The Hawthorne Legacy

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2021

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-10

Chapters 11-20

Chapters 21-30

Chapters 31-40

Chapters 41-50

Chapters 51-60

Chapters 61-70

Chapters 71-80

Chapters 81-90

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Symbols & Motifs

The Compass

A compass is a critical clue in The Hawthorne Legacy, first mentioned in Tobias’s will: “To my daughter Skye Hawthorne, I leave my compass, may she always know true north” (70; 146). Xander brings the compass to True North, where it helps the group solve a clue. However, the compass isn’t just a clue. It symbolizes the metaphorical “moral compass.” The fact that the holiday home is called “True North” emphasizes this symbolic meaning: Usually, the idea of having your moral compass pointing “true north” means you’re doing the right thing (what is “moral”). The inclusion of the compass ironically underscores the fact that many of the Hawthorne family’s members lose sight—or have lost sight, at some point—of their own moral compass. Examples include Toby/Harry when he bought the accelerant for the Hawthorne Island fire; Tobias when he covered up the truth about the fire and let Kaylie Rooney be the scapegoat; and Skye when she tried to have Avery killed. Although not a Hawthorn, Sheffield is another example of a character whose moral compass is lost, and he dies as a result. In contrast, Avery stays true to her moral compass throughout the book, and ultimately comes out a “winner,” driving home the value of staying true to your north point.

Hawthorne House

Hawthorne House symbolizes the never-ending nature of “the inheritance game” that Tobias has set up for Avery and the Hawthornes. As soon as one mystery is solved, another mystery unravels. This is paralleled by Hawthorne House, which has a seeming never-ending supply of surprise trapdoors, hidden passages, and secret staircases. Jameson speaks to this fact when he tells Avery, “This is Hawthorne House, Heiress. There will always be another mystery. Just when you think you’ve found the last hidden passage, the last tunnel, the last secret built into the walls—there will always be one more” (351).

Hawthorne House also symbolizes the “gilded cage” that can come with wealth. Avery is literally held prisoner in Hawthorne House, as Tobias’s will stipulates that she can’t leave the mansion for more than three nights per year in the first year after inheriting (or she’ll lose her fortune). Toby/Harry acknowledges the dangers of the gilded cage himself by fleeing it and refusing to return to it and by keeping his biological daughter away from it: “My daughter isn’t coming to Hawthorne House. […] I will see that she’s taken care of. Discretely” (332). Avery likewise recognizes the dangers of Hawthorne House when she asks Max when she’ll be leaving, “away from me, from the Hawthorne family, from everything I’d inherited along with Tobias Hawthorne’s billions. Poison tree and all” (346). The dangerous nature of Hawthorne House is clinched by Avery’s comparison to the “poison tree” references in William Blake’s poem (referenced in Toby/Harry’s writing on the wall). Xander summarizes the poem this way: “The author’s hidden wrath grows into a tree, the tree bears fruit, the fruit is poisoned, and the enemy—who doesn’t know they are enemies—eats the fruit” and dies (40).

The Glass Ballerina

The glass ballerina is a symbol that first appears in The Inheritance Games and that gains new significance in The Hawthorne Legacy. Nash first told Avery about the ballerina, which was used as a clue by Tobias in the puzzles he’d create for his grandsons. Avery frequently remembers the quote: “You’re not a player. You’re the glass ballerina—or the knife” (341). She even references it directly when she tells Grayson, “I’m not the glass ballerina” (167). The glass ballerina is representative of Avery’s coming-of-age narrative, as she transitions from being viewed as a passive object to being respected as an active agent in the “game” (and in life).