Beautiful Creatures

“Amma had her own way of thinking about things. When she was in one of these moods, my mom used to call it going dark—religion and superstition all mixed up, like it can only be in the South.”

Through Amma, the novel explores Southern Traditions and Supernatural Folklore. Amma’s practice of voodoo sets her apart from the other citizens of Gatlin. Amma “going dark” contrasts with Lena “going Dark” later in the novel, as Amma’s power does not stem from Dark Casters but from her ancestors.

“I didn’t want to end up like my dad, living in the same house, in the same small town I’d grown up in, with the same people who had never dreamed their way out of here.”

Ethan describes his internal conflict at the beginning of the novel and how he feels trapped by the narrow-mindedness of Gatlin. He has greater goals for his life than living in the same house that everyone in his family has lived in for generations. Instead, he wants to leave Gatlin and make a new path for himself. To create a sense of emphasis and rhythm, the text uses repetition (bold added): “I didn’t want to end up like my dad, living in the same house, in the same small town I’d grown up in, with the same people who had never dreamed their way out of here.”

“Macon Melchizedek Ravenwood was the town shut-in. Let’s just say, I remembered enough of To Kill a Mockingbird to know Old Man Ravenwood made Boo Radley look like a social butterfly. He lived in a run-down old house, on Gatlin’s oldest and most infamous plantation, and I don’t think anyone in town had seen him since before I was born, maybe longer.”

Ethan connects Macon to the character of Boo Radley, setting up the theme of Prejudice and Social Exclusion, which is also a prevalent theme in To Kill a Mockingbird. Ethan does not yet understand that Macon faces the same ostracization that the characters in Lee’s novel struggle with. As part of his growth, he will learn not to judge people at face value.

“Six generations of card readers. Gatlin was full of God-fearing Baptists, Methodists, and Pentecostals, but they couldn’t resist the lure of the cards, the possibility of changing the course of their own destiny. Because that’s what they believed a powerful reader could do. And Amma was nothing if not a force to be reckoned with.”

The people of Gatlin want to change their fate, even if the supernatural element of tarot cards goes against their religion. Their desire also highlights their freedom of choice—they can change their destiny, a privilege that Lena does not have because of the Duchannes curse.

“It was that she made me realize how much I was just like the rest of them, even if I wanted to pretend I wasn’t.”

Ethan prides himself on being different than the other people in Gatlin because of his openness and acceptance of different people. However, when faced with Lena’s uniqueness, he starts to fear that he is not as special as he once thought he was and worries that she will ignore him rather than become friends with him.

“But somebody had to do something. A whole school couldn’t just take down one person like that. A whole town couldn’t just take down one family. Except, of course, they could, because they had been doing it forever. Maybe that’s why Macon Ravenwood hadn’t left his house since before I was born.”

Ethan realizes the emotional impact of social exclusion after Lena runs from the classroom in tears. He finally understands the harm that a group of people can cause and the even greater impact of a whole town. He realizes that Gatlin has the power to destroy Lena and Macon emotionally and psychologically. Ethan decides that he does not want to be on the side of Gatlin; rather, he chooses to stand up for what is right by following Lena out of the classroom. In this way, the novel shows how he is brave and worthy of Lena’s love.

“I wasn’t scared of Ravenwood, even if it turned out to be as creepy as it looked. The unexplained was sort of a given in the South; every town has a haunted house, and if you asked most folks, at least a third of them would swear they’d seen a ghost or two in their lifetime.”

The presence of the supernatural is part of Gatlin’s landscape, underscoring the Southern Gothic element of the novel. Ethan accepts that the supernatural exists because everyone in Gatlin believes in the otherworldly to some extent. However, he feels unprepared for the type of supernatural events he experiences around Lena, as his understanding differs from Lena’s powers as a Caster.

“If this was a movie, we would’ve sat down at the table with the guys, and they would’ve learned some kind of valuable lesson, like not to judge people by the way they look, or that being different was okay. And Lena would’ve learned that all jocks weren’t stupid and shallow. It always seemed to work in movies, but this wasn’t a movie. This was Gatlin, which severely limited what could happen. Link caught my eye as I turned toward the table, and started shaking his head, as in, no way, man.”

Ethan wishes that his group of friends would accept Lena and see her in the way that he does. He knows that he should follow Link’s signal not to come to the table because it could end up making things worse for Lena. Ethan realizes that it was foolish to hope for change, as Gatlin’s prejudice runs too deep. The townspeople do not know how to accept outsiders and will always judge someone based on their difference. Ethan’s narration here is characteristic of his informal, adolescent voice, as seen by the use of “would’ve” and “as in, no way, man.”

“All that destiny garbage. Nobody can decide what happens to you. Nobody but you.”

Ethan says this to Lena after she tells him that she has no choice in going Light or Dark. This quote illustrates the difference between Lena and Ethan. Ethan believes in free will and clings to the possibility that Lena will be able to change her fate. Lena finds this belief naive. The quote repeats “Nobody” for emphasis.

“‘I never believed your daddy when he said it was impossible for a Caster and a Mortal to be together. We would have found a way. I love you, Genevieve.’ He pressed something into her hand. A locket.”

Ethan Carter Wate’s last words show his similarity to Ethan, his descendent. They both express hopefulness even in the face of hardship. This quote hints at the rule that keeps Mortals and Casters from being together and that Lena and Ethan will later learn.

“I looked back at the headstone. Genevieve was there again, what was left of her breaking into nothingness each time the wind blew through her. She didn’t look terrifying. She looked broken. The way you would look if you lost the only person you ever loved. I understood.”

Ethan understands Genevieve’s grief because of the loss of his mother. Even though Genevieve is a ghost and a Dark Caster, Ethan sees that she still loves Ethan Carter Wate and was never the same after he died. Genevieve loves Ethan Carter Wate even after she turned Dark, revealing that there is nuance outside of the binary of good and evil. The above lines are short and declarative, slowing down the pace and emphasizing Ethan’s empathy: “She didn’t look terrifying. She looked broken […] I understood.”

“What if she was right, and she grew into something unrecognizable, something so Dark she wouldn’t even know or care about me?”

Although Ethan feels hopeful that Lena will change her fate, he still worries that she will turn Dark and that he will have to grieve her death, even as she lives. The thought that Lena would become so different that she would not remember Ethan terrifies him. At the same time, it propels him toward finding a spell that will help her in the Book of Moons.

“The Person of Power, the Caster, Casts the Eternal Choice. They choose if they want to Claim themselves Light or Dark. That’s what the free will and agency is all about, like Mortals choose to be good or bad, except Casters make the Choice for all time.”

Lena explains that, normally, Casters have free will to choose their fate, although they make that choice for the rest of their lives and do not get the privilege of changing their minds. Lena knows that she will not have this choice. Instead, she will need to make peace with the possibility that she will be Claimed Dark eternally.

“‘Miss Duchannes is a very disturbed girl. She suffers from a mental illness. Let me see…’ Mrs. Lincoln ran her finger down the page as if she was looking for something. I waited to hear the diagnosis for the mental illness Mrs. Lincoln thought Lena suffered from—the state of being different. ‘Ah, yes, here it is. It appears Miss Duchannes suffers from bipolar disorder, which Doctor Asher can tell you is a very serious mental condition. These people who suffer from affliction are prone to violence and unpredictable behavior. These things run in families; her mother was afflicted as well.’”

Mrs. Lincoln, under the influence of Sarafine, uses people’s fear of mental illness to make the people of Gatlin fear Lena even more than they do. In this way, Mrs. Lincoln presents Lena’s difference as problematic and dangerous. The sensationalized way that she presents bipolar disorder also shows a lack of understanding about the condition.

“If Mrs. Lincoln had put the fear of God into them, Macon Ravenwood had given people in Gatlin a reason to fear something even worse. The truth.”

Macon uses his knowledge of Gatlin’s secrets to ensure Lena stays in school. The townspeople fear experiencing the same social exclusion that they have perpetuated against Lena. The novel uses a sentence fragment—“The truth”— to create a sense of drama.

“‘I can only give you the books. I can’t give you the answers.’ But she smiled, all the same. ‘The thing about fate is, are you the master of your fate, or are the stars?’”

Although Marian cannot interfere in Caster business, she finds a way to give Ethan advice. Marian asks Ethan about fate after Lena breaks up with him. Although Ethan feels like the breakup is out of his hands, Marian reminds him that he controls his own destiny. Marian suggests that he should not leave his fate to “the stars” or something outside of him. Instead, he should use the free will that Mortals have and make his own decisions about his life.

“My mom was there, in some form, in some sense, in some universe. My mom was still my mom, even if she only lived in books and door locks and the smell of fried tomatoes and old paper. She lived.”

When Ethan realizes that his mother has been communicating with him from beyond the grave, he feels relieved. Although it does not change the fact that he misses her, it gives him comfort in his grief that she still exists and loves him, even if it is in a different form than when she was alive. The above quote uses repetition for emphasis and to create a sense of rhythm (bold added): “My mom was there, in some form, in some sense, in some universe. My mom was still my mom.”

The quote also uses polysyndeton, a list of words in which they are separated by the same conjunction, in this case “and.” This creates a sense of urgency and breathlessness (bold added): “even if she only lived in books and door locks and the smell of fried tomatoes and old paper.”

“Mortals. I envy you. You think you can change things. Stop the universe. Undo what was done long before you came along. You are such beautiful creatures.”

Macon tells Ethan that he envies his hope and optimism. He realizes that Ethan truly believes that he can change Lena’s fate. Macon has a different belief system; he thinks that once something has been set in place, such as the Duchanneses’ curse, it cannot be removed. Macon believes that Mortals are “beautiful creatures” because of their hope in change. This quote highlights the title of the novel. It also subverts expectations that the Casters, as magical beings, are the “beautiful creatures” alluded to by the title.

“I guess this was what it felt like to love someone, and feel like you had lost them. Even when you were still holding them in your arms.”

On Lena’s birthday, Ethan comforts her as she fears what the day will bring. Despite his normal optimism, he starts to feel hopeless and powerless, as if he has already lost Lena to the Dark. The quote highlights a recurring theme, how Ethan fears losing Lena—to fear and to the Dark—even while she remains alive and a tactile presence.

“And I know it’s stupid, but I just want to know what it feels like to be normal. I want to go to a dance without practically destroying it. I want to go to a party I’m actually invited to. I mean, I know it’s all Ridley, but is it wrong if I don’t care?”

Lena longs for a sense of normalcy amid the tumultuous nature of her life. Although she may turn Dark in a few hours, she wants to experience being a regular teenage girl. In attending the party, she hopes to escape the depression she feels about her impending fate and enjoy the time she has left with Ethan. The quote uses repetition to underscore Lena’s strong sense of desire (bold added): “And I know it’s stupid, but I just want to know what it feels like to be normal. I want to go to a dance without practically destroying it. I want to go to a party I’m actually invited to.”

“The Mortals will only put you in harm’s way, or bring you pain. You can’t be normal. You weren’t meant to be normal.”

Macon does not understand Lena’s desire to feel normal, as he believes it’s pointless and that Casters cannot control or change their fate. Macon wants Lena to recognize that she will never be like other teenagers; the sooner she accepts this, the less heartbreak she will have in her life. Both lines in the above quote end with “normal,” creating emphasis.

“If you agree to this, you won’t feel remorse, because you won’t be yourself. The person you are now will be dead. What she’s not telling you is that you won’t remember your feelings for Ethan. Within a few months, your heart will be so Dark, he won’t mean anything to you.”

Macon reminds Lena that Sarafine’s offer may sound tempting, but Lena will not be the same after turning Dark. The only thing that keeps Ethan and Lena’s love alive is the possibility of her turning Light, although it also means that they will not be able to be together. This is a fundamental conflict—Lena’s salvation means that she can’t be with the person she loves most.

“What had I done? I had lost them both. Kneeling in the mud, I buried my head in Ethan’s chest and wept. I held his hand against my cheek. I thought of all the times he had refused to accept my fate, refused to give up, to say good-bye.”

Lena grieves for Ethan and Macon and believes her inability to perform the spell correctly cost both of their lives. Lena remembers how Ethan always believed in her ability to choose her own fate and choose the Light, even when she did not believe herself capable. Ethan’s ability to see the Light in Lena even at her darkest is why she fell in love with him in the first place.