The Blackthorn Key

“‘You know,’ Tom said, ‘things you have to light from far away probably shouldn't be lit at all.’”

Tom often tempers Christopher's natural recklessness with warnings such as this one. In doing so, he shows the differences between the two boys and keeps the reader aware of the potential dangers in various activities. This further increases the tension, as Christopher often proceeds regardless of Tom's words.

“The blast nearly blew my ears off. I saw a burst of flame, and a mound of smoke, then the pipe kicked back like an angry ox and nailed me right between the legs."

Christopher experiences the consequences of his recklessness in creating gunpowder unsupervised when the explosion in the apothecary shop goes wrong. This is the first of several occasions where his actions lead him to injury. In addition, this early event with relatively low stakes shows the great power that the "simple" substances in the apothecary shop can have when combined.

"It’s never the tool itself that decides. It’s the hands—and the heart—of the one who wields it."

This early lesson that Master Benedict teaches Christopher has a double meaning. On the one hand, it encourages Christopher to consider the responsibility of his future role as an apothecary. On the other hand, it refers metaphorically to the responsibilities of knowledge and teaching. The divergent paths that Christopher and the three apprentices working for Oswyn take further illustrate this point.

“‘If I sent you away, to walk a different path,’ he said, ‘somewhere you’d be safe, somewhere you couldn’t be hurt…would you choose it?’ His question stunned me. Had any master ever allowed his apprentice to choose?”

As Master Benedict wonders whether he has acted responsibly toward Christopher, he demonstrates his understanding of his great responsibility as a teacher. Christopher also points out the unusual nature of this choice, demonstrating his own limited power as an orphaned apprentice. This makes Master Benedict's generosity at offering him the choice all the greater.

"I did it without thinking. My fingers clenched around the page and pulled just before I snapped the ledger shut. With the commotion at the door, and the noise from the street, no one appeared to notice I’d ripped it out."

Christopher shows his recklessness in stealing the ledger page in front of Lord Ashcombe. However, this was for a good reason; later, the reader learns that he had decoded the Latin at the bottom of the page, "Tell no one." This shows the strong bond between Master Benedict and Christopher; Christopher trusts his master's coded message more than he does a representative of the law and follows his message blindly.

“They’ll be waiting for you to fail. But don’t doubt yourself, Christopher. The measure of a man has nothing to do with where he comes from.”

Although Oswyn, the antagonist, speaks these words, they nevertheless develop the theme of value in those who are commonly overlooked. As an orphan, Christopher has little social standing, but his intelligence and bravery give him great value. This exchange further shows that, while Oswyn takes evil actions, he nevertheless has a gentler side to him and positive qualities, as well.

"I remembered meeting Master Benedict for the first time, still flushed from passing my test. He’d held out his hand and said, 'Pleased to meet you, Christopher Rowe.' As if I were a real person."

This exchange shows Master Benedict's respect for everyone, even those with no social position, and that Christopher has internalized social messages about his own position. His view of himself as not a real person will be challenged as he works for Master Benedict, convincing him of his own value. This responsibility of those with knowledge is clear to some members of the Guild, including Master Benedict and even Oswyn, and less clear to others, such as Sir Edward and Valentine.

“The herbs and oils and ointments we mix have no power of their own. They’re merely the channel through which God’s holy blessings may work. But our remedies, though miraculous, are drawn only from the truths that God has given to man."

Sands carefully depicts Oswyn as a three-dimensional character. In this exchange, he describes why being an apothecary appeals to him as a religious man and a Puritan. This sheds light on his motivations for his work, as well as his desire to obtain the Archangel's Fire.

"I thought about Master Benedict. He was faithful to God, and he’d sought deeper truths, too. But he’d never wanted power, never wanted to rule over others. He’d loved knowledge for its own sake."

Master Benedict serves as a foil for the other apothecaries for various reasons. He is not greedy like Stubb or self-serving like Sir Edward. He is not particularly religious like Oswyn, either. Christopher's reflection here shows that Master Benedict's disinterest in power for power's sake allowed him to be a better person, holding Master Benedict up as a prime example of what an apothecary should be.

"To anyone else, it would have looked like just another water stain on the marble. But we’d seen this shape before."

When Christopher notices the symbol of Mars in the crypt, he opens the sarcophagus to reach the chamber below, where Master Benedict experimented with the Archangel's Fire. He does this because he recognizes the symbol from its previous uses to hide keys. Christopher's ability to recall symbols and use his knowledge in new contexts helps him solve Master Benedict's murder by decoding the message that he left.

"The wall opposite the entrance was covered with a mural. At the top, an angel drove his sword downward into the belly of a dragon. The dragon twisted and writhed, roaring in agony, about to gobble a small black ball. Below the beast were two more dragons, their own serpentine bodies coiled, each snapping at a ball identical to the one above. The scene was ringed by an enormous snake with a red back and a green stomach, its head above the angel’s, swallowing its own tail."

The mural Christopher and Tom discover in the crypt uses symbols in a new way: as artistic imagery. Christopher must apply the lessons he has learned to a new context, one containing both religious (angels) and fantastic (dragons) symbols. His training with Master Benedict and his natural intelligence allow him to succeed, again using quicksilver to open the door behind the mural.

“Blackthorn is your home. It always will be.”

Christopher's recollection of Master Benedict's assurance shows that Master Benedict gave him more than an education and a profession; he also gave him a home. However, this contrasts starkly with Christopher's current situation, in which Master Benedict is dead and Christopher has nowhere to go. Even Master Benedict, with his wisdom, couldn’t follow through on his promises in a society that treats those outside traditional power structures cruelly.

"Now I understood. He’d been training me. Even in secret, Master Benedict had never stopped training me. He’d wanted me to find the chamber in the crypt. He’d led me every step of the way. To do that, he’d taught me everything I needed, except one essential thing: what the symbols in the mural meant."

Christopher begins to realize the value and thoroughness of Master Benedict's lessons with him. Nevertheless, Christopher's understanding is still limited; Master Benedict did provide him the clues to uncover the meaning of the symbols in the mural, but Christopher has not yet discovered what these were. In time, he integrates the lessons that Master Benedict taught him, opens the door, and solves the mystery.

"The best Master Benedict could do was send me away. He’d sacrificed himself to save me. Now, locked in Oswyn’s office, I’d squandered that. I’d let them trap me, just like him."

While Master Benedict was alive, the dynamic between him and Christopher primarily focused on his responsibility toward Christopher as teacher and student. Now that Master Benedict has died, Christopher feels his responsibility toward Master Benedict acutely as Master Benedict’s murderer goes unpunished. Christopher eventually shows his love and loyalty toward Master Benedict by working through the cipher Master Benedict left and finding his murderer.

"And if I’d learned one thing today, it was that anyone, anyone, anywhere, could be part of the Cult."

As the narrative builds toward it climax, Christopher becomes increasingly aware of the danger that he is in. He has just unexpectedly discovered that three apprentices are part of the Cult and assisted in Master Benedict's murder. This is part of his journey from trusting and protected apprentice to wise apothecary in his own right, as he becomes aware of the motivations of those around him.

“‘You have no reason to trust me,’ I said. ‘You don’t have to. If you really were Benedict Blackthorn’s friend, then you know I could never, ever have killed him. Because he could never, ever, not for a single minute, be cruel.'"

In this exchange with Isaac, the reader sees the limits of disguises and ciphers. While they have protected and aided Christopher to this point, they have also put him in danger. In this case, Isaac refuses to share information with Christopher while he is using his fake identity. Christopher must dig deep to show that he is who he says he is: Master Benedict's trusted apprentice. Describing their loving dynamic and the respect Christopher had for him is the best way he can think of to show this, which succeeds.

"The power is too great. The Archangel’s Fire was never meant for mortal men. The slightest tremor brings the wrath of God upon the bearer. What have I done?"

Master Benedict's notes about the Archangel's Fire show that, though wise and experienced, he too struggled with the responsibility of the material's discovery. Understanding that he was dying, he left Christopher with the tools to find the recipe and protect it. Though this is a heavy responsibility for a young apprentice, Christopher shows that he is up to the task as he decodes the message.

"He’d kept going, even after what had happened to Hugh, to find some way to purify the Archangel’s Fire, to see if it could be turned from a weapon of destruction into an agent of healing, like an alchemist turned lead into gold, or an apothecary turned the poison of madapple into a remedy for asthma."

As he understands the full scope of Master Benedict's work with the Archangel's Fire, Christopher makes the connection between the everyday work apothecaries do in their shops and the research Master Benedict has done into this material. In both cases, responsibility is key to wielding the power correctly. Nevertheless, even those with wisdom and experience, like Master Benedict, can be overwhelmed by ambition and the desire to find out more, to their detriment.

"What would I do with his discovery? Work with it, like my master had, to try to change its nature further and unlock God’s healing power? Hide it, and let no one know it had been discovered? Or should I destroy it, and keep it out of human hands forever?"

Knowing what Master Benedict learned about the Archangel's Fire, Christopher struggles with the same responsibility. He wishes to be loyal to his master and push the boundaries of knowledge, but he also worries about the incredible power that accompanies this knowledge. In the end, Christopher decides to hide the recipe, even though it may be destroyed.

"The very first lesson Master Benedict had ever taught me was that our recipes were only tools, directed by the hearts and hands of the men who used them. The killers had already shown us their hearts."

Christopher shows his ability to apply lessons to different situations and contexts, demonstrating his growth as a character. He has learned that the responsibilities of his profession are heavy and has come to understand that the killers have handled these responsibilities badly. This moral guidance, while stemming from his time with Master Benedict, also demonstrates Christopher's increasing wisdom.

“That wretch you call a king drinks away the days on his throne, and I’m the traitor? The people of England fall into lechery and corruption, and I’m the traitor? You are the traitor, Richard."

While Oswyn is by no means a heroic character, he nevertheless is a round, three-dimensional character with convincing motivations. In this speech, these motivations become clear. The way the king governs goes against Oswyn’s religious and moral beliefs, and he is convinced that the Archangel's Fire will correct this. Nevertheless, Oswyn has become too blinded by his own sense of rightness that he has lost all sense of a greater morality.

“The king wants it known that Christopher Rowe, apprentice to the Apothecaries’ Guild, is a true friend to the Crown. Further, His Majesty understands that Oswyn Colthurst’s actions were not sanctioned by the Guild, and he reaffirms his close bond with you, who loyally supported him against Puritan traitors when he returned from France.”

As Lord Ashcombe works to clear Christopher's name, he does so by invoking the powerful social institutions that have come into play in this novel: the monarchy, the guild, and the church. It is only through this help that the Guild agrees to restore Christopher to his profession. The serious measures needed for this to happen show precisely how unfair British society could be at this time to those without power.

“That’s up to you. His Majesty would never interfere in Guild affairs.”

In this ironic statement, Lord Ashcombe maintains a polite fiction that those in the professions, such as the apothecaries, have autonomy under the current monarch. While he says these words with a certain amount of humor, they nonetheless serve to reinforce the opposite. The monarch can, in fact, interfere with anyone and anything that he likes; his power is virtually unlimited.