Over Sea, Under Stone

While Simon and Jane are out with their Great-Uncle Merry, Barney stays at the Grey House on his own for the first time, and Cooper uses this scenario to provide a glimpse of the youngest sibling’s perspective, which highlights his role in The Archetypal Battle of Good Versus Evil. As Barney imagines himself to be “a knight entrusted with a sacred mission” (129), even his casual play implicitly marks him as a force of good, and his childish innocence further supports this view. Notably, it is Mrs. Palk who interrupts his game and reminds him to go to bed, bringing him sharply back to reality and momentarily hampering his urge to embrace Arthurian Legend as Living Myth in the Modern World. With this dynamic, the narrative implies that Mrs. Palk rightfully belongs among the ranks of the other antagonists who more openly seek to thwart the children’s quest. Additionally, while Barney’s antics are still merely a game of pretend, his actions foreshadow his heroic deeds at the end of the book.

Mrs. Palk’s ominous presence is further emphasized when Barney becomes the first of the three siblings to realize her deceit. When she comes into his room that night looking for the manuscript and wielding only a weak excuse for her presence, her nefarious intentions are revealed. Likewise, the other siblings have parallel experiences, but Simon and Jane encountering the enemies outside the house, while Barney deals with the one who has infiltrated their daily routines. These linked incidents reinforce the idea that the three children are working together, and the antagonists’ intensifying efforts also heighten narrative tension and suggest that unseen threats are lurking around every corner.

The sense of danger is emphasized by Mrs. Palk’s treachery when she lies outright to keep Great-Uncle Merry away from the children. As a result, Simon, Jane, and Barney are more vulnerable than ever. Yet this development also aligns with a common trope in children’s literature: that of sidelining helpful adults so that the child-protagonists can become the true heroes of the story. Only when the children are forced to act without their great-uncle’s guiding hand will they fully embody the most decisive versions of themselves, and any successes that they achieve will be theirs and theirs alone. This storytelling pattern is designed to celebrate and empower children, encouraging them to determine the course of their own destinies. 

The idea of Landscape as a Vessel of Myth and Memory is addressed as the primary plotline and repeatedly links past to present; this pattern becomes particularly prominent when the protagonists find Bedwin’s hidden cave. This crucial step in their journey echoes the title of the novel, “over sea and under stone” (142), and because the phrase is explicitly featured on the knight’s manuscript, Cooper invokes a sense of urgency around the children’s need to retrieve the grail from such a remote location. This effect is further enhanced with Mr. Penhallow’s descriptions of the unusual spring tides that later lead Simon to conclude that it is possible to access the cave from underneath. The rarity of this tidal event also reinforces the sense of fate that has led Simon, Jane, and Barney to seek out the grail. With Great-Uncle Merry’s earlier comment that he “did have an idea” (80) that the siblings might find the manuscript, the narrative suggests that the protagonists may be guided by fate. This idea significantly contributes to the mythical dimensions of the story, positioning the three children as implicit equals to the legendary heroes of the past.