56 pages • 1 hour read
Jennifer A. NielsenMark of the Thief
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2015A 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
Bread and Circuses
When Nic discovers Radulf at Tacitus’s palace in Chapter 47, Radulf reveals that he has had the emperor killed. It was his retaliation for the bargain he made with Nic and a “blow for the empire on the day Valerius chooses to declare war against me” (329). If Radulf is displeased with the next emperor, he will repeat the process. He is not concerned about the response of the Roman people but will do what “rulers of this empire have done for centuries,” which is to distract them “with bread and circuses” (329).
The phrase first appears in a poem by Roman satirist Juvenal, who was active in the century before the novel is set. As Juvenal applied the term, it meant that the Roman people, who had once been politically engaged and active in shaping the life of the city, had allowed themselves to trade their civic roles and responsibilities for superficial pacification.
Though the term only appears at the end, in the mouth of Radulf, the concept is a motif threaded through the novel in support of the theme of The Pursuit of Freedom in Body and Mind. The Roman mob and the need to pacify and distract it is referred to several times across the novel, and Livia, Sal, and Felix are all portrayed at times prioritizing their comfort and security. They do this not necessarily because they are “bad,” but because they have been conditioned by fear and deprivation. To become free means, in part, to be willing to give up comfort and security, as Aurelia does when she walks out of Horatio’s house rather than conform to his corrupt demands.
The Divine Star
Several months after Julius Caesar’s murder in 44 BC, a comet appeared in the sky over Rome and remained visible for seven days. This comet, which came to be known as Caesar’s Comet, was so bright that it could be seen during the day, and its appearance coincided with a festival held in honor of Caesar. The Roman public interpreted these events to confirm Caesar’s claim of divine ancestry via the mythical hero Aeneas, a son of Venus. The comet was believed to be the soul of Caesar ascending into the immortal realm to unite with the gods. An image of the comet—typically a star-shaped design, sometimes with a trail of flame—was incorporated into the iconography of Caesar. In 42 BC, Caesar was officially deified.
The Mark of the Thief’s Divine Star takes Caesar’s Comet as its launching point. In the novel, the Divine Star holds divine power. It is given to Nic through Caela, a griffin, and to Radulf through a unicorn. Both mythical animals are associated with the gods. Thus, the Divine Star symbolizes divine honor.
Pater Familias
When Radulf is revealed to be Nic and Livia’s grandfather, Livia refers to him as their pater familias. The phrase can be translated as “father of the household” and refers to the male head of the household and owner of the household estate. This status was assigned to the oldest living man in a household or family, which had political significance in ancient Roman culture. The pater familias acted as the priest of the household and ancestral gods and could have autocratic authority over those in his household, even to the point where he could sell or kill his children, though this power diminished over time.
In the novel, the application of the phrase to Radulf symbolizes his insistence on total control over Nic and Livia. In particular, it symbolizes how Radulf intends to command Nic’s power for his own ends.
Praetorian Guard
The Praetorian Guard originated in the Roman Republic as an elite group of soldiers assigned to protect Roman generals. In the last decades of the first century BC, the first Roman emperor, Augustus, designated them as his personal guards, and for three centuries, they functioned as a symbol of imperial power. In addition to controlling the crowds at the games, they are also believed to have participated in the hunting of the wild beasts (described in The Mark of the Thief) and to have engaged in political plots, including assassinating emperors whose policies they objected to and installing new ones who promised them greater wealth or privileges. Thus, they were paradoxically the emperor’s greatest protectors and most dangerous antagonists.
In a conversation with Nic in Chapter 30, Valerius explains to Nic the danger Radulf poses to the emperor and empire, saying, “Radulf commands the entire military. He also controls the Praetorian Guard, which protects the emperor’s life. Or takes it” (214). The double-edged nature of the Guard symbolizes the doubled-edged nature of power in the novel: For the characters who pursue power, the very thing they believe will protect them is the same thing that can ultimately destroy them.
Related Titles
By Jennifer A. Nielsen
