The Serpent's Shadow

Shadows are a key motif in the novel. In Egyptian myth, shadows are one of the five parts of the soul—in addition to the ba (personality), ka (lifeforce), ib (heart), and ren (a person’s secret/true name). As Carter describes in Chapter 20, shadows are the imprint a person leaves on the world and how that imprint is cast (or not cast) over those a person knew.

Through his relationship with Setne, Carter explores his relationship with his father’s shadow, specifically how Carter still feels partly trapped under the imprint his father left behind. In order to summon the strength necessary to defeat Apophis, Carter must truly understand the role of the shadow, as well as how he has begun to develop a shadow of his own. While shadows are shades of a person left behind, this does not mean they have to darken the path of others. Rather, as Carter learns, his father’s shadow is a way for Carter to pick up where his father left off in the battle to bring balance between order and chaos. In this way, shadows are also an extension of a person’s life and a way for people to link themselves to others across generations.