41 pages • 1 hour read
Nora RobertsThe Awakening
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Breen Siobhan Kelly
Breen Kelly is the protagonist. The novel mainly sees things through her point-of-view using third-person narration. In other words, the narrative refers to her with third person pronouns, “she” and “her.” She doesn’t tell the story directly in the first-person, using “I.”
Breen is a 26-year-old woman who lives in Philadelphia. When the novel begins, Breen teaches middle school, a job she doesn’t enjoy but took up because her mother Jennifer Wilcox thought she should. Her mother is a successful advertising executive and her father, Eian Kelly has been absent from her life since Breen was 10. Breen feels distant and disconnected from her mother, but remembers her father used to tell her fantastic stories of magical places. Breen has been dyeing her naturally red hair brown and wearing drab clothes so she doesn’t stand out. When she discovers her inheritance and decides to travel to Ireland to look for her father, she returns to her natural hair color and updates her wardrobe; this signifies the first step of her transformation.
Breen’s chosen family is her main source of emotional support. She loves her closest friend Marco like a brother, and finds a surrogate parent in Sally. However, in spite of their support and nurturing, she initially does not have confidence in herself or her abilities. Thanks to her mother, she feels insecure and inadequate. This makes it all the more surprising to her when she meets her grandmother, discovers her father’s true identity, and learns of her own special gifts.
Breen is not a fighter. Instead, she enjoys creating things. She loves plants, music, and design, and has a talent for writing, which she discovers when writing a story while on vacation, quickly landing an agent and a book deal. She has vivid dreams which, when she arrives in Talamh, she realizes are in part memories and in part visions. When she realizes her grandmother is a witch and begins to learn from her, Breen enjoys working charms and spells, using the energy of natural things along with her will. She is also surprised to learn that she can manipulate energy with her hands, creating light and fire.
Breen gains confidence in herself and her skills over the course of the novel. She learns to ride a horse and fight with a sword. She makes peace with her father and refuses to bow any longer to her mother’s control. Her loyalty to the people she loves means feeling torn between both her worlds. She feels obligations to the world she’s always known, but feels a duty to Talamh because of her father and because Odran, in wanting to possess Breen’s power, poses a threat to all her known worlds. By the end of the book, Breen has accepted her blended identity as a “Daughter of the Fey, a witch who carries the blood of the Sidhe and the curse of a dark god” (480). She returns to Talamh with Keegan out of love, loyalty, and a sense of obligation; she does not want Odran to hurt anyone because of her. This demonstrates her innate goodness and compassion.
Mairghread O’Caellaigh (Marg)
Marg is the mother of Eian O’Caellaigh (Kelly) and an important supporting character in the novel. She has a life partner in Sedric, a handsome, silver-haired man who can turn into a cat. She is Fey, also called the Wise; the Wise possess magickal gifts and were persecuted as witches in the earth world. Marg also has the blood of the Sidhe, another type of faerie creature. Her power attracted Odran to her because he knew their child would be even more gifted. Marg served as Taoiseach of Talamh, gaining the sword when she was just 18. She believed Odran was different when she married him; when she discovered he posed a threat to her son as well as their world, she led the battle to cast him out and seal the portals against him. Though she grieved when Jennifer insisted on taking Breen back to the earth world, Marg never says anything unkind about Jennifer to Breen, instead understanding Jennifer’s fearful response as a mother. Marg is characterized as both compassionate and strong, qualities lauded in the novel.
Marg is also maternal, and offers Breen the type of supportive mothering that Jennifer never did. She is glad to teach Breen everything she can. She wants Breen to enjoy Talamh and her special gifts, but also understands that Odran wants to use Breen and that the realm needs her power as protection. Like Breen, Marg is a creator. She can summon visions and create things; she builds Fey Cottage, which Breen rents for the summer, and builds a room onto her own cottage in Talamh for when Breen visits. Marg has long been friends with Finola and their children and grandchildren are friends. They are both mature, wise women who have lost children and loved ones but nevertheless harbor a deep joy in life and a faith that good will triumph.
Keegan O’Broin (Byrne)
Keegan O’Broin is a protagonist. Occasionally, the narrative shifts to tell things from his third-person point-of-view. He is the current Taoiseach or chieftain of Talamh and becomes Breen’s lover. Breen finds him: “Tall, strong, gloriously handsome, and absolutely sure of himself” (266). He has dark hair with a braid at one side of his head and his body is fit and muscular.
Keegan is defined by his duty to Talamh as Taoiseach. His devotion makes him drive Breen hard to become strong and learn how to fight; he fears what will happen if Odran comes for her and she’s not ready. Keegan rides a dragon, his companion animal, and also has a black horse named Merlin. He is a skilled fighter, fair judge, and attentive lover. He has a strong and loving relationship with his brother, sister, brother-in-law, and their children. Through him, the novel shows its value of familial bonds and fairness.
Keegan is straightforward, even brusque, but this is because he is aware of his responsibilities and the danger that can emerge at any moment. His father died fighting Odran and Eian Kelly became his surrogate father, teaching him how to fight but also how to judge wisely. Keegan resents when Breen returns to Philadelphia—he feels he never had a choice but to become who he is, and she is part of the reason that he has. He also feels Breen should have more of a choice than he did; at the last moment, he relents in his insistence that she return. He tells her he will deal with Odran; it is his duty as chieftain. He has also come to care for Breen.
Marco Olsen
Marco Olsen plays a supporting role as Breen’s best friend from childhood. He is Black and gay, with long braids, cocoa skin, and a small goatee. He is expressive, affectionate, and musical. When they are in Ireland together, Breen thinks of Marco as the love of her life. He is a consistent source of emotional support and humor. Marco is a static character, meaning he doesn’t change through the course of the novel; he remains Breen’s confidante, sounding board, and cheerleader. When he thinks Keegan intends to hurt her, he attacks. Marco gets a tattoo of an Irish harp because Breen got an Irish tattoo and he wants them to share this. Marco is a good cook and tries to teach Breen, with limited success.
Marco bartends at Sally’s and has a somewhat flamboyant nature; he likes to look good, show off, and talk flirtatiously, at least to Breen. He is also kind, generous, loyal, and funny. In elementary school, he made Breen a ceramic mug shaped like a frog, a gift she treasures; it is a symbol of their long attachment. Aside from his sister, Marco’s own family does not accept that he is gay, so he has made Breen and the group at Sally’s his family. Chosen family is as important for Marco as it is for Breen. Marco’s love and protectiveness for Breen are why he grabs onto her in the last scene and is sucked through the portal to Talamh.
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By Nora Roberts
