A Discovery of Witches

Matthew’s old chess piece, the white queen, is an exact representation of the goddess Diana, both of which symbolize Diana Bishop (528). However, though the queen is the most powerful piece in chess, when Matthew plays chess, he protects the queen rather than utilizing her power, losing his game with Hamish by putting his king at risk. The symbolism is clear: Matthew feels a duty to sacrifice himself for his love of Diana. In his effort to protect Diana, he puts himself and his family in harm’s way.

Chess is also a symbol for the complicated strategic “game” that Matthew and Diana play against the Congregation. Each side makes a move to challenge or draw out the other. When Satu kidnaps Diana, Ysabeau observes that, “hostilities such as these are like chess […] the witches wanted to prove how weak we have become” (395). Baldwin, the family strategist, recognizes that the provocation is a gambit, leading Matthew and Diana and their allies into a trap. Baldwin urges them to make the “next move before they make theirs” (407). Matthew takes his advice: the conventicle gathers his game pieces, and he distributes them around the board, setting up strategies: He activates the Knights of Lazarus, puts Nathaniel and Sophie under the protection of Ysabeau, and sends Marcus and Miriam to Oxford as a feint while he and Diana go back in time. 

When Matthew vows to protect Diana after Gillian and Peter Knox threaten her, she feels a rusty chain deep in her soul begin to unwind (196). It anchors firmly to Matthew and its links become “tight and shining” (196). The chain represents Diana’s permanent, solid, unbreakable bond to Matthew. It has been “waiting” for him in the same way her magic has been waiting for the arrival of the “shadowed man” Rebecca foresaw (447). Symbolizing their love and their powerful connection, the chain sings when Mathew declares his love and loosens when he slips toward death. 

Magic represents different things to different characters. Diana’s understanding and personal interpretation of magic changes over the course of the novel. Initially, magic represents fear and death: Diana’s parents were killed because of their powers, and Diana learned to fear her own abilities. It is the denial of desire: Diana repressed her powers to “earn” her way in the world without giving into quick gratification. Finally, magic also stands for the loss of self: Diana thinks she could only be herself by denying her powers. Diana’s views change when she realizes that accepting her magic is key to finding her true self.

Diana’s beloved aunts believe that “magic is a gift” and should not be wasted (560). Matthew agrees with them—he knows that magic is a fundamental part of who Diana is, present in her DNA and her blood. Magic is filled with “possibilities” (433). Peter Knox, Satu, and Gillian see magic as a means of power and control. The believe that by using Diana’s abilities they will gain power over Ashmole 782 and power over the other creatures.

Matthew’s tiny silver Lazarus coffin reminds him of the “destructive power of anger” (132). Marcus wears this pilgrim’s badge from Bethany only when “he was afraid he was going to kill someone or when he was thinking of Eleanor St. Leger—or both” (203). Matthew was a deeply religious human, so the fact that he still wears this badge centuries later suggests he maintains some of those beliefs. When he first meets Diana in Oxford, Matthew wears the ampulla and touches it frequently. He does not want Diana to fall victim to his anger the way Eleanor did, and uses the coffin to maintain self-control. Matthew does not wear the ampulla in Sept-Tours. There, he feels in control and surer of his relationship with Diana. The ampulla also holds another secret. The Bishop house drops the ampulla into the fire, releasing a drop of blood and a drop of mercury—symbols of the alchemical Red King and White Queen.

All creatures share the same opinion of humans: Humans represent ignorance and danger. Sarah both pities and fears them as inferior to creatures—“unfortunate little beings blind to the world around them” (24) whose notice must be avoided at all costs. Now that the human population exceeds that of creatures, humans threaten to discover them. Humans have ability to destroy creatures, as evidenced by the Salem witch trials. It is somewhat ironic that the creatures fear humans so much, given their own super-human powers and their low view of human intelligence and perception. Matthew describes humans’ special ability neatly: “Humans can convince themselves up is down and black is white. It’s their special gift” (142). Humans are adept at denial. Diana lived like a human by denying her heritage and adapting her life and scholarship to fit into the human world.

The ancient library is a time-honored institution at Oxford, representing for Diana safety from her magic as a place “unassociated with the Bishops” (4). Ironically, however, Agatha suggests that the Bodleian is more than just a building—it is “whatever the witches want it to be” (58). In the Bodleian, Diana can focus on research, logic, and rationality. The library is structured, organized, and reliable—until Diana encounters Ashmole 782. The long-missing manuscript threatens the barrier between Diana’s magic and her scholarship. Its discovery also turns the library into a dangerous place filled with creatures and threats. The invasion of her sanctuary angers Diana. She stubbornly orders the creatures to leave and refuses to be bullied.