But as well as being a man of justice, Brigge is also a Catholic (albeit a somewhat closeted one) and does not have the same kind of vehemence in seeing Shay swing as do the other members of the governing council. Brigge is very much in the "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone" camp, and as a man tormented by the thoughts of his own misdeeds, he is less willing than his holier-than-thou colleagues to be the first one to throw. Brigge's imperfections come to play a large role in the novel as he attributes his wife's four miscarriages and current difficult pregnancy to his own infidelity. When Shay's case arrives on his docket he is understandably shaken by the events, and fears that his association with the case may have an averse effect on the wellbeing of his own child; which may give good reason to his own insistence on finding the truth behind the death of Shay's baby.
Times like these, however, do not allow for levelheaded investigations. Challoner and his cronies become increasingly frustrated with the coroner's research to the point where they accuse Brigge of not wanting to punish sinners to the full extent of the law. (That's the seventeenth-century way of calling someone "soft on crime.") And, when the bailiff refuses to call an important witness to testify before the governors, Brigge begins to stray even further from his colleagues wondering if they want to see Shay executed for other reasons than just fulfilling their own civic duties.
The concluding chapters of Havoc contain a series of tragedies and events so quick in succession that they are almost too numerous to keep up with, which seems odd for a novel that is paced so smoothly up to this point. While this does communicate something about the immediacy and rashness of the actions that are occurring, it also doesn't allow the reader the necessary time to digest the impact of each catastrophe as there is always an ensuing one looming on the horizon. But, that's a small criticism for a book tackling so many issues in a tight 250 pages.
In the end, Brigge finds himself inextricably placed at the center of the battle between Challoner and the Protestants and Shay and the papists. Which side he chooses to support, I will not reveal here, but in a particularly poignant conversation between Brigge and his former apprentice Adam, the young man chastises his former master: "We live in bitter times and the world is divided in two: those who live inside the godly nation, and those outside. Inside is righteousness and strength. Outside is barbarism and terror. You chose to live outside." Not a terribly far cry from "You're either with us or against us." Refusing to take one side or the other Brigge responds by saying, "I chose rather not to live inside." It's a position that people might be able to understand today more than ever. When one must choose between polar opposites: safety or terror; tyranny or anarchy; righteousness or barbarism, its not so odd to want just a little gray area.
