The Sheik: Openings and endings
13 lenses on openings and endings for The Sheik by E.M. Hull. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12 F13
F1. First line and first paragraph: what each does. Both
The first full paragraph runs to 10 words and 1 sentences.
"Are you coming in to watch the dancing, Lady Conway?" (Ch 1, para 1)
The first line poses a social question about Diana's unconventional behaviour. The first paragraph establishes the setting (a hotel dance in Biskra) and introduces Diana as a woman who defies convention, setting up her independent character.
Chapters: Ch 1
F2. What the first page sets up: voice, world, question. AI
The first page establishes a third person voice close to Diana's perspective, introduces the colonial setting and social world, and poses the question of whether Diana will marry or pursue her desert expedition. It hints at her as an object of male desire.
Chapters: Ch 1
I have never been kissed in my life. It is one of the things that I do not understand. (Ch 1, para 77)
I will do what I choose when and how I choose, and I will never obey any will but my own. (Ch 2, para 26)
F3. How many words before the lead appears? Count
First dialogue after 0 words. See the full lens on the book page.
F4. How many words before the first line of dialogue? Count
First dialogue after 0 words. See the full lens on the book page.
F5. The hook of chapter one. AI
The hook of chapter 1 is the mysterious singer performing the Kashmiri love song that captivates Diana. This introduces the Sheik before his appearance and creates romantic intrigue that draws Diana into her fateful desert journey.
Chapters: Ch 1
Pale hands I loved beside the Shalimar. Where are you now? Who lies beneath your spell? (Ch 1, para 66)
F6. Prologue: its job and its length. Both
No prologue: the book starts in its first chapter.
No prologue. The book begins directly with chapter 1 set at the hotel dance in Biskra.
F7. How fast is the main story question posed? AI
The main story question is posed quickly. Chapter 1 establishes Diana's desire for a solo desert expedition. Chapter 2 delivers the inciting incident when Ahmed abducts her, raising the central question of whether she will escape or submit.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2
I will do what I choose when and how I choose, and I will never obey any will but my own. (Ch 2, para 26)
I am the Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan. (Ch 2, para 93)
It was not true! It was not true! It could not be--this awful thing that had happened to her--not to her, Diana Mayo! (Ch 2, para 101)
F8. Final chapter: which beats resolve what. AI
Chapter 10 resolves all major beats. Diana's suicide attempt forces Ahmed to confess his love. He agrees to marry her, resolving the central tension between captivity and love. The chapter ends with their union and commitment.
Chapters: Ch 10
Diane, Diane, how could I know how much you meant to me? How could I know that I should love you? (Ch 8, para 72)
Was it--in time?" he whispered slowly (Ch 10, para 3)
Do you think it is easy to let you go, that you are taunting me like this? Do you think I haven't suffered, that I'm not suffering now? (Ch 10, para 67)
F9. Last line: what it leaves in the mind. Both
The last full paragraph runs to 52 words.
Monseigneur!" (Ch 10, para 98)
The last paragraph is simply 'THE END', offering no final image or reflection. The book closes after Ahmed's agreement to marry Diana, leaving the reader with the resolution of their love rather than a lingering emotional note.
Chapters: Ch 10
F10. Loose ends tied and left open. AI
All major plot threads are resolved. Diana and Ahmed commit to marriage. Saint Hubert's unrequited love is acknowledged but sacrificed. Ibraheim Omair is dead. Ahmed's English heritage is revealed. No significant loose ends remain.
Chapters: Ch 10
F11. Epilogue: its job. Both
No chapter called an epilogue. The last chapter is 10,045 words.
No epilogue. The book ends immediately after Ahmed and Diana's resolution in chapter 10.
F12. Echoes between the opening and the ending. AI
The opening introduces the Kashmiri love song that Ahmed sings to Diana in chapter 6, echoing the mysterious attraction from the start. Diana's initial independence and refusal to obey contrast with her final submission to love. The desert journey she sought becomes the setting for her transformation.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 6, Ch 10
Pale hands I loved beside the Shalimar. Where are you now? Who lies beneath your spell? (Ch 1, para 66)
I will do what I choose when and how I choose, and I will never obey any will but my own. (Ch 2, para 26)
Close outside the tent the same low, vibrating baritone was singing the Kashmiri love song that she had heard last the night before she left Biskra. (Ch 6, para 4)
F13. Length of the wind down after the climax. Count
The climax (our reading) falls in the last chapter, so there is almost no wind down.
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