The Apothecary
50 pages • 1-hour read
Maile MeloyThe Apothecary
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Symbols & Motifs
The Sherwood Forest Set
When Janie goes to meet her parents at Riverton Studios in London, she enters the set for the television show for which they write. The set depicts Sherwood Forest, the home of legendary English hero Robin Hood, a fabled English brigand known for battling corruption, robbing from the rich to feed the poor, and defending the powerless and oppressed. The set is a motif that highlights The Power of Loyalty in addition to the work in which Janie’s group of friends engage. Like Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men, who experience a strong sense of brotherhood, Janie, Benjamin, Pip, Vili, Jin Lo, and Burrows share a camaraderie that makes them unquestioningly faithful to one another. The children, especially, are willing to sacrifice their own safety to protect each other, perhaps the most powerful test of their fidelity.
In addition, Robin Hood is known for having a strong moral compass, one that endangers him when he opposes corrupt forces. Similarly, the Burrowses’ strong sense of morality leads them to oppose corrupt Soviet forces, including the traitorous Danby, making choices that expose them to danger. Janie compares Benjamin to “a real Robin Hood, not a fake one” (50). Even the Scotts make choices to remain true to their own ideals and loyalties when they leave the US to avoid having to testify against their friends and colleagues during the Second Red Scare. Adherence to their principles places them in the line of fire, just like Robin Hood and his Merry Men do when they oppose the Sheriff of Nottingham. Thus, this symbol highlights the powerful principles and loyalty that unite this group of individuals.
Gold Jewelry
Janie’s gold earrings, and her response to Pip’s suggestion that she sacrifice them to make the invisibility serum the children need to save Benjamin’s father, symbolically highlight her growth and dynamism as a character. She describes how her grandmother Helen, to whom the earrings belonged, tried to behave in a sophisticated and elegant way but ultimately couldn’t help being silly and warm. Janie is similar. Though she used to attempt to embody the sophistication and poise of Katharine Hepburn, hoping “to be elegant like [her] nana Helen had always wanted to be” (161), she realizes that her grandmother would “want [them] to find [Benjamin’s] father” (161). Helen couldn’t reject her earnest and fun-loving nature, just as Janie can’t abandon her loyal and loving personality. Thus, Janie sacrifices her grandmother’s earrings to make the invisibility serum that the children hope will enable them to save Burrows, even though they’re “the only things of hers [Janie] ha[s]” (161). Janie doesn’t yet realize that she shares her grandmother’s sweetness and high-spiritedness, a far more significant homage to her grandmother’s character and memory than wearing the woman’s jewelry.
Sarah Pennington’s willingness to sacrifice her gold necklace for the same reason indicates her real nature. Though she begins the text as a bit of a snob, by the end, she has a crush on Pip, a lower-class boy from London’s East End. She knows that the children won’t be able to restore her melted-down necklace to its original state, yet she gives it to them anyway. Pip tells her, “I said you’re the kind of girl who would naturally help” (230), and he’s right. She later provides the children with warm coats, clothes, and boots for their journey to Russian waters. Giving them her gold necklace, even without understanding what it’s for and knowing full well that they’re being dishonest about its use, shows her true, helpful nature.
Chess
Chess comes up multiple times in the text, creating a motif that highlights The Intelligence of Children. Benjamin first asks Janie to play chess in the park when he intends to spy on Shiskin. Though the game is only a “cover” for his spying, he wants it to look convincing, and he’s disappointed when Janie isn’t a good player. That night, she goes home and asks her father for a chess lesson, and when she uses one of her new strategies the next day, she’s “rewarded by one of Benjamin’s approving smiles” (51). As they continue to play, Benjamin nods “with pleasure” at her, and her quick learning helps strengthen their developing relationship. Their shared ability to employ stratagems in chess, and in life, demonstrates their intelligence and capability, despite what the adults in their life think.
Later, Pip’s ability to play chess well, even using a famous set of moves called the “Opera game,” garners the other children’s respect and highlights his intelligence. He may be a pickpocket and minor criminal according to adults, but they consistently underestimate his ability. He doesn’t know the name of the strategy he employs since his uncle taught him how to play in the pub, but he tricks the chess club into believing that he’s a novice and wins half a crown off another boy. Janie says, “His pimply opponent was staring down at the board. He looked up at [her] in protest. ‘He asked if the game was like checkers!’” (157). Just as the Opera game demonstrates its creator’s brilliance, speed, and discernment, Pip’s ability to execute the moves quickly—and for money—demonstrates that he also has these qualities.
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