Belladonna

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2022

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Chapter 9

Chapters 10-17

Chapters 18-27

Chapters 28-37

Chapter 38-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Themes

Gendered Etiquette and Expectations

Victorian women like Signa faced a myriad of strict social expectations and could face serious consequences for failing to follow rigid yet confusing rules of etiquette (See: Background). Throughout the novel, Signa constantly worries if she is meeting these social expectations and behaving as she should, as the little guidance she has had from her guardians has been conflicting. Signa’s coming-of-age journey thus coincides with her exploration of gendered etiquette and expectations.

When faced with new social situations, Signa almost always searches for her etiquette handbook, A Lady’s Guide to Beauty and Etiquette, one of the few things left behind by her mother. Before meeting with Eliza, Diana, and Charlotte, the narrator notes that Signa “was contemplating every which way she might possibly sneak A Lady’s Guide to Beauty and Etiquette into tea with her” (120), showing how Signa believes this to be the definitive guide to how she should live her life. However, Signa quickly learns that certain etiquette rules are only learned through experience and can’t be written down in a book. At tea, she questions things like “Did she sip too quickly? Was the amount of sugar she added to her tea appropriate?” (120), especially once the other ladies ridicule her for eating too many scones. For Signa and other Victorian women, etiquette was not just a frivolity, but a representation of their moral value. Through Signa’s blunders and misunderstandings, Grace shows how much etiquette impacted women’s social standing and, thus, their ability to gain financial support from a husband.

As she is ruled by etiquette, Signa is also heavily influenced by society’s standard expectations for a wealthy young woman. At Thorn Grove, Signa is excited that Marjorie’s lessons will prepare her for her debut as an eligible bachelorette. The narrator remarks on Signa’s feelings, noting “The thrill of being presented with exactly what she’d yearned for: To debut into society. To attend parties and be courted by handsome suitors, and then to gossip about them with friends over tea. The idea of it alone threatened to burst her heart” (50). Signa has only ever been taught that she can have a fulfilling life by marrying and having children, and she only learns this does not have to be the case when she speaks with characters like Blythe and Charlotte.

This anxiety over etiquette forms a strong contrast to the feelings of belonging Signa has when she is with Death and using her powers. Signa spends much of the novel wrestling with her emotions towards both Death and her powers, as she believes her powers would prevent her from living the life she is expected to. Overall, Grace shows just how all-encompassing Victorian beliefs about gender roles and social expectations were for young women like Signa, emphasizing just how much they hindered women from living their lives to their full potential.

The Complex Emotions Surrounding Death

Grace makes it clear from the beginning of the novel that Signa has a complicated relationship with death, something that has been a significant part of her life since its beginning. Her relationship with the concept of death is mirrored by Signa’s relationship with the character Death, and her and other characters' changing emotions toward him show just how complicated and personal their relationships with death and grief can be.

At the beginning of the novel, Signa hates Death and blames him for ruining her life. When she learns that Death had taken her relatives to protect her, Signa feels that “She should hate him. But to know there was someone watching her—someone protecting her and caring for her—it was all she’d ever wanted” (164). Not long after she realizes she has Death’s powers, Signa begins to see Death in a new light. Signa recognizes that Death is “not a demon or a monster, but the one who guided wayward spirits” (221). Signa also sees how Death’s duties as a reaper are to show kindness and help spirits transition to the afterlife when he tells her about how he can change himself to present a different face for different people, and only takes them to the afterlife when they are ready. In learning more about Death and everything he does, Signa begins to learn that death is not cruel and malicious to her in particular, but merely helps to facilitate the natural processes of life that happen to everyone.

In addition to Death as a concept and character, many characters also show how complex the effects of death can be. When she arrives at Thorn Grove, Signa quickly notices how the death of Lillian has impacted its residents. While Blythe becomes angry when Signa brings up her mother and Percy feels the family should be doing more to honor her, Elijah’s grief manifests in a need for distraction. However, Elijah not only throws lavish parties to forget his grief—he is also kept up at night by thoughts of Lillian and her ghost. The hauntings of Thorn Grove symbolize how death and its effects linger there, as does Death’s continual presence at the estate.

While things improve for the Hawthornes once the fear of Blythe’s death becomes less immediate, things quickly take a turn for the worse when Percy is poisoned and starts seeing Lillian’s ghost. Though it is revealed during the climax of the novel that Percy has been poisoning his family, his reaction to death is perhaps the most distinct, as he shows little remorse or care for his actions. Through these different representations of grief, Grace continues to highlight just how complex death and the emotions that surround it can be.

The Power of Aspiration

At the beginning of Belladonna, Signa thinks she knows exactly what she wants out of life because she has been taught that there are strict expectations for what a woman is supposed to do with her life. However, when she begins to get a taste of this life at Thorn Grove, Signa is left questioning if this is truly what she wants. As the narrative progresses, Signa gradually begins to redefine what her life could look like, embracing the power of aspiration in place of conformity.

When she meets Eliza, Diana, and Charlotte for tea, the narrator notes, “For so long Signa had waited for this day; waited for the time when she would sit and chat with her friends as part of high society. For the time when others would show interest in her, and she might finally have the company she’d spent so long yearning for” (126). Similarly, when Signa finds herself being courted by a handsome eligible bachelor and on the cusp of the marriage she always dreamed of, it is said that “For years Signa had imagined a moment like this” (208). However, Signa finds both of these seemingly perfect interactions exhausting, realizing that “if just having tea was such an exhausting feat every time she had to do it, Signa hadn’t a clue how she’d manage becoming the socialite she’d always dreamed of being” (206).

In all of these interactions, Signa seems to want more than she is given. Though she has been guided not to ask for too much in her etiquette books, she has not had the social exposure to know how much “too much” is. In the symbolically significant moment when Signa reaches for a third scone at tea and Diana pulls the plate away from her, Signa is left feeling embarrassed about her natural appetite. Contrary to the actions of the women in this moment, Death tells Signa “Just eat it [...] if you’re hungry, eat the scone” (126), later throwing the scone at her when she refuses to take it. This mirrors the earlier scene on the train where Death, masquerading as Sylas, persuades Signa to eat the sweets she wants despite the rules of etiquette. In these ways, Death encourages Signa to aspire beyond the narrow limits Victorian society sets for her.

Though Signa believes she wants more than she is supposed to as someone trying to follow the rules of etiquette, Death often shows her that she deserves more and can’t want “too much.” When Signa begins to use her powers, she simultaneously begins to feel like her world “‘is suddenly insufficient’” (165) and wants to know more about her powers and Death. Unlike others, Death is also willing to give Signa more of what she wants, letting her make important choices for herself about her powers and showing her the life she could live with him. Throughout the novel, Signa finds herself wanting more and more, and toward the end of Belladonna, Signa finally begins to learn the importance of taking what she wants.