Katniss the Cattail by Valerie Estelle Frankel

Birds and seeds are feminine symbols, of freedom and potential respectively. Later it pulses in her hand “like the heartbeat of a tiny bird” and shines in her hand “as if she’d cracked a seed of darkness” ( Bones 423). He tells her all Shadowhunters have them and adds, “It will bring you light…even among the darkest shadows of this world and others” ( Bones 313). In the greenhouse, Jace gives Clary a witchlight stone for her birthday. The glass roof shines like the lake in reverse, and strange, magical flowers bloom there, in an enclosed magical world. The greenhouse he and Clary share is a magical place – it even smells like Idris. Jace is Clary’s “prince” ( Bones 297), with hair in a “halo of damp gold” ( Bones 306) and golden eyes. In the first book, Clary and Jace share a small alchemical wedding in the greenhouse, like a small Eden within the Institute.

The round sun likewise symbolizes completion of a great work. The rose represents the birth of the spiritual and the roundness of the perfect circle. Angels and swords suggest the Shadowhunters’ constant war. The Institute is filled with motifs of angels and swords, suns and roses. And red may be the color of spellcasting, but for Shadowhunters, it’s also a color of battle. Weddings are golden, from the bride’s wedding gown to the light-filled Christmas of Clockwork Princess, surrounded by golden candles. In off-white are the Silent Brothers in their City of Bones-guardians of the ancient lore who advise the characters and help them seek higher wisdom. Corpses and mourners both wear white as the Shadowhunters gather to seek spiritual comfort and wisdom. While it continues through other colors used less often in the series, a few particular color choices stand out here.īlack is the color of Shadowhunters’ daily uniforms, a color of dissolution as they vanish into the city battling the shadowy demons. The Shadowhunters also operate in a world of literary alchemy: This rhyme, released in advance before it appears in Clare’s 2014 conclusion to the bestselling saga, details her use of color coding for Shadowhunter Ceremonies: The first book and movie in Cassandra Clare’s bestselling Shadowhunters series uses world myth, the Bible, classical literature, and symbolism to weave a powerful epic of teen heroes and heroines, a subject I address in my new Myths and Motifs of The Mortal Instruments, the book from which parts of this essay are adapted. ‘Mortal Instruments: City of Bones and Alchemy’ – a Guest post by Valerie Estelle Frankel, respected Potter Pundit and author of the new book about the artistry and meaning of the Mortal Instruments books, Myths and Motifs of The Mortal Instruments.Ĭity of Bones is hitting movie theaters today.

Katniss the Cattail by Valerie Estelle Frankel