The Physician’s Suspicious Delay
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
The physician declares the need for blood-letting and needing to collect leeches. This is an obvious stall. He offers to treat Susan but says that he needs to leave to collect leeches, suggesting they wait, which makes Barbara uneasy.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Cautiously alert, shifting to outright suspicion as the Physician’s behavior becomes increasingly transparent. Her frustration at being trapped is palpable, but her focus remains on securing Susan’s safety.
Barbara acts as Susan’s protector, urgently pushing the Physician to expedite treatment and leave ('We've no wish to delay you.'). Her sharp instincts detect the Physician’s skepticism, and she voices her suspicion aloud ('I got the impression that he suspected us.'). When the Physician insists they wait, she attempts to leave with Susan, only to discover the locked door—a moment that confirms her fears and escalates the tension. Her resourcefulness and caution are central to the scene’s climax.
- • To get Susan out of the consulting room as quickly as possible, sensing the Physician’s duplicity.
- • To confirm her suspicion that the Physician is acting on behalf of the Revolutionary regime and to escape before soldiers arrive.
- • The Physician is not a neutral medical professional but an agent of the Reign of Terror.
- • Delaying in the consulting room will lead to their capture or worse.
Calculating and detached, masking his true intentions behind a veneer of professionalism. His internal satisfaction at trapping Susan and Barbara is implied by his insistence on their waiting and the locked door.
The Physician begins the scene with feigned clinical detachment, questioning Susan’s symptoms with calculated skepticism ('Your symptoms would suggest that you haven't been looking after yourself.'). His insistence on bloodletting via leeches—despite claiming he was 'on his way to collect them' earlier—reveals his stall tactic. His final act of locking the door upon exiting cements his betrayal, aligning him with the Revolutionary regime’s paranoid surveillance. His dialogue is laced with passive aggression ('Come back? No, no, no. I shall be out all day.') and thinly veiled threats.
- • To stall and trap Susan and Barbara, confirming their status as suspects in the eyes of the Revolutionary regime.
- • To use his medical authority as a cover for reporting them to the soldiers, ensuring his own safety under the Reign of Terror.
- • Susan and Barbara are likely enemies of the Revolution, given their suspicious behavior and symptoms.
- • Betraying them to the authorities will protect him from repercussions and curry favor with the regime.
Anxious and trapped, with a growing sense of betrayal—her physical discomfort amplifies her emotional unease as she realizes the Physician’s deception.
Susan undergoes the Physician’s examination with visible discomfort, her fever and blistered hands serving as physical evidence of her vulnerability. She responds to the Physician’s probing questions with evasive honesty ('No, none.') and a clear distaste for the proposed leech treatment ('I can't stand the thought of having leeches on me.'). Her physical state—feverish, blistered—contrasts with her mental alertness, as she quickly aligns with Barbara’s suspicion of the Physician. Her attempt to leave with Barbara is cut short by the locked door, leaving her trapped and visibly alarmed.
- • To avoid the leech treatment and leave the consulting room immediately.
- • To align with Barbara’s assessment of the Physician’s suspicious behavior and escape the trap.
- • The Physician’s medical authority is a facade for something more sinister.
- • Barbara’s instincts about people are reliable, and her own discomfort with the situation is justified.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The locked door is the physical manifestation of the Physician’s betrayal, transforming the consulting room from a place of potential aid into a prison. Susan’s discovery of the locked door—'It's locked!'—marks the moment the trap is sprung, confirming Barbara’s suspicions and escalating the scene’s tension. The door’s lock symbolizes the regime’s oppressive control, trapping not just Susan and Barbara, but also the audience’s sense of safety. Its sudden revelation underscores the Physician’s alignment with the Revolutionary forces and the fragility of trust in Paris.
The leeches serve as a macabre prop in the Physician’s deception, symbolizing the perversion of medical practice under the Reign of Terror. His insistence on collecting them—despite claiming he was already on his way to do so—exposes the bloodletting as a pretext to lock the door and trap Susan and Barbara. The leeches, a tool meant to 'treat' Susan’s fever, become a metaphor for the regime’s parasitic control, draining the life and trust of its victims. Their absence from the scene (the Physician never returns with them) underscores their role as a red herring, a distraction from his true intent: betrayal.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The consulting room, initially a cramped but neutral space for medical examination, becomes a claustrophobic trap as the Physician’s deception unfolds. Its dim lighting and confined quarters amplify the tension, mirroring the psychological pressure Susan and Barbara feel. The room’s transition from a potential sanctuary to a prison reflects the broader narrative’s theme of institutional betrayal, where even places of healing are weaponized by the regime. The locked door and the Physician’s exit leave Susan and Barbara stranded, their vulnerability exposed in this once-private space now turned against them.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The Reign of Terror is the unseen but ever-present force behind the Physician’s actions. His skepticism, stall tactics, and ultimate betrayal of Susan and Barbara are all extensions of the regime’s paranoid surveillance and brutal efficiency. The organization’s influence is felt in the Physician’s calculated detachment, his use of medical authority as a cover for reporting suspects, and the locked door—a tool of institutional control. The scene underscores how the Reign of Terror has infiltrated even the most basic social structures, turning healers into informants and patients into prisoners.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Barbara and Leon deciding to seek a physician for Susan leads to them actually finding one."
Barbara and Leon debate Susan’s medical risk"Barbara and Leon deciding to seek a physician for Susan leads to them actually finding one."
Leon’s Departure and Susan’s Distrust"Barbara and Leon deciding to seek a physician for Susan leads to them actually finding one."
Ian’s violent arrival fractures trust"Barbara is cautious of Leon. This is a thematic shadow. Later, she should feel the same way towards the Doctor. Leon promising to seek out a physician is directly followed by the physician eventually offering to treat Susan but requiring leeches, raising Barbara's suspicion, since leeches are used for blood-letting."
Barbara and Leon debate Susan’s medical risk"Barbara is cautious of Leon. This is a thematic shadow. Later, she should feel the same way towards the Doctor. Leon promising to seek out a physician is directly followed by the physician eventually offering to treat Susan but requiring leeches, raising Barbara's suspicion, since leeches are used for blood-letting."
Leon’s Departure and Susan’s Distrust"Barbara is cautious of Leon. This is a thematic shadow. Later, she should feel the same way towards the Doctor. Leon promising to seek out a physician is directly followed by the physician eventually offering to treat Susan but requiring leeches, raising Barbara's suspicion, since leeches are used for blood-letting."
Ian’s violent arrival fractures trust"The physician's suspicion of Susan and Barbara leads to his report to the Jailer, who then mobilizes soldiers to recapture them."
Jailer deploys soldiers to hunt escaped prisoners"Susan and Barbara's feeling that something is wrong leads to their attempt at exiting, but they are locked in."
Physician betrays Barbara and SusanThemes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Key Dialogue
"PHYSICIAN: "Yes, you appear to have a feverish chill, but it's nothing very serious.""
"BARBARA: "Well, maybe it would be better if we came back." PHYSICIAN: "Come back? No, no, no. I shall be out all day. You'll have to wait.""
"SUSAN: "It's locked!""