Chapter 5
In a first‑person monologue, Pilate’s Wife describes her own “woman’s” hands and those of her maid, then narrates how she and the maid slipped out of their home to watch the Nazarene’s arrival in Jerusalem, disguising themselves among the crowd. She trips, grabs the bridle of an ass, and sees the man—described as ugly yet talented—with “eyes to die for.” That night she dreams that his brown hands are nailed, bleeding, which leaves her “sweating, sexual, terrified.” She writes a warning note to her husband, then quickly dresses and returns. When she arrives at the trial, she sees the Nazarene crowned with thorns while the crowd shouts for Barabbas. Pontius Pilate looks away, then turns his sleeves up and slowly washes his perfumed hands. The soldiers seize the prophet and drag him to the Place of Skulls. The narrator’s maid knows the rest of the events. Pilate’s Wife declares that the man was not God, though Pilate himself believed he might be.