Don’t Deliver Us from Evil (1971) Plot Summary Explained

Anne and Lore form an exclusive bond because they share a conviction that they are special and untouchable, different from other students at the Catholic boarding school. Their friendship is cemented by their mutual fascination with death, as evidenced by the poems about the beauty of death they read together, and their shared contempt for the church which they view as fatuous. This ideological alignment creates a partnership where each reinforces the other's descent into transgression.

Foreshadowing: Their early readings of death poetry and petty thefts foreshadow their later embrace of actual evil.

• anne
• lore
• satanism
• rebellion
• catholic school
• peer influence

They burn the barn as retribution for Lore being assaulted by the local farmer, whom they punish by releasing his cows and destroying his property. The act marks a significant escalation in their cruelty, demonstrating their willingness to take violent action against adults they believe have wronged them. It also reveals their growing sense of immunity from consequences, believing their wealth and status protect them.

Foreshadowing: This incident establishes their pattern of taking the law into their own hands, setting the stage for murder.

• barn fire
• farmer
• cows
• revenge
• escalation

Anne targets the mentally handicapped groundskeeper Émile simply to frighten him and cause him suffering, demonstrating a calculated cruelty that goes beyond practical mischief. This act reveals the depth of her detachment from normal morality, as she inflicts pain on a vulnerable person without any grievance or motivation beyond entertainment. The killing represents a key moment in their escalation toward more serious violence.

Foreshadowing: This act of cruelty toward a vulnerable person demonstrates their complete moral corruption before the murder.

• emile
• groundskeeper
• bird
• cruelty
• victim

They organize the Black Mass in an abandoned chapel as a formal commitment to Satan, sealing their bond through a ritual that explicitly marries them to evil. They steal hosts and vestments from the church to desecrate the Catholic symbols they despise, using the sacred items for their anti-religious ceremony. The blood mingling ritual cements their pact and represents their definitive break from conventional morality.

Foreshadowing: The Black Mass establishes their ideological commitment to evil before the murder occurs.

• black mass
• satan
• chapel
• blood pact
• symbolism

They kill the motorist when he attempts to rape Lore during the encounter they orchestrated at the château. While they deliberately enticed him with alcohol and partial nudity, the killing occurs specifically when the man tries to force himself on Lore, prompting Anne to bludgeon him with a fire iron. The murder represents their first human killing and transforms their transgression from property crimes and cruelty to outright murder.

Foreshadowing: Earlier threats against potential attackers foreshadow this lethal response to sexual violence.

• motorist
• murder
• rape
• self-defense
• lake

After Anne bludgeons the motorist to death, the two girls dispose of his body in the lake near the château. This act of hiding the evidence demonstrates their attempt to cover up their crime and avoid detection by the authorities. The murder and disposal are treated as part of their escalating series of transgressive acts.

Foreshadowing: The location near the château connects to the earlier summer scenes of their rebellious activities.

• body
• lake
• disposal
• evidence
• cover up

They decide to kill themselves because a senior detective arrives at the school to question them, making them believe he suspects their involvement in the motorist's disappearance. Rather than face potential arrest and confession, they choose suicide as a final act of defiance, convinced they will descend into Hell and be rewarded by Satan for their service. Their twisted religious beliefs frame death as a desirable culmination of their pact.

Foreshadowing: Their earlier Black Mass commitment to Satan logically leads them to view suicide as a path to their promised reward.

• suicide
• detective
• fear
• confession
• satanic pact

They choose the public setting of the school concert, attended by all the parents, as their final act to maximize shock and make a statement. By reciting a dark Baudelaire poem to loud applause before setting themselves alight with petrol, they transform what should be a normal celebration into a macabre performance. The concert setting allows them to die together in a dramatic fashion while the audience is distracted by normalcy.

Foreshadowing: The Baudelaire poem selection reflects their literary fascination with death and darkness established earlier.

• concert
• public suicide
• baudelaire
• petrol
• dramatic act

They genuinely believe their Black Mass pact promises them rewards from Satan in exchange for their wicked deeds on Earth. Their ideology frames their crimes not as sins requiring repentance but as service to Satan that merits supernatural reward. This warped belief system transforms what most would view as damnation into an anticipated reward, making suicide seem like a logical next step in their spiritual journey.

Foreshadowing: Their earlier readings about the beauty of death established their romanticized view of damnation.

• satan
• reward
• afterlife
• belief
• ideology

The Baudelaire poem they recite at the concert is a dark piece that aligns perfectly with their ideological embrace of death, sin, and rebellion against conventional morality. By choosing this specific poem, they signal their continued commitment to darkness even in their final moments. The fact that the audience claps and cheers, unaware of the impending act, creates a chilling contrast between the normalcy of the concert and the horror about to unfold.

Foreshadowing: Their earlier shared readings of death poetry directly leads to this selection.

• baudelaire
• poem
• recital
• darkness
• poetry

While the specific details of the classmate's implicating are not fully detailed in the summary, this act represents another escalation in their willingness to involve innocent others in their transgressive behavior. Their pattern shows increasing recklessness and a desire to spread corruption beyond themselves, treating others as pawns in their game of moral defiance.

Foreshadowing: This earlier act of implicating others demonstrates their willingness to harm people beyond their direct victims.

• classmate
• implication
• false accusation
• innocent victim

They steal hosts from the church specifically to desecrate them as part of their broader campaign against Catholic symbolism. Discarding the communion wafers represents an act of deliberate sacrilege, treating the most sacred Catholic object as something worthless to be discarded. This act is integral to their Black Mass preparation, demonstrating their contempt for religious authority.

Foreshadowing: This directly connects to their preparation for the Black Mass ceremony.

• hosts
• communion wafers
• sacrilege
• church theft
• desecration