55 pages • 1 hour read
Stephanie GarberLegendary
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Discerning Illusion From Reality
Garber flips the script from the first novel in her Caraval series by crafting Tella’s character development to directly oppose her sister’s. Whereas Scarlet believed that every illusion was real, Tella now believes that every truth is an illusion. Her desire to see every truth as an illusion places her in precarious positions and implies that it is significantly more dangerous to disbelieve what is real than it is to believe what is fake. Garber conveys this warning by placing Tella in situations in which her disbelief has impactful consequences.
An instance that vividly illustrates the perils of Tella’s disbelief unfolds when she ventures to Idyllwild Castle in search of Scarlet. Despite her weakened state, she confronts a formidable adversary and stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the reality of the Fate she encounters until all other avenues are exhausted. When she brands her assailants as being “madder than poisoned fish” and accuses them of “taking the game too far” (268), her dismissive remarks only serve to exacerbate her predicament. Due to her ill-preparedness, she experiences the sensation that “her limbs [are] liquid, shaking from the pain, the exertion, and the misery of it all” (273).
Another instance demonstrating the risks of Tella’s disbelief occurs through Dante’s recurring appearances. Though his true identity as Legend remains unknown to Tella for most of the novel, Dante uses his identity and powers to warn Tella whenever the game becomes very real. He delivers his most direct warning in Minerva’s ModernWears when he advises Tella, “I know you don’t want to believe me, but Caraval is more than just a game this time. I’m not sure what the Prince of Hearts has promised you, but to the Fates, humans are nothing more than sources of labor or entertainment” (171). Dante uses the combination of shock factor and direct honesty to appeal to Tella; he wants her to believe him and to distinguish between illusion and reality so that she will not entangle herself in the Fates’ games while she is preoccupied with avoiding his. However, his warnings fall on indifferent ears, and when Tella chooses to believe that she knows better, her self-confidence causes her trouble.
The tension between illusion and reality becomes central to discussing the novel’s other primary themes. Because Tella chooses to believe in herself rather than in others, this approach places her in conflict with many characters who try to control her. Thus, Tella’s journey demonstrates the significance of the dynamic between free will and fate. By fighting the Fates and not trusting anyone, Tella learns how to distinguish between reality and illusion, and she therefore wins Caraval when she discovers her mother’s past and learns the secrets that her mother kept from the family.
The Tension Between Free Will and Fate
Tella initially refuses to believe that the Fates are real because she does not want to believe there are forces in the world strong enough to take away her ability to choose. Throughout the novel, Tella finds herself in conflict not only with the dynamic between illusions and reality but also with the dynamic between free will and determinism. Philosophically, determinism states that everything is predetermined by fate, and thus human choice has no impact on the way events unfold because the end is already established. On several occasions, Tella rejects that philosophy and chooses to resist it.
A prime example of Tella’s determination to resist fate occurs when she fights a Fate and her Handmaidens at Idyllwild Castle. The Fates are more powerful than humans and cannot be defeated easily, and although Tella is fighting a losing battle, she wants “to deny it [...] but clearly these were not actors or participants who’d taken the game too far. These were the real Fates” (270). Ironically, the Fates must implore Tella to surrender to their will; if the Fates held their full strength, Tella would be forced to obey and would not have the free will to resist them. The inclusion of half-strength Fate characters therefore allows Garber to depict the importance of resisting the idea of a predetermined life path. Even when the fight seems to be a losing battle, Tella reassures herself that “Death will have to try harder if he want[s] to take her back, and she [is] not about to let him do that” (272). By refusing to accept that her life is beyond her control, she actively maintains her individualism and asserts her free will.
She also asserts her ability to choose in the final chapters of the novel. Throughout Caraval, she believes that she must give both Legend and the Deck of Destiny to Jacks because her goal is to rescue her mother. Tella therefore enters a paradoxical relationship with the motif of cages, and this imagery emphasizes her need to escape confinement of any kind and exert her free will. To fight the determined outcome in which she must lose either Dante or her mother, Tella sacrifices her own freedom to trap herself in her mother’s card. This choice draws attention to the distinction between freedom and free will, for although Tella gives up her freedom, she maintains her autonomy because she chooses to imprison herself.
The Power of Familial and Romantic Relationships
Tella’s primary motivation is derived from her relationships with Dante, Scarlet, and her mother. However, each relationship provides a different dynamic that either draws Tella forward or pulls her back. Her pursuit of the relationship she remembers with her mother is her driving motivation, while her emotional refusal of Dante creates a deterrent force for both characters in how they approach the concluding scenes.
As early as the prologue, Garber establishes a positive relationship between Tella and her mother. Garber characterizes this dynamic by explaining that “while Tella often did things she wasn’t supposed to, usually her mother didn’t mind. She’d gently correct her daughter, or occasionally tell her how to get away with her little crimes” (5). When Tella finds out that winning Caraval will allow her to find her missing mother, she jumps at the opportunity. By contrast, Scarlet has a very different relationship with their mother, one that is characterized by Scarlet’s dislike of how their mother supposedly left them. Scarlet therefore does not understand why Tella defends their mother and wants to find her. Even when Paradise returns, “Scarlet turned her anger on their mother; she couldn’t look at Paloma without scowling” (434). Garber not only shows different family dynamics with the Dragna family, but she also demonstrates how complicated familial relationship dynamics can be. Oftentimes, novels with romance elements present idealistic relationships in which the story ends with a “happily ever after” scenario, but Garber subverts that romantic trope in favor of portraying more realistic family dynamics.
Even as Tella maintains her fondness for her absent mother, she spends most of the novel rejecting her romantic connection with Dante. When Garber introduces Dante, Tella thinks that sneaking off “would be far less uncomfortable than exchanging any forced pleasantries” (13). She views her night with Dante as a one-time event, yet throughout the novel, she frequently pursues him. Her relationship with him develops an awkward push-pull dynamic, for she tries to push him away even though she longs to be closer to him. As her feelings progress, her romantic connection with Dante precipitates the downfall of their relationship. When she calls him her hero, “[his] expression darkened [...] as if it was something he’d rather not be called” (414). Tella, now free from the power of the Fate’s fortunes of seven years ago, finally allows herself to fall in love with Dante, but she takes her romantic connection too far, allowing it to evolve into hero worship—and Dante therefore reminds her that kindness is not inherently heroic. He also challenges the romance trope of the dark, brooding male character who sweeps the female lead character off her feet, adding a layer of complexity both to the romance genre and to the exploration of romantic relationships in the novel.
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