Hexed

As Venesa’s weapon of choice, poison is a central motif. It serves in part as a nod to the novel’s inspiration; Ursula, the character Venesa draws most heavily on, dabbles in potions and keeps two pet eels, here transformed into the stonefish from which Venesa sources much of her poison. It also provides the mechanism for another allusion to The Little Mermaid when Venesa uses a toxin to paralyze Aria’s vocal chords. 

However, poison is not simply a way for the novel to explore The Unrealistic Nature of Fairy Tales. Rather, its prevalence underscores The Effects of Toxic Family Legacies. The word “toxic” itself occurs repeatedly in connection with both the characters and their environments; for instance, Venesa describes Aria as “a byproduct of toxicity” (489), and Enzo describes watching Venesa torture a man as “intimate in a toxic type of way” (143). The motif of poison thus provides a metaphor for understanding how abuse, neglect, addiction, etc., can shape character, insinuating themselves into a person’s psyche in ways that may not be perceptible initially but become deadly over time.