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.
Symbols & Motifs
The Dragon
The dragon symbolizes the mythical or legendary, everything with paranormal or supernatural properties that Breen’s earth world has classified as impossible. Early in the book, Breen dreams of a valley where she encounters a small dragon, a magical creature she’s always loved. The dream foreshadows her discovery of Talamh, the return of her memories, and her return to a world where magicks are possible and supernatural creatures abound.
The dragon is also a symbol of power and protection, two forces that Talamh stands for. Keegan’s dragon exhibits the strength, ferocity, and devotion of these creatures. In addition to power, the dragon exemplifies the theme of choice. The novel describes the bond between dragon and human as a mutual choosing—much as a human pairing might be described.
The dragon also symbolizes magic and power through the stone that Marg gives Breen. The dragon stone is a blend of two minerals, green epidote and red piemontite, and is believed to have healing properties that enhance heart energies and support a connection between mind, heart, and soul. The stone will lend its protective, healing properties to Breen, but also visibly represents her diverse heritage and bloodline.
The Welcoming Tree
The Welcoming Tree is a main portal by which the residents of Talamh can enter Ireland. The tree Breen encounters is “enormous,” with:
[B]ranches curving down, then up again like a giant’s arching arms. Some so big, so deeply dipped, they skimmed the ground before bowing up again. Its trunk, wide as her arm span, grew out of a mound of large gray stones. Or the stones grew from the trunk—she couldn’t say which. Its leaves, larger than her hand, glowed a bold, bright green (157).
As a majestic natural feature that allows passage between realms, the Welcoming Tree indicates the commitment the Talamhish have toward protecting and coexisting with the natural world.
Just as Breen is a bridge between worlds, so is the Welcoming Tree. It is a symbol and warning that things are rarely separate. Creatures from Talamh can come and go by choice through the portal provided by the tree, as does Breen’s dog; the pixies that guard her cottage, Marg and Finola; and Keegan. Breen’s first passage through the tree suggests that boundary-crossing is not always easy—not being prepared for the passage, she is dizzy and disoriented when she lands, a metaphor for the confusion of adapting to a new place or culture. In time, Breen becomes adept at going through and no longer feels physical effects, a sign that she is learning to navigate both worlds where she has ties.
Breen’s Writing
Breen’s writing, both her blog and the stories she works on, reflects her inward gifts and the talents she didn’t know she had. While she gets her degree and a teaching job at her mother’s urging, what Breen really wants is to write. She has the time and courage to begin when she is away from the demands of the world she knows, and is in Ireland, the place she has gone to seek her father and discover herself. Writing, Breen’s dream, is an expression of her deepest self. When she sits down to write a story for the first time, she feels a dam has cracked open inside of her. She loses track of time and enters a state of flow, which describes how artists feel when they are utterly absorbed in the act of creation.
Breen’s blog reflects and helps Breen to find herself. Her stories lead her to an agent, a three-book deal with a publisher, and the money to hire Marco to manage her online presence and book promotion. Her writing career represents the evolution of her powers in the earth world and offers something there that she wants to pursue and hold on to. More than a job that can pay the bills, Breen’s writing provides her with joy and is necessary to her self-expression. She loves creating worlds and stories as much as she loves creating magickal charms with Marg.
However, Breen’s success with her writing—along with the discovery and cultivation of her inner gifts—creates a conflict with her duty to Talamh. One place holds the career she chooses for herself, the other the destiny conferred upon her as the Chosen One.
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By Nora Roberts
