45 pages • 1-hour read
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
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Themes
The Process of Self-Discovery and Coming of Age
Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses the source text’s depiction of antisemitism and Islamophobia.
Janner and his siblings all embark on coming-of-age journeys in On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. As the primary and oldest protagonist, Janner’s journey is the most clearly developed. He begins the story feeling at odds with his world and yearning for adventure beyond the confines of the town of Glipwood. Though he wants to be treated as an adult, he also resents having responsibilities that his younger siblings do not have. He does not like having to take care of Tink and Leeli and believes that his role as their caretaker makes him like “an old woman” (30).
As the story progresses, Janner also must contend with the fact that he is still in many ways a child who does not want to get into trouble. He is reluctant to investigate Anklejelly Manor with Tink but feels a sense of duty to protect him. There, he must confront his fear of ghosts and whatever other horrors he imagines might be lurking in the abandoned house to protect Tink and himself. Similarly, when he and his siblings are in jail, he is terrified of what will happen to them and knows that he does not have the tools to keep them safe. At this point in the series, Janner associates maturity with his responsibility of protecting his siblings, a value important to his heritage and royal future and subtly instilled in him by his family.
It is usually adults—Podo, Nia, or Peet—who rescue the Igiby children from danger; they rarely rescue themselves. This speaks to Christian values about the duty that parents must protect their children. Although Janner has begun his coming-of-age journey, it is far from over; he still must rely on the adults in his life to defend and protect him. Janner and Tink are only able to step into more adult roles after they fight the Fangs with Podo. Podo asks the boys “to be men” (260), which means fighting to protect their family. Janner further embraces his role as protector at the end of the book when he learns that he is destined to be the Throne Warden of Anniera and watch over his younger brother, the future king. This furthers his self-discovery and solidifies who he must become. By accepting this position, Janner accepts that being an adult means having responsibilities and being selfless. He can accept the role of caretaker to his siblings because he has learned that this role is a sacred duty that puts him in a “place of honor like no other kingdom” and because he has taken an important step on his journey toward maturation (317).
The Struggle Between Good and Evil
Good and evil are at odds throughout Peterson’s novel, and this conflict is at the heart and moral center of the story. The Fangs are straightforward antagonists: They are evil characters with no redeeming qualities, which is typical of antagonists in children’s fantasy. The Fangs, from the eastern continent of Dang, are ruled by “a nameless evil” whose “wretched hordes…marched westward and gobbled up the Shining Isle of Anniera, where fell the good king, his house, and his noble people” (11). This stark divide between good and evil is reminiscent of Christian representations of the Crusades, where Christian and Muslim armies fought over the Holy Land (Jerusalem). During the Crusades, which lasted from approximately 1000 to 1400 CE, Christian countries demonized their Muslim enemies, framing them as uniformly evil to justify going to war against them. In reality, the Crusades was a complicated political situation with no unilaterally good or evil armies. Fantasy works at large, such as The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, often simplify war by dehumanizing the enemy forces, providing a one-sided perspective of political conflict. This trope of fantasy, combined with the east-west continental divide and reptilian features of the Fangs, implies harmful, racist connotations and complicates the battle between good and evil in the novel.
As Janner, Tink, and Leeli embark on their adventures, the stakes of the struggle between good and evil intensify. At first, the children are most frightened of being taken away in the Black Carriage to meet a grisly death. Though this is by no means a casual fear, it is a more personal one. As the Fang invasion starts to threaten their entire town, the situation becomes more dire. When the Igiby children learn that they are the children of the last High King of Anniera, their desire to fight back against evil becomes a holy responsibility. They must now commit to the fight against evil not just for personal reasons, but because it is their duty to protect their people and country and to restore the throne to its rightful heir. The Igibys’ birthright is essentially the divine right of kings, a concept that once informed real politics in Europe. It suggests that kings are ordained and protected by God, which gives them a sacred duty to protect their kingdoms and subjects from evil. As the book concludes, the Igiby children represent hope for the struggle between good and evil, as only they have the power to “destroy the [Nameless] One and restore Anniera to its glory” (155).
The Discovery of Ancestral Legacy
The Igiby children have a complicated relationship with legacy and belonging. Janner yearns for a life beyond Glipwood and does not always feel like he belongs in the town, although he believes that he has lived there all his life. He feels disconnected from his legacy because his mother has not told him or his siblings anything about their father, who has been dead for years. Although Janner knows that he belongs with his family in the safety of their home, he sometimes feels an overwhelming, inexplicable sense of homesickness. Tink and Leeli feel the same way when they hear Armulyn sing. Nia tries to keep them away from Armulyn; she does not want to risk Armulyn recognizing the children as Wingfeathers. She is motivated by a desire to protect her children from the dangers of their royal legacy, but she does so at the cost of their sense of belonging. Without knowing where he comes from, Janner always feels somewhat at odds with his mother and grandfather. As he grows up, he starts to recognize that they are hiding something from him.
Ultimately, the Igiby children’s adventure leads them to a better understanding of where they come from and where they belong. Just as Oskar’s search for books scattered throughout Skree helps him keep Skree’s history alive, it is knowledge of the past that connects the children to their legacy. Part of the Fangs’ attempts to control the people of Skree has involved limiting their ability to learn about the past. When Janner and his siblings finally learn the truth about their father and receive information about their birthright as heirs to the throne, they are better able to understand themselves and their place in history. Janner can accept his destiny as Throne Warden instead of resenting having to protect his younger siblings. Tink learns that he is destined to be king, just like his father, which is a catalyst for his character development in the later books. The children all receive gifts that connect them to Anniera and help them remember that their father loved and believed in them before he died. Relating to their lineage and the legacy of the Wingfeathers helps the children reclaim the sense of belonging that was taken from them when their kingdom was destroyed in the Great War. In later books, this connection will help them understand their responsibility to restore the kingdom of Anniera to its former glory.
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