In this chapter, we learn that the four nocturnals are under the control of Madame Bovary, who is blackmailing them with the threat of using the "punishment of eternal night" on their families. The Lord of the Rings explains that the punishment of night is the "cruelest punishment" of nocturnals, and that it imprisons the soul in a "spiritual prison" . He tells the others that he will kill them all if they do not kill him.