Somewhere Beyond the Sea

When Zoe appears on Wednesday morning to tell the family that Helen has just picked the inspector up from the train station, Arthur and Linus tell David that it is time to hide. Sal objects, telling them that it is not fair to teach magical people—like David—that they belong in the shadows. He says that the children have discussed it and decided that if David has to hide they will all hide as well. When Lucy announces that the children have a plan, Linus is terrified of what it might be.

Helen’s truck arrives at the house. The inspector, Harriet Marblemaw, introduces herself. She is a severe-looking woman wearing an unseasonably warm red coat and carrying both a heavy suitcase and a metal briefcase. She condescends to Arthur and is immediately confrontational. As soon as she enters the house, she begins inspecting its cleanliness and safety, seeming disappointed by how well-cared for it is. Marblemaw tells Arthur that she is uniquely suited to her position because she is “incapable of experiencing fear” (222). Arthur tells her that he assumes she is carrying listening devices. If she plants any in the house, she will be banished from the island immediately. When they enter the house’s classroom, all of the children are dutifully listening to Linus teaching a literature lesson. David strolls in casually, wearing a red cape. When Marblemaw reacts with shock to the appearance of an unregistered child, David tells her confidently that he is, in fact, 47 years old and an old friend of Arthur’s. Sal initiates a discussion of how governments use language to create fear in order to gain more power. Marblemaw is angry and tells Linus and Arthur that she will look over their curriculum and cut out any unsuitable materials. Lucy offers Marblemaw tea, and she tells him that in return for demonstrating appropriate respect for a governmental official, he will receive one “official courtesy point” (228). He feigns delight when she says that if he collects 50 points, he will receive a certificate autographed by his favorite governmental official. Marblemaw makes the children line up and introduce themselves; as they do so, she makes several critical comments that make clear she endorses traditional values that contrast with those Arthur and Linus raise the children to embrace.

Arthur shows Marblemaw to the guesthouse where Zoe is waiting. When she introduces herself, Marblemaw immediately bridles because Zoe is an unregistered magical being. She tells Zoe that the government will demonstrate its generosity by allowing her to register now, without penalty. When Marblemaw becomes vaguely threatening, Zoe stops her, assuring her that they have plenty of time to discuss the issue during Marblemaw’s proposed two-week visit and that, in any case, Marblemaw does not have the power over Marsyas that she imagines she has.

On Thursday morning, Marblemaw expresses disapproval of the children’s exuberance at breakfast, tells Arthur not to talk to the reporters gathered in the village, and expresses concerns about him allowing the children to visit the village. She believes the village to be a “hotbed of anti-government sentiments” (241), and believes that, in any case, letting the children visit the world outside of Marsyas Island creates false hope that they can someday lead normal lives. She is concerned that Linus and Arthur’s curriculum does not include the government-approved reading list for children, which is composed of titles intended to remind magical children of their lowly place in the world. She also voices her concerns about Lucy: She thinks that he is a serious danger to the world, regardless of what Arthur says about him, and she fears Arthur is not up to the task of guiding Lucy in ways that will neutralize the threat.

On Saturday, it is Lucy’s turn to lead the family expedition. Marblemaw wears an extraordinary coat covered in peacock feathers, despite the summer heat. They pile into the family’s van and cross over to the village. Surprisingly, Lucy has not planned anything terrifying: He has planned a day where each family member can enjoy what they love best. Phee and Talia will go see some new plants with Helen and Zoe, Chauncey will show Linus his bellhop job, Sal and Theodore will go to the library, and Lucy will go with David and Arthur to “have whiskey sours and talk about babes” (254). Marblemaw is appalled at the idea of the children mixing with humans. She insists that “voluntary separation” (her term for segregation) is better for everyone (255). Forced to choose among the various groups, Marblemaw elects to go with Arthur, David, and Lucy. Lucy leads them to J-Bone’s record shop, where he is thrilled to learn that J-Bone has finally gotten in a copy of Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holliday’s record from the Newport Jazz Festival. In a private moment, Arthur asks Lucy why he planned a day specifically to make his brothers and sisters happy. Lucy explains that he has been thinking a lot about his talk with Arthur and who he wants to be. He’s decided that it makes him happy to make the people he loves happy.

The day takes a dark turn when David and J-Bone play a game, pretending that David is a monster chasing J-Bone out of the store. In the street outside, Marblemaw grabs David by the wrist and yells at him. She tells J-Bone that David is a “thing,” an “animal” with predatory instincts it is dangerous to activate, even as part of a playful game (264). Arthur feels himself transforming into the phoenix, but Lucy quietly warns him that this is exactly what Marblemaw wants, calling Arthur “Dad” for the first time. Theodore swoops out of the sky at Marblemaw, and David is able to break free. All the children arrive on the scene and Talia calls Marblemaw stupid, warning her that Phee is much more powerful than she looks. Phee tells Marblemaw that if she dares to touch one of them again, she will turn Marblemaw into a tree. Marblemaw says that this will all go in her report, and Linus tells her that he will report that she put her hands on one of the children. The crowd of villagers and tourists around them offer their support for David and the rest of the family, further enraging Marblemaw. That night, Arthur and Phee have a talk in the garden about the ethics of Phee’s threat to turn Marblemaw into a tree. She asks whether she can fly with Arthur in his phoenix form, and they take to the sky together.

At breakfast on Sunday morning, Arthur apologizes to David for what Miss Marblemaw did. The children tell Arthur that he should stop apologizing for other people’s bad behavior, and Sal tells him to stop acting as if the fight against DICOMY is all his to win or lose. Sal points out that the children, Linus, and the villagers are all engaged in this battle, too. Arthur agrees that Marblemaw is the one who owes David an apology and promises to try to make that happen. After breakfast, he heads for the guesthouse, counseling himself to remain calm. When his knock fails to produce results, he heads to the small beach behind the guesthouse to look for Marblemaw. As he draws near, he hears Jeanine Rowder’s voice and realizes that Marblemaw’s metal briefcase actually contains a satellite communications device. Rowder expresses disappointment in Marblemaw’s inability to complete the job she was sent to do: create official reports that will establish a pretense to remove Lucy from the island and deliver him to Rowder. Rowder intends to use Lucy as a government weapon, threatening to harm his brothers and sisters if he does not comply with her demands. Arthur is chilled by the revelation of this plan, but he takes some comfort in Marblemaw’s obvious uncertainty about whether taking Lucy is the right thing to do.

Arthur returns to the house, panicked and furious. Alone in his room, he has a flashback to his mother telling him that anger grows from old wounds and can eventually become all-consuming, but hope can stop anger from growing. He feels a buzzing in his head that grows throughout the day; he stumbles through his obligations, barely aware of his surroundings. When Marblemaw finally appears, Arthur imagines setting her on fire. She again demands to interview Zoe about Zoe’s unregistered status. When Arthur tries to leave the room, she grabs his wrist. He tells her that if she ever touches anyone on the island again, “there is nowhere on this earth [she] could run that [he] wouldn’t find [her]” (288). Arthur realizes that the black anger enveloping him has been festering and growing ever since his parents died when he was a small child. He is so consumed by it that he considers allowing Lucy to use his powers to control others’ minds in order to remove humans’ fears of magical beings.

He goes to Lucy’s room, but Linus, standing in the hallway behind him, interrupts before Arthur can enter. When Linus asks him what is wrong, he lashes out at Linus, asking why Linus worked for DICOMY for 17 years before he realized that what they were doing was wrong. Why, he wants to know, is Linus suddenly willing to risk anything for these particular children? Arthur transforms into the phoenix; Lucy steps into the hallway, and Linus moves between them to protect Lucy. Arthur launches himself through a window and flies up into the night sky. As he soars, he is consumed by his own fire and plummets down into the ocean in his human form. As he sinks, he feels a bump against his nose. It’s Frank, who summons hundreds more fish. The fish swim around and around, creating a vortex that lifts Arthur up to the surface and then deposits him on the beach. Arthur offers Frank his thanks and then begins to laugh. His laughter turns to desperate tears, and for the first time, he cries for himself. Linus finds him and wraps him in a robe. He tells Arthur that he needs to learn to take care of himself as well as he takes care of everyone else and that he needs to understand that he now has people in his life to help him—that he is no longer alone. Arthur cries in Linus’s arms, feeling safe and loved. He tells Linus about Rowder’s plan and then announces that they have work to do.