The Diamond Of Darkhold

Lina is 13 and lives with her toddler sister, Poppy, and their guardian, Mrs. Murdo, in Doctor Hesper’s house in the village of Sparks. Like Doon, she struggles through the hard winter in Sparks and sees that more food and better care would benefit them all. Lina also struggles personally, as she finds life on the surface to be wondrous, but storms, fierce animals, and lack of electricity make daily tasks difficult and dangerous. She misses Ember’s streets and buildings, and especially her home and her job as a messenger, even though she knows guiding everyone out was for the best.

Lina has more perspective than other Emberites because she stowed away on a roamer’s trip the previous summer as he sought a mysterious city. Back in Ember, Lina often drew her vision of a city with beautiful buildings. On the roamer’s quest, she sees that the supposed city is just ruins. Consequently, when Doon asks Lina to quest with him for an object left by Ember’s builders in The Diamond of Darkhold, she is hesitant and fearful of what they might discover. 

Nevertheless, Lina overcomes her fears—of fire, of the Outer Regions and the chasm around Ember, and of the Troggs—to help Doon when he is captured and to boost his spirits at the crucial moment. She and Doon discover the diamonds and their usefulness, and she is then ready to courageously take on a more influential role in her community. She later teaches herself to ride a horse and becomes a messenger, delivering letters between settlements and thus expanding communication and  knowledge. 

Lina is a complex, round, dynamic hero who becomes equally important to the success of their adventure. Lina is selfless in putting aside her own emotional struggles and fears to retrieve the Builders’ devices, which lead to improved health, education, and greater fulfillment for everyone in Sparks. On the salvage mission, Lina also says a meaningful goodbye to Ember from the roof of the Gathering Hall, where once, as a younger and more immature girl, she trespassed and caused a fuss by dancing a few steps for attention from those below. Her farewell from that same location symbolizes her coming-of-age and her ability to let go of the past.

Kenny is a young boy from Sparks who reveres Doon’s intellect and abilities with gadgets. In The People of Sparks, Kenny helped Doon discover the truth about unrest and conflict between villagers and Emberites. In The Diamond of Darkhold, Kenny helps Lizzie and Torren see that Doon and Lina’s disappearance is likely due to their innate desire to help others. 

Based on these actions, Kenny is a voice of truth and a competent judge of character, wiser than his years. He does not care for Ms. Buloware’s “lessons” about electricity at school because they contain so few answers; he does, however, love nature class and is fond of learning through observation: “The outside called to him, even in winter” (161). Thus, Kenny’s role in the plot as a potential rescuer of Lina and Doon represents Self-Sufficiency Through Knowledge of the Natural World. He is a complex but static character in the series, as his traits show no change.

Trogg serves as an antagonist in the novel. He and his family take over the empty Ember, pillaging everyone’s homes and all the shops for food and supplies, making a disrespectful mess. Trogg also finds the “sample” diamond in the steel-lined vault just outside Ember’s point of egress, which the Emberites passed in leaving the city. Diamond in hand, Trogg feels powerful and establishes Ember’s streets and squares as his own city of “Darkhold.” 

Trogg captures Doon, then forces Doon to loot his neighbors’ former homes. Doon must also listen to Trogg’s senseless “knowledge,” which proves Trogg knows little, cannot read, and thinks books are good only for burning for light and heat. Trogg, however, also demonstrates ingenuity and resourcefulness in bridging the chasm and collecting water. 

Once Doon renders Ember’s generator inoperable, Trogg and his family return to roaming. They are later welcomed into Sparks, ready to accept “help to become civilized people” (272). Before this change, Trogg represents how closed-mindedness contributes to struggle.

Maggs is Washton Trogg’s sister. She is a roamer who trades “treasures” for food in settlements like Sparks and a shepherd with a small collection of scraggly, dirty sheep. Maggs represents the importance of communication and connection in the novel, although she never realizes the importance of this role. She trades the Directions for Use book to Doon, after having ripped most of the pages away for kindling. She helps Lina connect with Doon after his capture through a note she (Maggs) drops into Ember for her brother, though she cannot read what it says. She insists Lina camp overnight in her roamer wagon for safety, not knowing this action will allow Doon to find Lina the next morning. 

Maggs is not unkind, though she refuses to go out of her way to help Lina get back to Sparks. She also boosts Lina’s love of horses by sharing how her horse Happy used to carry Maggs as a rider. Maggs is a static character in the narrative, though it can be presumed that she, her brother, and the other Troggs will change their traits upon living in Sparks.

Scawgo is a young boy Doon meets when he is captured by the Troggs in Ember. Trogg renamed this boy “Scawgo” (Chicago) the way he renamed himself (Washton) and his wife (Minny-Apple) and his children (Yorick and Kanza) after powerful cities that existed before the Disaster. This is ironic in Tim’s case, as he does not think of himself as strong or powerful; his foot is permanently injured, which prevents his escape, and his treasures are held captive by Trogg—without them, he cannot flee. 

Scawgo is nevertheless a courageous ally archetype, giving Doon Trogg’s diamond as Doon escapes. He is a dynamic character in that, once in Sparks, returns to the use of his real name and goes to live with another family. His arc reflects growth and self-sufficiency after oppression in the story.