A recurring motif that is very visible in "The Da Vinci Code" is where someone shows a different side of themself or just makes that side more profound as the story progresses. This motif appears not only in characters but in objects and they way things are perceived all change throughout the story.

The most prevalent occurrence of this motif is in the way the grail is viewed. While the true identity of the grail is know to some of the characters in this book, it is kept in the dark from the reader until later in the book. Most people go into this book viewing the grail as an actual grail. But as the story moves on the reader learns the grails true identity, which is that it is a collection of documents that could bring the church to its knees.

Another occurrence of this motif is displayed in Teabing. While the way he acts really doesn't change through the story, the way he is perceived is. When we first meet him he is shown to be an eccentric grail enthusiast. We at first put him on the side of Robert and Sophie. But as the story reaches its end we discover that he is the Teacher and he was just using Robert and Sophie to get to the grail. While these facts are quite easy to spot once you learn this fact. They remain well hidden up until this point.

This motif occurs in almost every single character; such as Vernet changing from helpful banker to a man on a mission to protect Saunière's property. Or Fache turning from a man bent on capturing to "criminals" to someone just trying clean up a mess. There are many more occurrences of this motif in "The Da Vinci Code", and these are very easy to spot. Just look though and you should see at least one.