Throughout this thesis we have seen how attempts of communication have been almost constantly frustrated, intentionally or not. This has led to violence several times and, in the
case of Euchrid, suffering through a period of many years. The violence that has occured can be seen as a direct result of the need to communicate, a need that for these perpetrators of violence has been blocked. In a way, it can be suggested that the characters resorted to violence as a final means of communication.
We have also seen that the control of communication, or rather, the control of discourse, has been a highly political issue. We have seen how the ones that have had control over discourse has dominated it so fully that their repression ended in violent rebellion or the use of violence as a cry for mercy. If we take a look at the case of Rebecca Swift, it is easy to see that the religious patriarchal system has shaped her consciousness in such a way that she only sees herself as functionable in the role of a mother. When she is unable to fill that role, she is useless. This has been communicated perfectly. Rebecca is so desperate to fulfill her designated role that she suffers a mental breakdown as she remains childless. In order to show that she has understood the implied message communicated from the patriarchal society, she tries to kill herself. After her suicide attempt, however, we learn that Sardus Swift, her husband, and the leader of the Ukulite society, did not want her dead. He has clearly not seen the message that the patriarchal system has sent to his wife, and he has therefore been unable to foresee her logical and violent response. He has, without knowing it, encouraged his wife to destroy herself. Communication has indeed been frustrated.
We have also seen how Euchrid and Ezra have both erupted into violence as a result of their inability to communicate. Ezra because the repression he suffers in the domestic arena at the hand of his wife, and Euchrid because of his muteness, his mental illness and the general situation of his life. What I would like to suggest, is that underneath all this failed communication and it’s horrible consequences, there is an underlying yearning for non-frustrated communication in And the Ass Saw the Angel, coupled with a critique of oppressive systems, such as patriarchal and sectarian societies. Since there is an almost nostalgic longing for a world without violence, it seems as if the novel suggests that a world with less imperfect communication would be a better world, but as there is no resolution or fulfillment of this longing, this becomes merely a vague wish for a more peaceful and non-violent existence.