Themes
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of mental illness and death.
Vulnerability of Those Serving Powerful Institutions
In Midnight Magic, Fabrizio’s time at the castello, in which he is forced to interact with royalty, jeopardizes his agency, autonomy, and personal liberties. Through his experience, the novel explores the class dynamics of 15th-century Italy. Although Midnight Magic is set centuries in the past, Fabrizio’s interactions with the royal family reflect class dynamics that still resonate today.
In the novel’s opening chapter, this theme is established from the very moment that Fabrizio is introduced: “Dirty faced, scrawny, and shaggy haired, the boy was sitting in the dry front hall of his master’s ancient timbered house, wearing an old, long-sleeved tunic with a belt made from a piece of frayed rope. His cloth boots were hand-me-downs of hand-me-downs” (1). This description conveys Fabrizio’s social position; he is dressed in rags, covered in dirt, and malnourished. His tattered appearance and his position on the floor convey how little power he has, even in his kindly master’s house. The only place he receives respect is at Mangus’s home, but even there, he does not hold a position of authority. Fabrizio finds himself in an even more vulnerable position when he is compelled to leave Mangus’s house and travel to the castello with his master. This venture pushes Fabrizio’s social position to the forefront of the narrative, and his safety and security are almost immediately threatened, emphasizing his powerlessness.
Because Fabrizio is in a vulnerable position, he is easily taken advantage of by others. This imbalance of power is particularly apparent once Fabrizio starts interacting with Princess Teresina, Count Scarazoni, and Queen Jovanna. Each of these characters has a private agenda: Count Scarazoni wants Fabrizio to convince Mangus to denounce the ghost so that King Claudio will approve his and Teresina’s marriage. Queen Jovanna wants Fabrizio to report to her about Teresina because she allegedly fears for her daughter’s mental health. Princess Teresina wants Fabrizio to convince Mangus to tell the king the ghost is real to free her from her impending marriage. All three of the characters try to bribe or blackmail Fabrizio to get him to do what they want, and their promises all involve social elevation. Teresina assures Fabrizio she will “raise [him] up to a high position” (118), Jovanna promises Fabrizio gold, and Scarazoni promises a healthy pension for Mangus. These three characters are all in positions of power, and they all manipulate the truth and offer Fabrizio an incentive for doing their bidding. They leverage their social class and power to pressure Fabrizio, understanding that his own class puts him at a disadvantage and makes him vulnerable to their manipulations.
These dynamics convey how vulnerable Fabrizio is to those with more social power. Trapped in the castello, which “contain[s] the power of life and death over every citizen in the kingdom” (18), Fabrizio must obey as best he can, understanding that, ultimately, his life is at stake. Through its portrayal of the royal family’s manipulations and the impossible situation Fabrizio finds himself in, the novel presents a subtle class commentary that is relevant to both 15th-century Italy and contemporary society.
Critical Thinking as a Counter to Superstition
In Midnight Magic, Fabrizio comes to understand the power of reason in the face of superstition through the guidance of his mentor, Mangus. Fabrizio and Mangus’s investigations into the ghost mystery illustrate the power of critical thinking in the face of the unknown. When Fabrizio and Mangus first learn that the princess Teresina is being haunted by “a terrifying ghost” (30), they have different responses. Fabrizio is “so frightened, his legs shook” (31), while Mangus boldly asserts to the court that he does not believe in ghosts and thus cannot do away with the one allegedly tormenting Teresina. Fabrizio is a more superstitious character than Mangus, who has recently denounced magic in the name of reason. To Fabrizio, magic and mystery are embedded within everyday life. He marvels at the unknown but is also easily overwhelmed by phenomena he cannot make sense of. To Mangus, using his mind to solve riddles and unearth the truth is more satisfying than creating elaborate illusions. With the juxtaposition of these two characters, the novel explores how critical thinking can dismantle superstition and take away fear of the unknown.
Fabrizio’s and Mangus’s characters respectively represent superstition and logic. Their ongoing dialogues about the ghost throughout the novel explore the interconnection between reason and faith. In their interactions, Fabrizio often implores Mangus to humor Teresina and try to open himself to the possibility that the ghost is real. Fabrizio is hopeful that his master will help Teresina in order to help himself, but he also hopes Mangus will loosen his attachment to logical thought. “The rich have schools and books,” Fabrizio reminds his master, while the “poor have eyes and ears” (13). Fabrizio is saying that logic, reason, and philosophy are for the rich and powerful, while lived experience is for the poor and powerless. Fabrizio believes in the ghost because he saw it with his eyes; his experience corroborates his superstition. By way of contrast, Mangus’s “life’s work is to search for truth with reason. Quite often,” he tells Fabrizio, “reason leads us to places neither expected nor wanted” (82). Mangus does not take what he sees and hears at face value. His refusal to accept things as they are is a form of autonomy, and his critical thinking habits are a form of self-empowerment.
Fabrizio and Mangus ultimately use critical thinking to solve the novel’s mystery, reveal the truth, and free themselves. While they take some liberties along the way—performing their own illusions to reveal the truth—the characters’ work at the castello ultimately proves that knowledge is power. Fabrizio comes to understand that reason and logic are as much his tools as his “eyes and ears” (13), realizing that developing his critical thinking skills offers him a new form of power.
Loyalty Tested by Competing Obligations
Throughout the novel, Fabrizio is caught between competing obligations to those he serves, complicating his coming-of-age journey. Because he isn’t confident in his own perspective, his loyalties vacillate between the many authority figures in his life. Fabrizio is caught between conflicting loyalties until he learns to trust his own moral compass and decision-making abilities, becoming loyal to himself above all.
At just 12 years old, Fabrizio is young and inexperienced. He has worked for Mangus the Magician for some time, but as a commoner and a servant, he has little power over his own life and few liberties to navigate the world beyond his master’s home. As a result, Fabrizio has become reliant on Mangus’s advice, opinions, and point of view to make sense of his reality. His dependence on Mangus has also intensified his loyalty to him and his fear of betraying him. For these reasons, Fabrizio agrees to accompany Mangus to the castello and makes “a private vow: Though it could cost him his life, he would do everything and anything to help the magician” (19). Initially, Fabrizio finds it easy to defend his master at the castello. As time passes, however, Fabrizio faces increasing challenges to his personal vow as the people he encounters at the castello make demands that compromise his loyalties.
Fabrizio’s inability to trust himself and follow his heart confuses his sense of truth and justice throughout the novel. He is easily manipulated by Princess Teresina, Queen Jovanna, and Count Scarazoni, both because he is of a lower class and therefore vulnerable, and because, as with Mangus, he does not know his own mind and cedes authority to them. At times, Fabrizio will stand up to Mangus when he does not agree with him, but he has difficulty doing so because “I’m only a servant” (53). He sees himself as helpless and inconsequential, and others react by treating him that way. When Teresina, Jovanna, and Scarazoni each task Fabrizio with a different mission and offer corresponding rewards, Fabrizio feels trapped. If he shows loyalty to Teresina, he could betray Jovanna, Scarazoni, or Mangus. He might betray any of the others, too, if he were to shift his loyalties. Fabrizio becomes trapped by these competing obligations because he is loyal to his own moral compass and critical thinking skills. Throughout the novel, he vacillates between these different alliances in hopes that one of them will result in his and Mangus’s rescue.
Fabrizio eventually learns that unquestioned loyalty to anyone can be a danger. If he follows Teresina, Jovanna, Scarazoni, or even Mangus without question, he risks abandoning his own needs and beliefs. Once he learns to weigh each person’s opinion and perspective, including his own, he is better able to make sense of his own point of view. By the novel’s end, he claims autonomy over his mind and learns to be loyal to himself by playing the part of the ghost, turning down Teresina’s offer, and keeping a secret about his illusion at the chapel, reflecting a newfound confidence that contributes to his coming of age.
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