68 pages • 2 hours read
Peter S. BeagleThe Last Unicorn
Peter S. BeagleFiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1968A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 12-14Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 12 Summary
Schmendrick, Molly, and Amalthea stand in the great hall where the clock and the skull are located. Amalthea has not spoken since her encounter with King Haggard earlier. It is shortly after midnight, and the hall is dark, but Schmendrick lights it with magic. When they locate the skull, Schmendrick tells them that one of the foundations of wizardry is seeing and listening. Most wizards can enchant anything living or dead to speak. Schmendrick tries several incantations, but the skull does not seem to come to life. When Schmendrick nearly loses his temper, the skull warns that Haggard will wake if Schmendrick yells.
The skull teases the group for a while. It knows the way to the Red Bull but won’t give up the information. It taunts and laughs at the group. It explains that it was a nuisance of a person when it was alive, and the only amusement it gets these days is by exasperating others. Molly expresses that they don’t have time for this, but the skull muses that rushing around, scrambling, and being late is part of the human experience.
Schmendrick asks about the wine, which catches the skull’s attention. Molly could not find wine, so she brought a flask of water for Schmendrick to use to make wine. With the skull eagerly trying to see what Schmendrick is doing, Schmendrick enchants the water, turning it to wine. However, when he tips the bottle to sip it, nothing comes out. He goes to throw the flask, but the skull stops him and begs for the wine. The skull cannot taste, but its sharp memory of wine is enough for it to desire a drink. Schmendrick bargains with the skull for information about the path to the Red Bull in exchange for the wine.
The skull tells them that they must walk through the clock. Schmendrick tests it but finds he cannot pass through the clock, which appears too thin to hide a passageway. He thinks the skull is bluffing. The skull explains that time is a constraint on people. They live within hours, days, months, and never break the cycle. Once the skull died, he realized how meaningless time was. To pass through the clock, one must simply disregard the constraints of time. Schmendrick and Molly aren’t sure they understand, but Schmendrick gives the skull the wine. The skull “drinks” it, delighted at the memory of the taste and smell.
The skull offers them one more piece of advice: Smash the skull. Schmendrick and Molly refuse. The skull then cries out in alarm, calling them every criminal name in the book to alert Haggard and his men-at-arms. The party can hear Haggard and his men closing in, so they go to the clock, with Molly leading Amalthea by the hand. At the sight of Amalthea, the skull declares he’s “disloyal, but [...] not that disloyal” (237) and screams in alarm that a unicorn is going down to the Red Bull. Haggard scolds the skull, and the party hears him break it.
Amalthea slips easily through the clock. Molly stands in front of the clock and tries to eliminate time from her thoughts. Soon, the voices of the king and his men fade, and she realizes she has passed through. Behind her is a bright mist where she entered. Lír has joined them in the passageway, having slipped past them to follow Amalthea. He is upset that she would have left without him. Amalthea finally speaks, saying she would’ve come back for him because she doesn’t know what she’s doing here, but Lír doesn’t believe her.
Finally, Schmendrick joins them in the passageway, having fought against King Haggard’s reluctant men-at-arms. His head is injured and bleeding, and Molly tends to the wounds. He comments how frightened King Haggard looked. The group hears a crash, and the mist disappears. King Haggard has destroyed the clock, so the group must continue through the passageway to the Red Bull.
Chapter 13 Summary
The group travels through the dark tunnel, with Amalthea leading the way. Schmendrick tells Lír of his travels with the unicorn, but he stops when he gets to the night he transformed the unicorn and changes the subject to Lír’s birth. Lír knows of the curse and knows Haggard isn’t his biological father, but he has guarded Haggard his entire life. Lír also doesn’t believe Haggard has ever seen a unicorn because he is so sad. Lír cannot fathom that Haggard has captured almost all the unicorns and trapped them in the sea. Schmendrick asks Lír to think about his life with Haggard, and Lír recalls seeing a flash of joy on Haggard’s face when he looked at the sea. Lír also had a recurring dream about the Red Bull driving unicorns into the sea, and Schmendrick informs him that it wasn’t a dream and reveals that Lady Amalthea is the last unicorn.
Lír is unsurprised because he knew her beauty was great and otherworldly. Despite this, Lír cannot help his love for her. Amalthea finally speaks. She wants to stop and go back. She’s afraid of the bull and afraid of being a unicorn again. She would rather grow old and die with Lír. She believes they’ll be able to walk past the bull and escape if she is left as a human. Prince Lír reassures her that he doesn’t believe Schmendrick is capable of returning her to a unicorn with how strong their love is. Amalthea doesn’t believe him and fears losing her love for him when she is returned to her true form.
Schmendrick also doubts his power. He suggests they end the quest here, as they’re approaching the end of the tunnel. Amalthea confirms that her wish is to stay human, but Lír changes his mind. He wants to help her see her quest through. He’s taken on the role of a hero and refuses to let her story end with him. He became a hero for Amalthea, so he must be the hero to her quest.
Molly believes Schmendrick manipulated Lír to change his mind for his own gain since Schmendrick turning Amalthea to a unicorn would free him from his own curse. Molly scolds Schmendrick for his selfishness, and accuses him of only caring about magic, forcing Schmendrick to defend himself.
The Red Bull has awoken and meets them in the tunnel, blocking their path. Schmendrick tries to summon his magic, but he feels empty. Amalthea and Lír hold hands. It is the first time Amalthea has allowed anyone to touch her. The Red Bull charges, and the group scatters, pressing themselves against the walls to not be trampled. The bull turns around to herd them out through the cave opening by the sea. Schmendrick realizes that the bull is no longer fooled by Amalthea’s human form and will drive her into the sea regardless. Amalthea falls down in an opening that seems to be the bull’s resting place. Lír jumps between her and the bull.
Schmendrick is moved by Lír’s dedication to Amalthea and the hopelessness of the situation. The emotions fill him, and he becomes overwhelmed by a sensation. Schmendrick speaks an incantation. Amalthea cries out and reaches for Lír. Amalthea feels herself slipping away, but she tries desperately to hold on. When Lír glances back at her, he sees she has become a unicorn, and when he calls her name what’s left of Amalthea within the unicorn dissolves. The unicorn begins to run, and the bull chases her, trampling Lír and injuring him. Schmendrick feels himself become mortal again.
Schmendrick and Molly follow the bull out of the tunnel to the shore. The bull chases the unicorn up and down the beach, but the unicorn refuses to enter the water. Molly asks Schmendrick to do something, but Schmendrick has done all he can. It is now up to the unicorn to decide her fate. Prince Lír catches up with them and asks what magic is for if not for saving a unicorn. Schmendrick tells him heroes save unicorns. Lír leaps into the path of the bull, where he is trampled to death. The unicorn freezes and stares at Lír’s body. Above them, Haggard watches from a castle tower.
The unicorn, motivated by Lír’s death, cries out and begins to advance toward the bull. The bull begins to retreat from her, having never faced a unicorn that is willing to fight. The unicorn continues to advance, pushing the bull back toward the edge of the water. The unicorn cannot destroy the bull, but she can drive it the way it drove her. In the rising tide, the unicorns begin to appear. With one last advance, the unicorn drives the bull into the sea. The unicorns in the water part to allow him to pass. As the bull submerges itself, the water breaks, and the unicorns begin to flood onto the land. Schmendrick lifts Prince Lír’s body, and he and Molly flee to higher ground. The unicorns part around them, running to their freedom. Above them, Haggard’s castle begins to crumble and disintegrate, the pieces disappearing before they hit the water. Haggard falls to his death, laughing expectantly.
Chapter 14 Summary
Once the unicorns have passed through, Molly is sad their unicorn did not stay behind. However, the unicorn reappears. She nuzzles Molly then goes to Lír’s body. After staring at Lír for a long time, she touches him with her horn and brings him to life. There is a sadness about the unicorn, not for Lír but for Amalthea, who would never live happily ever after. When Lír wakes, he realizes he was dead. The unicorn touches her horn to him once more, but the purpose of the second touch is unclear. The unicorn tells Lír that she remembers him.
Once the unicorn leaves, Lír sees where the castle once stood and realizes what happened. Schmendrick clarifies that his death was the catalyst for the unicorn fighting back. There is no sign of the Red Bull in the water. Schmendrick declares Lír to be King Lír. Four young men approach the group. They are Haggard’s men-at-arms, and they have become young again, having fulfilled their promise to Amalthea. The unicorn’s magic has given them a new life, and they will now faithfully serve King Lír. Lír asks them to retrieve his horse. He wants to follow the unicorn, but Schmendrick convinces him to stay in his country and rule over the land. Schmendrick performs unspoken magic to provide horses for himself and Molly. Schmendrick, Molly, and King Lír ride through the land.
The barren and blighted country of King Haggard has already begun to recover. Plants have grown new buds, dry streams have begun to flow, and green returns to the landscape. The unicorns passing through have brought new life to the land. The exception is Hagsgate, which has fallen to ruins. The crops and houses have been destroyed, but the people of Hagsgate seem almost relieved. When Lír rides through to announce he is king, Drinn approaches. Drinn claims to have been Lír’s father all along, having known about Lír’s magical destiny, so he feels he is due some respect for making Lír king. However, Lír has no interest in knowing Drinn. Lír assigns his men-at-arms to help Hagsgate rebuild and promises to return soon.
Lír pardons all outlaws, and the news spreads to Captain Cully. His men rejoin society, but Cully and Jack Jingly become wandering minstrels and grow popular in their trade. One night, while still riding the country with Schmendrick and Molly, Lír expresses that he wishes to stay with them and not be king. Schmendrick reassures him that the best men in the country will come to his court, and Lír can teach them about heroism and nobility. Still, Lír wishes he could see the unicorn one last time.
That night, Schmendrick dreams of the unicorn. They talk about Schmendrick’s mortality and his path as a wizard. The unicorn is unsure about returning to her forest, for she has lived as a mortal for so long and knows emotions that no other unicorn knows. Schmendrick apologizes, but the unicorn thanks him for helping her bring her people back to the world. When he wakes, Molly and Lír are also awake. They dreamt of the unicorn too. Molly will not tell what she and the unicorn spoke of. Lír is disappointed because the unicorn merely stared at him and said nothing.
Lír rides away home to be king. Molly and Schmendrick ride along together, uncertain of their destination but following the same road they once did with the unicorn. Not long after, they come across a princess in need of help. Schmendrick offers the princess his horse and tells her where to go to find the heroic King Lír. Schmendrick walks alongside Molly on her horse and the two sing together.
Chapters 12-14 Analysis
Chapters 12 through 14 wrap up the story and provide closure for many elements of the plot. The climax occurs in Chapter 13, when Schmendrick changes Amalthea back into a unicorn, and the unicorn drives the Red Bull into the sea, freeing the rest of her kind. By Chapter 12, Amalthea’s character and motivations have grown complex. In Chapter 11, King Haggard reminds Amalthea of her quest and her true nature as a unicorn. As a result, she retreats inward, haunted by flashbacks from her previous life. Moving directly into Chapter 12, Amalthea “had not spoken since she came down from the tower” (224). Amalthea continues this silence and does not speak again until she can speak to Prince Lír. This parallels Amalthea’s behavior in chapters 10 and 11, where she refuses to speak to Prince Lír and only speaks to Molly and Schmendrick. To Amalthea, Molly and Schmendrick are friends of the unicorn. As the unicorn fades within her, so does her bond to Molly and Schmendrick. By Amalthea reserving her interactions exclusively for Lír, the narrative shows how familiar Amalthea has become with her human self and how unfamiliar her life as a unicorn has become.
This attachment to her mortal self and mortal form is highlighted in Chapter 13 as the group travels through the Red Bull’s tunnel. As they approach the point of no return, Amalthea cries “Do not let [Schmendrick] enchant me, do not let him make me immortal. I am no unicorn, no magical creature, I am human” (247). Amalthea justifies this feeling by telling Lír, “[Y]ou and I will lose each other. I will not love you when I am a unicorn” (247). Amalthea understands that changing back to a unicorn will be the death of all that she became while she was human. This moment both subverts and supports the theme of the tragedy of aging. By Amalthea wanting to stay human, and “die when [Lír] die[s]” (247), she subverts the theme by desiring, not fearing, to grow old and die. However, this fear of becoming a unicorn again is motivated by the impending death of Amalthea. Amalthea does not want to lose herself the same way regular mortals fear losing themselves with old age and death. In this way, Amalthea’s desire to stay human and live her life with Lír is a form of self-preservation. Though she knows she will eventually die when she stays mortal, she could delay the certain death of her human self by not becoming a unicorn again. The behavior supports the theme of the tragic inevitability of aging because Amalthea works to preserve herself the way other mortals do.
Schmendrick’s proficiency with magic becomes evident in Chapter 12. Small magic that Schmendrick ordinarily struggled with becomes easier for him as time has passed, culminating in a sharp, yet understated display of proficiency in the final chapters. When Schmendrick, Molly, and Amalthea are in the great hall, Schmendrick lights their way after he “muttered something curt and professional” resulting in a “sallow brightness […] spreading itself about the room in a thousand scurrying shards that shone and squeaked” (224). Shortly after, Schmendrick displays his understanding of magic by talking about master wizards, who “were great listeners, and they devised ways to charm all things of the world, living and dead, into talking to them” (225). Schmendrick proceeds to demonstrate this skill by making the skull speak to them. This demonstration of proficiency hints at Schmendrick’s growing control of his power, which culminates in Chapter 13, during the climax of the story, where Schmendrick does what no other wizard has managed to do: he changes Amalthea back into a unicorn. Upon the successful execution of this magic, Schmendrick “felt his immortality fall from him like armor, or like a shroud” (257). Though Schmendrick has spent many months performing mediocre magic for King Haggard, he has never stopped working on his control and understanding of magic. The successful changing of Lady Amalthea back into a unicorn is the final piece needed for his magical training to be complete, breaking his curse of immortality. Schmendrick’s story arc opposes the unicorn’s when it comes to their mortality. Whereas the unicorn must be turned immortal again to succeed in her quest, the success of Schmendrick’s quest grants him back his mortality.
In addition to the completion of Schmendrick and the unicorn’s stories, Prince Lír fulfills his own destiny as the catalyst for the fall of King Haggard’s castle. In Chapter 13, as Lír and Schmendrick discuss Lír’s circumstances of birth and the witch’s curse, Lír remarks, “I’m the enemy of any who plot against [Haggard], and it would take more than a crone’s gibbering to make me work for his downfall” (243-44). Despite knowing of the curse, Lír has no interest in fulfilling his destiny. This, however, does not prevent him from playing a role in Haggard’s downfall. During the climax, Schmendrick convinces Lír to try to help the unicorn in her fight against the Red Bull. Lír, emboldened by his sense of duty and love for Amalthea, declares that “heroes are meant to die for unicorns” (262) and throws himself in the path of the Red Bull, who tramples Lír to death. When Schmendrick explains to Lír his role in Haggard’s downfall, he details the chain of events: “If you had not tried to save the unicorn, she would never have turned on the Red Bull and driven him into the sea. It was the Red Bull who made the overflow, and so set the other unicorns free, and it was they who destroyed the castle” (271). Though he does not directly cause the castle to fall, Prince Lír’s sacrifice sets forth the chain of events that fulfill the witch’s curse.
Many elements of the hero’s journey structure enter in these final chapters. Due to the duality of Amalthea and the unicorn, the Supreme Ordeal, where the hero faces life-or-death danger, is split into two parts. One part covers a psychological challenge through Amalthea’s fear of becoming a unicorn, which would kill off the part of her that is Amalthea, and the other part covers the physical challenge, in which the unicorn must defeat the Red Bull to free her people or be trapped in the sea with them forever. Amalthea transforming back into a unicorn also fulfills the Resurrection stage of the hero’s journey, as the unicorn is reborn into her true immortal form. Upon defeat of the Red Bull, the unicorn frees her people from the sea, fulfilling the Reward stage of the journey, in which the hero emerges victorious with a prize of great importance. Finally, the unicorn must return home, but she is changed from her journey and must figure out her future. As she tells Schmendrick in his dreams, “I will go back to my forest too, but I do not know if I will live contentedly there, or anywhere. I have been mortal, and some part of me is mortal yet” (287). Though she has succeeded in her quest, the unicorn’s final challenge will be to figure out her path in the world with her newfound experience.
Finally, the unicorn’s time as a mortal contributes to the theme of the Loss of Innocence. Because the unicorn has lived as a human, she has felt emotions no unicorn has ever felt before. Her declaration that part of herself remains mortal represents the innocence that she can never get back. She has known a cruel human world and the complexities of mortality—things that no other unicorn can know. The unicorns reclaiming their place in the world represents new beginnings and the return of wonder and innocence to the lands. As Schmendrick, Molly, and King Lír survey the country, “Molly could see that the withered earth was brightening with greenness as shy as smoke. Squat, snaggly trees that had never yet bloomed were putting forth flowers in the wary way an army sends out scouts” (276). Because the unicorns have passed through the lands and made their homes in the world again, the landscape begins to heal, showing how unicorns bring wonder and beauty to the world.
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