The Secret Chord

Content Warning: The book depicts multiple instances of rape, including graphic accounts of nonconsensual sex and humiliation. The following section includes analysis of one or more of those instances.

David, the book’s protagonist, begins as a shepherd and becomes king of Israel. He is a physically beautiful man who inspires others. He is also a man of deep contradictions: a warrior and a bringer of peace; a lover and a rapist; a singer of people’s deepest emotion and a master manipulator; a father who never gives up hope for his children and a “sensualist” whose sexuality is dominated by lust. This complexity of character constitutes the core of The Secret Chord. Geraldine Brooks preserves the ambivalence of this character study by rarely giving us a direct glimpse into David’s thoughts. Instead, we have observations by Natan and other characters, each with their own reasons to love or hate David. The only exception is when David sings. As Natan asserts, “You could read his mind through his music, always” (15). Through David’s music, the reader learns that he loved Yonatan, that he had faith in God, and that he truly repented of Uriah’s murder.

Brooks advances her discussion about