonnrot: while Lonnrot feels that the solution to his problem is so
"crystalline" he is embarrassed not to have understood it earlier, there are many
clues in the text suggesting that this transparency is, itself, an illusion.
One of these clues is the repeated appearance of people in masks, or whose identity is
otherwise cloaked from view, their real faces covered by secondary ones whose purpose is to
obfuscate. When Gryphius appears at the tavern, for example, even his driver is wearing a bear
mask. He is escorted by two "masked harlequins," whose identity is not only concealed
in terms of their faces, but also through the distraction of their outfits. They are presenting
themselves as fools, or entertainments, which serves to divert attention from the reality of
what is happening. Later in the story, we learn that the masked Gryphius was indeed not the
person he appeared to be, but Scharlach, who, driven by fury and his desire to avenge his
brother, has allied himself with "odious, double-faced Janus." Scharlach recognizes
that, in order to avenge his brother as he wishes to do, he must present himself as something
which he is not, and rely upon illusion and deception to create a world which is not what it
appears to be. Lonnrot may be able to see through patterns and find the solution to the maze
which has been set for him, but he is not able to recognize until he reaches its center that he
is not solving a problem, but falling into a trap. The meaning is not what he believes it to be.
Jewish mysticism and numbers
This short story is permeated with an air of mystery and the unknown, which is
developed through the use of Jewish mysticism and numerology. Throughout the story, references
are made to the great secrets of Jewish thought, such as, notably, the secret, hundredth name of
God, but also numbers of significance to Jewish scholars, such as the number three. Judaic
thought is presented as something secret and other: Lonnrot takes to studying the books of
Judaic thought he finds at the site of the first murder because he believes they represent the
key to unlocking this mystery. Scharlach, at the same time, relies upon this understanding of
Judaism as something mysterious and different: he prolongs the ruse of a murderer seeking to
uncover the name of God because he knows the "goy" Lonnrot will view this as a puzzle
to be solved. He does not understand Judaism as the lived experience of a group of people, but
as a collection of riddles and arcane beliefs.
There are other elements in
the story which speak to the separation of Jewish experience from Christian. The attacks upon
Jews are viewed as antisemitic by the Jewish populace, but are sensationalized by Christians.
Scharlach is able to use Jewishness, and views of Jewishness, in order to further his own agenda
and help lure Lonnrot into the trap he has set.
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