A Forbidden Alchemy

“Belavere City—a place for dreamers and innovators. For artists. For creation. This city was the seat of creation—the very center of it, and I now stood in its heart.”

Here, Nina personifies Belavere City, giving it a heart. This shows the intensity of Nina’s idealized view of the city and its Artisan inhabitants. Her mention of “dreamers and innovators” shows how deeply she believes in the propaganda that the House of Lords releases. Her disillusionment will spark the theme of The Tension Between Love and Ideology.

“Some moved to find friends. Some tried to find a place to sit while they waited. I, however, was too filled with absolution to sit. Too evangelized to chat. I simply stood there, beaming from the inside out, filled to the brim with that same light that had impregnated the lump of idium.”

This sentence further demonstrates Nina’s absolute belief in the story she has been told about God, Idia, and idium. Her fervor is shown through the words “absolution” and “evangelized,” which allude to Christian religious practices. To express the depth of her happiness, she also uses hyperbole that she is “filled to the brim” with light.

“He fumbled for an answer that didn’t sound like an insult. ‘All that artsy stuff […] hearin’ time and feelin’ colors and whatever else. Artisans talk like the wind blows just for them. But wind is just wind. There’s no meanin’ to it.’ ‘You’re wrong,’ she said, not angry, but animated, sparkling eyes big as planets. ‘There’s meanin’ in everythin’ if you look hard enough. There’s joy in it, too. That’s the problem with Crafters,’ she sniffed, drawing her knees up to her chest. ‘Too worn out to feel anythin’ other than angry.’”

This is one of the first instances of Patrick and Nina’s ideological divide, developing the theme of the tension between love and ideology. Nina values art and beauty while Patrick negatively associates them with Artisans and sees no purpose in them. Their accents mirror each other, emphasizing their similar backgrounds and their contrasting perspectives.

“And for a moment, Patrick had stirred there in the courtyard, filling with something. But then he let out a long breath, and his head fell forward. He had wiped his nose on his shirtsleeve and looked away. He said, I was gonna be on that train home, one way or another. Then, Fuckin’ dictators. And, with more venom, I could kill every last one of ‘em.”

Patrick’s character is captured in his reaction to finding out the truth: He is resigned, then accusatory, then violent. He uses these feelings to cover his sadness, which he believes is a sign of weakness. His statements here show his growing cynicism and foreshadow his fate as an orchestrator of violence and a rebel leader.

“‘The Artisan killed himself? But why? What on earth did an Artisan want for?’ […] His last missive said, ‘If the best of my creations has come to pass, then for what do I live now?’”

This question from Professor Dumley represents the idea that being an Artisan can give a person everything they need in life. He uses this supposed quote from a talented Artisan to force young Patrick and Nina to consider whether the man was right. It is a rhetorical question because there is no one correct answer; this implies that Nina and Patrick will have to figure out their life’s purpose beyond their ability to create.

“‘Now, rest assured, the House of Lords believes wholly that the mob will disappear shortly, but I’d be a fool not to ensure I have all my knives sharpened, now wouldn’t I?’ he spread his arms wide toward Theo and me, as though we were the prized blades in his collection.”

Tanner refers to the union as a “mob” and then compares Theo and Nina to knives. This metaphor shows that he sees them as weapons, not as people, and expects them to fight the union he vilifies. This shows that the lords view both classes—Artisans and Craftspeople—as expendable as long as it keeps them in power.

“Every year it grew easier to believe that I’d been born Artisan, and that Scurry was a fading dream. It disturbed me that I could not conjure the exact colors I would use to paint the place I’d come from.”

At the National Artisan School, Nina reflects on how disconnected she feels from her home. She makes this abstract feeling tangible by referencing art: the colors she would need to paint the town reflect the strength of her memory and her emotional connection. Nina’s focus on painting also reflects the importance she puts on art and beauty.

“I thought of those Lords with their polished tabletops and fine china cups, and wondered if they truly needed my assistance. I thought of those miners, so desperate to escape the life I had narrowly escaped. I thought of this school, which I’d come to love, each corner of it intricately beautiful. I thought of collapsing mines and children left to scour the streets for food. I thought of a boy from Kenton Hill with blue eyes, and I wondered if he’d survived these past years or suffered the same fate as most men born in the brink. I thought of disappearing. I dreamed of it almost every night, in fact.”

In this passage, Nina uses the repetition of the phrase “I thought” to emphasize her conflicting thoughts in a traumatic moment. The shock forces her to confront the things and people she cares about without rationalizing. This reveals that she still thinks about Patrick, even though he has not been part of her life for some time.

“It never once occurred to me that I might try to stop the earth from breaking apart. There was only fear. I was young. I was not the weapon they thought me. I gripped Aunt Francis’s hand.”

As Nina recalls the bomb that went off during her graduation, she attempts to explain why she didn’t intervene, feeling a level of guilt. This highlights theme of The Conflict Between Mind and Body. Her short sentences and her reasoning reflect the truth of how young and scared she was even though she’d been given the skills to Charm earth. Mastering her fear and emotions are central to Nina’s character journey.

“‘Please,’ I said. I was twelve. I was thirteen and fourteen and fifteen. I’d only wanted to paint and dance and see what else life could be. ‘Please. Come with me.’”

Nina recalls the times she asked Theo to run away with her, revealing how desperate she was to regain her old identity before coming to the Artisan School. She did not know that she’d be forced to give up the things she loved most—painting and dancing—to become an Artisan. The passage reflects her disillusionment and her feeling of alienation among the upper class.

“I wondered if he spoke to himself or to me. We held that gaze for an interminable time, trying to peel back the layers of each other and find something recognizable beneath. Trying to make sense of our paths that had diverted so wildly and yet somehow rejoined.”

The imagery of Nina and Patrick “peeling back layers” of each other’s lives serves to emphasize how they have changed over the years they’ve spent apart. It also portrays their efforts to get to know each other deeply rather than the way they present themselves to the world. Their connection highlights the tension between love and ideology.

“He didn’t want to stay here another minute looking at his dosed brother in the chair of his missing father. ‘It’s a busy day,’ he said.”

This image encapsulates the vast differences between the Colson family when their dad was present and the Colson family now. Patrick flees his mother’s kitchen to bury himself further in his work, pushing away his uncomfortable feelings at seeing the dissolution of his family. Both he and Nina struggle with their memories of childhood and don’t want to end up like their parents.

“I was made of both parts that were logical, careful, and parts that clamored to be something loud and brilliant, and even after all this time, I hadn’t learned to reconcile them. The two sides parried in my mind in an endless loop.”

Here, Nina grapples with the conflicting parts of her personality, trying to make sense of how everything fits together. During her long years of schooling and exile, she has had time to explore and integrate these different aspects of herself, but she still struggles with her identity and self-confidence. Her frustration here emphasizes the conflict between mind and body that she experiences through most of the novel.

“I thought of the man in the pub, quailing beneath Patrick’s gaze, Sam’s puce-faced mother, the hawker’s head as it hit the dirt. Was this the Colsons’ idea of peace? Kenton Hill suddenly didn’t seem so miraculous as the light faded. The copper and steel works lost their gleam.”

Nina compares the sun going down to the way her view of Kenton Hill is shifting as she sees its dark side. This is one of the many instances in which nature or natural elements are used to mirror the characters’ internal states.

“I’d read poetry that had described romance as being a descent into madness. A kind of precursor to pain. That wasn’t how being with Theo felt. Being with Theo was levitation. I was weightless here, when usually I felt encumbered. It sometimes took great effort to drag myself from place to place. Sometimes I thought of him as the water he Charmed. I was buoyant with him. Helpless to the current. I went where he took me and rather liked the lack of responsibility.”

Nina uses the metaphor of water to explain her relationship with Theo. Instead of her usual heaviness, with Theo she is able to be swept away into another person’s life and wishes. On one hand, this frees Nina from the constant inner conflict she feels—on the other hand, it places her under someone else’s power and takes away her free will.

“His chest rose, swelling with that final missile. I wondered how long he’d kept it loaded and aimed. ‘Nina, we’re only eighteen. I think it best we part ways.’ There was more. More about the nature of change, and how it creeps up on a person. He apologized and apologized until I was riddled with his reasons. I stared at the earth beneath his feet as he spoke and wondered why I could so easily move it, but I couldn’t move him.”

Nina uses the metaphor of a missile to explain Theo’s news of their breakup and to demonstrate how violent and painful its delivery felt for her. Through the conversation, she wondered how her power could be so vast but she could not control the people around her. Again, Theo is leading her along and she can only accept his decision. Later, she learns to make decisions for herself.

“‘Everyone gets what they need, Pat. God bites the hand of those who try ‘n’ take more.’ […] He sighed. ‘Your God turned his head from this place a long time ago, Ma. We’re the only gods here.’”

Tess Colson likens God to a dog, perhaps inadvertently, when she inverts the saying, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” In the saying, the person being admonished is likened to an ungrateful dog who bites its master’s hand, not knowing that the master may be less likely to feed it in the future. Tess turns God into the one doing the biting, suggesting that she sees him as a guard dog, protecting life’s resources from those who get too greedy. Patrick does not agree with her view of the situation, arguing that they have self-determination.

“So, I did nothing. I remained here plucking at dandelion petals and hoping the correct course would present itself. I had pulled Patrick willfully into a trap without ever deciding to do so. I was sinking, and soon, there wouldn’t be a way back. But there had to be, somehow. Surely there was a way through? Patrick waited, just feet away, and he remained a force to be reckoned with, taking my hand and pulling me through the throng. Whispering reassurances and sinking a vial of promises into my pocket.”

Nina references the vial of idium Patrick once gave to her that set her on this path. She considers that Patrick still stands nearby, now giving her a metaphorical “vial of promises,” swearing that he will win the war and marry her one day. This highlights the theme of the tension between love and ideology, as Patrick’s view has shifted drastically since Nina’s return. She, however, is still unsure of her feelings and feels guilty about it.

“I wondered if it was a picture I’d ever be adept enough to paint. Clouds, skies, muddied skin, and a man who might be, at that very instant, declining into love.”

In this chaotic moment after she stops the landslide and saves the men from the mine, Nina takes note of a moment that she feels so enthralled by that it awakens her artistic impulses. By calling Patrick “a man,” she removes herself from the picture, becoming a witness to events rather than a participant. This reflects the conflict between mind and body that Nina often experiences. She can be in the moment and, at the same time, observe it from a critical distance. Although this often feels like a weakness, learning how to harness her ability can become a strength.

“Sound came punching back, full of joy. The barriers between me and Patrick, between me and Kenton Hill, seemed in that moment entirely surmountable. We would break into Belavere City and free our loved ones. We would take down Lord Tanner, and I would never need to live in fear again. All problems could be rectified.”

In this scene, they celebrate Nina after she saves the miners from the collapse. Nina’s happiness gives her the strength and power to believe that her problems are solvable. However, some doubt and insecurity remain. She uses conditional verbs to envision a future that she wants but does not truly believe will come true.

“‘Managed what?’ I hissed. ‘To make a rebellion out of you’ came the answer. ‘I wonder if it would’ve been different, if we could have been different, if I’d taken better care of you.’ ‘We’d have ended just the same,’ I said. Because he was his father’s son, and I was forged in the brink long before he knew me.”

Theo says that Patrick made “a rebellion” out of Nina, objectifying her rather than calling her a rebel—someone with agency. This reflects the way Theo views Nina in general. He believes that she is the result of someone else’s mentorship. Theo feels at fault because he let Patrick shape her instead of influencing her more himself. Nina uses the word “forged” to conjure another object—iron—to describe how it felt to grow up in Scurry. This image implies that her character was formed before she met Patrick and Theo—neither is responsible for her views or ideals.

“She lied to you, sang a voice. Outsmarted you. You were too stupid to see it. Patrick ran faster. He passed every familiar building like a comet. And you can’t even kill her for it, can you? taunted the voice.”

The voice inside Patrick’s head criticizes him as he runs to stop the raid. By talking to himself, he represents his self-judgment and regret. This highlights the conflict between mind and body. One is the distrusting voice he has been ignoring, and the other is the voice of the man who loves Nina.

“But Gunner refused to move. Otto remained at his side and was joined by Scottie, his eyebrow split, and Briggs, whose ear hung in bloody tatters, and Donny, who touched his forehead to Gunner’s.”

In this moment before Patrick and Nina are taken, Nina names each of Patrick’s friends and family. This naming and description paints an image of loyalty among the men of Kenton Hill, freezing them in the moment, like a painting, before the final confrontation.