What do you make of Francoeur’s fierce hatred for Gamache? What does the novel tell us about good and evil, and is the distinction between them always clear? For example, see page 318, where Gamache sits through the service in the Blessed Chapel amid “peace and rage, silence and singing. The Gilbertines and the Inquisition. The good men and the not-so-good.”

Francoeur knows Gamache is a threat because he can’t be corrupted. All the methods he has used to gain and maintain power and loyalty useless against Gamache. Gamache has already gotten in his way in the Arnot (Sp.) case. This is why he is targeting poor Jean Guy – to get some leverage.

I agree with everybody who has commented. I would like to add that I think Francouer is afraid of Gamache, afraid of his innate goodness, and on a practical level, what that means for Francouer. Francouer uses JG because he knows how important JG is to Gamache, and Francouer is desperately seeking a way to get at Gamache (he also wants to best him). JeanGuy is the perfect tool, as vulnerable as he is at that time, having become devoured by his addiction.

I also agree with the previous comments; great insights on these characters. Francoeur is definitely afraid of Gamache, and keeps expecting him to physically attack him when they confront each other; when Armand always holds back, it probably makes Francoeur affirm his assumptions that ultimately Gamache is weak and that he can best him. But he is probably also, at least subconsciously, aware that Armand is a better man; smarter, stronger, and with a better moral compass. That said, I don’t think a good moral compass is valued by Francoeur; he bullies, and manipulates, and lies to get what he wants. He doesn’t care who he hurts. He knows how much Jean Guy means to Armand, and so is willing to destroy him just to hurt Armand — he has no conscience. It’s all about him, and what he wants. He’s on the side of evil. Yet to some, the evil in him is not so easy to recognize, and he has the ability to convince some people that he’s a powerful, charismatic, and misunderstood leader. He knows how to impress. As for Armand, he lives his life as a good man, and yet Francoeur has the ability to make some people see him as self-serving and manipulative, so that his good isn’t so apparent. Add the monks and their issues, and who was “good” and who was “bad” in that situation? Was the prior a bad man for loving the music apparently more than God? For being willing to change “the voice of God” to make it serve the abbey? How evil was Frere Luc? Was he self-serving in his actions, or was he trying to defend his God by destroying something he considered blasphemous? Is the abbot a good man for trying to stay faithful to his beliefs, or is he not so good, and his motives selfish? There are more shades of grey here than black and white. No wonder Armand found it hard to figure out!

Francoeur hates Gamache because he knows Gamache is much more intelligent. I think this enfuriates Francoeur.

Chief Superintendent Sylvain Francoeur is Gamache’s boss and his greatest enemy. Francoeur announces himself into the monastery grounds with a loud buzzing of a seaplane. He doesn’t care about decorum of the isolated Gilbertine monastery. He thrives on attention. If someone slights him, he will destroy them. He will destroy anyone around Gamache to get to him. He is a master manipulator, a con man, and has no redeeming qualities. He steals inside information to manipulate his underlings. He didn’t care that anyone died in the factory disaster. How did Francoeur set up the disaster at the factory? I think he set it up to get at Gamache. He didn’t give Gamache the post mortem report until the next day when Gamache asked about it.
The abbot tells Gamache the difference between us is you need proof in your line of work and I don’t. The Gilbertine monks are deeply committed and have devoted their lives to music and the love of God. The very act of singing is a spiritual and ethereal feeling.
Before finding the killer, before restoring peace, Gamache must first consider the divine, the human, and the cracks in between. Gamache plans to take Jean Guy back to Quebec, to abandon the scene of murder and save Jean Guy.

“Evil is unspectacular and always human, And shares our bed and eats at our own table” This quote from Auden appears in more than one of LP’s books. Evil is clever, sometimes hard to recognize. I think that’s what Gamache is thinking. Outwardly, he and Francoeur are very similar. The same age, trained at the same academy, both are strong, powerful leaders. To understand who is good and who is evil you have to look deeper, at their motivations, their beliefs, their emotions, their actions.

Every character, including the monks, battles with good and evil to various degrees. Even among the monks. LP shows a lot of grey in a world of good and evil as demonstrated in many aspects of the human experience.