Every Heart A Doorway

“Hearing the things she said would have only made it worse, as she sat there and explained, so earnestly, so sincerely, that her school would help to cure the things that had gone wrong in the minds of all those little lost lambs. She could take the broken children and make them whole again.”

The diction and repetition in the description “so earnestly, so sincerely” create a consoling tone that illustrates how Eleanor soothes the prospective families’ concerns. Similarly, the metaphor likening the children to “little lost lambs” sets a patronizing tone at odds with the headmistress’s true views. McGuire’s usage of words like “cure,” “broken,” and “whole” medicalizes the children’s experiences. This develops The Tension Between Familial Expectations and Individual Needs by showing how the children’s families can only conceptualize their transformative adventures as mental health conditions.

“Narration came naturally after a time spent in the company of talking scarecrows or disappearing cats; it was, in its own way, a method of keeping oneself grounded, connected to the thin thread of continuity that ran through all lives, no matter how strange they might become. Narrate the impossible things, turn them into a story, and they could be controlled.”

Throughout the novel, McGuire makes allusions to other fantasy stories. For example, the reference to “talking scarecrows or disappearing cats” alludes to L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, respectively. The allusions quickly help the readers understand that the novella’s characters have embarked on fantastic journeys like the protagonists of these classic works.

“The manor sat in the center of what would have been considered a field, had it not been used to frame a private home. The grass was perfectly green, the trees clustered around the structure perfectly pruned, and the garden grew in a profusion of colors that normally existed together only in a rainbow, or in a child’s toy box.”

The repetition of the word “perfectly” and the visual imagery of the green grass and the “rainbow” of plants in the garden combine to foster an orderly, cheerful mood. These descriptions create a welcoming atmosphere as the protagonist arrives. However, the passage also contains irony because the charming mansion soon becomes the scene of a string of grisly murders.

“[S]he had a ribbon the color of pomegranate seeds tied around the base of her ponytail. Her hair was bone-white streaked with runnels of black, like oil spilled on a marble floor, and her eyes were pale as ice.”

For Nancy, pomegranates represent home, so her hair ribbon “the color of pomegranate seeds” is symbolically a piece of home that she carries with her during her exile. The fruit alludes to the pomegranate seeds that Persephone eats in Greek mythology. This allusion reveals that Nancy’s Halls of the Dead are the ancient Greek Underworld.

“‘I kept going because…because…’ Because the air had smelled so sweet, and the sky had been black velvet, spangled with points of diamond light that didn’t flicker at all, only burned constant and cold. Because the grass had been wet with dew, and the trees had been heavy with fruit. Because she had wanted to know what was at the end of the long path between the trees, and because she hadn’t wanted to turn back before she understood everything. Because for the first time in forever, she’d felt like she was going home.”

The series of phrases that begins with “Because” is an example of anaphora, and the author uses this technique to express that Nancy has many reasons to love the Halls of the Dead even though she could not find her voice while she was there. The passage abounds with imagery that appeals to multiple senses. For example, the grass that was “wet with dew” appeals to the sense of touch, while the description of stars as “points of diamond light” appeals to the sense of sight. These descriptions paint a vivid picture of the magical world that Nancy visited and help the readers understand her longing to return.

“‘Because hope is a knife that can cut through the foundations of the world,’ said Sumi. Her voice was suddenly crystalline and clear, with none of her prior whimsy. She looked at Nancy with calm, steady eyes. ‘Hope hurts. That’s what you need to learn, and fast, if you don’t want it to cut you open from the inside out.’”

Sumi’s extended metaphor comparing hope to a knife develops the theme of The Dangers of Hope and Loyalty. Hope’s double-edged power to “cut through the foundations of the world” or “cut [Nancy] open from the inside out” depicts hope as both a powerful force for change and a source of suffering. Over the course of the story, hope continues to impact the characters in complex ways that can be both helpful and harmful.

“‘Wouldn’t you get spiders and splinters and stuff in the candy?’ she asked. Sumi rewarded her with a burst of laughter and an actual smile. ‘Spiders and splinters and stuff!’ she crowed. ‘You’re alliterating already! Oh, maybe we will be friends, ghostie girl, and this won’t be completely dreadful after all.’”

Sumi’s enthusiasm for alliteration, as in the nickname “ghostie girl” that she gives Nancy, shows how her time in a Nonsense world has shaped her thought and speech patterns. Her subsequent pronouncement that “maybe [they] will be friends” connects to The Search for Belonging. Although the two characters don’t have much time together before Sumi’s murder, this moment allows them to bond and helps to explain why Sumi’s note has such a deep impact on Nancy at the end of the novel.

“I figured out who I was there. I kissed a girl with hair the color of cabbages and eyes the color of moth-wings, and she kissed me back, and it was wonderful. Just because I wouldn’t go back if you paid me, that doesn’t mean I want to forget a second of what happened to me.”

McGuire uses visual imagery in the descriptions of the “girl with hair the color of cabbages and eyes the color of moth-wings” to add a sense of magic and wonder to Kade’s summary of his time in Prism. Kade adds nuance to the theme of belonging because, unlike the other students, he doesn’t want to return to his magical world and must create a home for himself elsewhere.

“Older than I look, younger than I ought to be. My skin is a riddle not to be solved, and even letting go of everything I love won’t offer me the answer. My window is closing, if that’s what you’re asking. Every day I wake up a little more linear, a little less lost, and one day I’ll be one of the women who says ‘I had the most charming dream,’ and I’ll mean it.”

Sumi’s explanation of her age is a topsy-turvy, riddling response rather than a simple number, illustrating how she has been shaped by her time in a Nonsense world. The metaphor comparing the way back to her world to a window that’s closing creates a sense of urgency and quiet desperation. Adding to the scene’s melancholy mood, this is the last time Nancy sees her friend alive.

“Nancy pushed her way into their midst and stopped, freezing in place. It was a stillness so absolute, so profound, that she would have been proud of herself under any other circumstances. As it was, this felt less like proper stillness and more like the freeze of a rabbit when faced with the promise of a snake.”

The repetition of the word “stillness” emphasizes its importance to Nancy and how she engages with her surroundings. The simile likening her rigid posture to “the freeze of a rabbit when faced with the promise of a snake” builds suspense and draws out the tension before the revelation that Sumi was murdered.

“Nancy found herself matching her steps to Kade’s, hurrying to keep up with his longer stride. She didn’t like hurrying. It was indecorous and would have resulted in a scolding back ho—back in the Underworld. Here, however, it was necessary, even encouraged, and there was no reason to feel guilty about it.”

McGuire’s use of third-person perspective grants the readers access to Nancy’s thoughts, allowing them to see how she is consciously grappling with the search for belonging. For example, the dash that cuts off the word “home” indicates her efforts to adjust back to her original world and accept that she likely won’t return to the Halls of the Dead.

“I hope the same, for each of you. I want to make excuses to your parents when you disappear, to tell them that runaways will always run again if they have half the chance. I want to see the back of you more than I want almost anything in this world.”

This passage is an example of anaphora because each sentence begins with “I.” This repetition supports Eleanor’s tone of resolute hope and gives the passage a lyrical quality. The headmistress’s speech to her students weaves together the themes of hope and belonging because she wants them all to find their ways back to the places they feel at home even though she knows this is statistically improbable.

“The body lay in the front yard, covered in a thin sheen of dew, face turned up toward the uncaring sky. The dead were capable of sight, as Nancy would have been quick to point out had she been asked, but this body saw nothing, for it had no eyes, only black and blood-rimmed holes where eyes had once been.”

McGuire increases the scene’s eeriness by juxtaposing the narrator’s calm tone, which is established through descriptions like “a thin sheet of dew,” with the violence inflicted on Loriel. This second murder furthers the story’s genre as a mystery/crime novella.

“‘Loriel Youngers was found dead this morning on the front lawn,’ said Lundy, standing ramrod straight in front of them, her hands folded in front of her. She looked like a porcelain doll on the verge of shattering.”

The author uses a simile to compare Lundy to “a porcelain doll on the verge of shattering.” This figure of speech communicates the usually imperturbable character’s distress and creates an atmosphere of fear and suspense that reflects the danger that the entire school is in at this point of the story.

“‘Going back’ had two distinct meanings at the school, depending on how it was said. It was the best thing in the world. It was also the worst thing that could happen to anybody. It was returning to a place that understood you so well that it had reached across realities to find you, claiming you as its own and only; it was being sent to a family that wanted to love you, wanted to keep you safe and sound, but didn’t know you well enough to do anything but hurt you. The duality of the phrase was like the duality of the doors: they changed lives, and they destroyed them, all with the same, simple invitation. Come through, and see.”

Doors advance the theme of the search for belonging, and the passage’s exploration of “the duality of the doors” underlines their significance as a motif. The contrast between the superlatives “best” and “worst” helps to communicate the students’ longing to return to their portal worlds and their fear that their families’ expectations are incompatible with their own needs.

“‘Why does Eleanor let you have that much acid?’ he asked. ‘Why would you want that much acid? You don’t need that much acid.’ ‘Except that it appears I do, since I have just enough to dissolve a human body, and we have a human body in need of dissolving,’ said Jack.”

The repetition in Kade’s questions about the acid and Jack’s dryly witty retort add to the dialogue’s dark humor. This comic relief alleviates some of the tension caused by the murders and shows how the students grow closer during their investigation.

“Jack opened the wardrobe and took out a cravat, listening as hard as she could as she removed her bow tie. She heard her own breathing. She heard Christopher’s fingers brushing across bone. She heard a splash.”

The anaphora of “She heard” enhances the passage’s focus on sound. This increases the scene’s suspense, as does the onomatopoeia “splash,” which indicates the start of the skeleton’s magical reanimation.

“Christopher was still playing, and Loriel was sitting up, a polished bone sculpture. Her scapulae were delicate wings; her skull was a psalm to the elegant dancer waiting beneath the flesh of all who walked the earth. There was a pearlescent sheen to her, like opal, and Jack wondered idly whether that was the acid or the magic of Christopher’s flute at work.”

The author provides visual imagery through the skeleton’s “pearlescent sheen.” Likewise, the metaphors comparing Loriel’s bones to a “sculpture,” “delicate wings,” and “a psalm” create an impression of great beauty that subverts the usual eeriness associated with skeletons. Many of the novella’s characters, including Jack and Christopher, have a deep reverence for and fascination with the dead, and this passage helps to convey their perspective.

“She dreamt of ghosts, and silent halls where the dead walked, untroubled. Christopher dreamt of dancing skeletons that gleamed like opals, and the unchanging, ever-welcoming smile of the Skeleton Girl. Kade dreamt a world in all the colors of the rainbow, a prism of a country, shattering itself into a thousand shards of light.”

The students’ dreams advance the theme of the search for belonging because they all dream of the magical worlds they once called home. The description of “silent halls” provides auditory imagery, while Kade’s dream of “a world in all the colors of the rainbow” provides visual imagery. These sensory descriptions and precise adjectives like “untroubled” and “ever-welcoming” create a peaceful mood. The moment of dreaming calm gives way to suspense because the teenagers are awakened by a scream.

“Nancy breathed deeper into her stillness and felt her heart stop for the span of a minute, becoming as motionless as the rest of her, like a pomegranate seed nestled safe at the center of a fruit.”

The simile comparing Nancy’s heart to “a pomegranate seed nestled safe at the center of a fruit” enhances pomegranates’ symbolic meaning. Nancy learned to be still to protect herself during her time in the Halls of the Dead, and the fruit represents home to her, so the simile emphasizes the physical and emotional protection that stillness offers the protagonist.

“Jill walked past the porch, bloodstains on her hands and a parasol slung over one shoulder, blocking out any errant rays of moonlight that might dare caress her skin. There was a drop of blood at the corner of her mouth, like a spot of jam that her napkin had missed.”

The simile comparing the “drop of blood” to “a spot of jam” uses an innocent, childlike image to accentuate Jill’s brutality. Likewise, McGuire juxtaposes the delicate with the violent through the image of a parasol clasped in bloodstained hands. These contrasts create a sense of eerie wrongness that underscores the plot twist that Jill is perpetrating the attacks on the student body.

“Jack continued to move, slow and easy and quiet as a prayer. She picked up a pair of scissors.”

McGuire creates a deceptively serene tone through the simile comparing Jack’s movements to a prayer and through the adjectives “slow and easy and quiet.” The repetition of the conjunction “and” between these adjectives is an example of polysyndeton that serves to underline Jack’s stealthy, steady progress. The first sentence’s peaceful tone contrasts with the impending violence that Jack inflicts on her sister with the scissors she picks up in the second.

“You’re nobody’s rainbow. You’re nobody’s princess. You’re nobody’s doorway but your own, and the only one who gets to tell you how your story ends is you.”

Sumi begins each sentence in her note with the contraction “You’re.” This anaphora emphasizes Nancy’s power to determine her own fate. The declaration that Nancy is “nobody’s rainbow” connects to the motif of Nancy’s suitcase and asserts that her needs outweigh her family’s expectations. Additionally, the idea of Nancy as her own doorway touches on the motif of doors and affirms the protagonist’s power to find the belonging she searches for.