44 pages • 1 hour read
Sarah Beth DurstThe Spellshop
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Books
Books and a shared love of books are at the heart of The Spellshop. Kiela, the protagonist, starts out as a librarian, and her work forms the basis of her identity. Even after she’s forced to leave her library behind, she still identifies as a librarian at her core several times throughout the novel, which informs her choices and developing sense of identity.
The novel’s inciting incident occurs when Kiela is forced from her home and takes it upon herself to be a guardian of the valuable, vulnerable spellbooks that the library has secreted away. They become her first priority throughout the novel, and many of the actions she takes are to protect and preserve them. For Kiela, books symbolize safety, security, and home. They also become a refuge, both literally and figuratively, when they help the main characters address and conquer their problems. When another stranger comes to the island, however, it’s ironically Kiela’s books that put her at the greatest risk. In an ironic inversion of this risk, Radane sees the spellbooks as her greatest chance at survival.
Another book that plays a pivotal role is Kiela’s family cookbook. As a physical book containing her parents’ handwriting, it bridges the material and the immaterial, the old and the new. It has the concrete structure of Kiela’s most prized possessions, yet it also contains something deeper and more intangible. The author uses this emotional resonance for dramatic effect when Radane claims and then damages the book. This physical damage represents a severing from Kiela’s past—one that is later repaired once she and Radane make amends.
Jam
Jam is the catalyst for Kiela’s new endeavor and a tangible symbol of hope and comfort. When Kiela decides to help her new community by selling spells (or “remedies”), she lands on jam as a false front. However, the symbolism of this turn of events goes much deeper. Jam is a strong choice for Kiela because, due to the withdrawal of magical assistance, very little fruit is growing on Caltrey—she’s filling a deficit in the ecosystem. This endeavor also helps connect her to her parents through the recipes she finds in their cookbook, as well as to the natural world. It forces her into the wild and to work with her hands in a way she never did in her previous life in the city. By growing and harvesting ingredients like raspberries and apples, Kiela literally and figuratively puts down roots in her new home. It also gives her a way to give back to Bryn and her clientele for welcoming her into their community. At the end of the novel, Kiela is shown preparing apple jam with fruit from the trees she helped heal.
The Sea
As an island community, Caltrey is inevitably subject to the tempests and whims of the sea. The sea is Kiela’s first experience of coming to the island, as well as a physical barrier separating her childhood home from her adult life in Alyssium. Throughout the novel, the sea shows itself to be a positive and negative influence. For example, a turning point in Kiela’s relationship with Larran occurs when they ride merhorses through the waves together. In this moment, the sea is a source of beauty, connection, and joy. Soon, however, the sea shows another facet as it capsizes Radane’s ship and nearly kills her and Larran. Kiela embodies this motif when she describes the sensation of watching the tragedy as drowning, acknowledging the dual nature of the sea. This comes up again toward the end of the novel when Captain Varrik’s ship is threatened by the unnatural rhythms of the natural world. The central characters must essentially conquer the sea itself in order to rescue the endangered officials.
The sea also plays an important role when Kiela is visited by a desperate mermaid. The sea carried the magical energy of the storm, poisoning the mermaid’s child. This frames the sea as a conduit for good and ill. Later, the mermaid rewards Kiela by leading her though the sea to a safe haven. In this moment, the sea becomes a protective force, sheltering Kiela, Caz, Meep, and their collection of spellbooks from the aggressive outside world.
