Incarceron

“He thought of her as a tool. A thing he had made…bred, was his word. […] Long ago she had come to know his ruthlessness was so complete that to survive she would have to match it.

Did her father love her? […] She had no idea. Did she love him? She certainly feared him. He smiled at her, had sometimes picked her up when she was small, held her hand on grand occasions, admired her dresses. He had never denied her anything, had never struck her or been angry, even when she’d had tantrums and broken the string of pearls he’d given her, or ridden off for days to the mountains. And yet as far back as she could remember the calmness of his cold gray eyes had terrified her, the dread of his displeasure hung over her.”

This quote develops the distinction between perception and reality and foreshadows the fact that Claudia’s father has not been honest with her. She senses that he has affection for her, but she can tell that things are not what they seem and that he actually poses a great danger to her. These descriptions also create a red herring of sorts, for the narrative initially implies that the Warden is one of the primary antagonists in the story. This misconception will be strengthened throughout the narrative to mask the presence of far greater antagonists working in the shadows.

“‘There was always the Eye. At first I didn’t know what it was, only noticed it in the night, a tiny red point glowing near the ceiling. Slowly I realized it was there all the time, came to imagine it was watching me, that there was no escape from it. I began to think there was an intelligence behind it, curious and cruel. I hated it, squirmed away, curled up with my face against the damp stones not to see it. After a while, though, I couldn’t stop glancing around to check it was still there. It became a sort of comfort. I got scared it would go away, couldn’t stand the thought of it leaving me. That was when I started talking to it.’

[…]

‘I had no one but the Prison, and the Prison has a heart of stone. But gradually I began to understand that it was huge and that I lived inside it, that I was a tiny, lost creature, that it had eaten me. I was its child and it was my father, vast beyond understanding. And when I was sure of that, so sure that I was numb with silence, the door opened.’”

This passage develops the symbolism of eyes, which represent pervasive surveillance and The Ambiguity of Imprisonment and Freedom. Finn finds the eyes creepy, but he also comes to take comfort in them because he is told that Incarceron is his parent, and he doesn’t know anyone else. He therefore develops feelings of ambivalence towards the eyes. Ironically, once he learns more about the prison’s structure and function, his cell door opens, suggesting that imprisonment and freedom are two related concepts and are not necessarily polar opposites.

“Claudia wondered how much of his comic awkwardness was an act. […] Evian and her father were playing an elaborate and deadly game of manners and insults, irritation and etiquette. It bored her, but that was how things were at Court.

The thought of a future lifetime of it turned her cold.

To hide from it she jumped down, and tugged off the elaborate dress. Underneath she was wearing a dark jumpsuit. […] Clothes changed you. Long ago, King Endor had known that. That was why he had stopped Time, imprisoned everyone in doublets and dresses, stifled them in conformity and stiffness.

Now Claudia felt lithe and free. Dangerous, even.”

This quote develops the symbolism of restrictive clothing, which represents The Ambiguity of Imprisonment and Freedom. In addition to literal clothing, characters “mask” themselves with etiquette and social niceties, and this practice allows them to avoid danger even as it forms an intangible “cage” of its own. This quote also develops The Dangers of Romanticizing the Past, because as Claudia points out, imprisoning people in the ideology of a past era does not free them from the complexities of modern times. Instead, this contrived version of reality “stifles” them, preventing progress and enforcing conformity.

“Escape.

It was a word that stung him like a wasp, a sharpness that pierced his mind, a longing that promised everything and meant nothing. The Sapienti taught that Sapphique had once found a way out, that he had Escaped. Finn wasn’t sure if he believed that. The stories about Sapphique grew in the telling; every itinerant storyteller and poet had a new one.”

This quote illustrates the psychological effects of Finn’s life sentence. The prisoners believe that escape is nearly impossible and that only one person has accomplished it—the mysterious Sapphique. To Finn, this assumption makes the concept of “escape” seem mythical, incomprehensible, and even meaningless. He does not know what escape would entail, and it is hard for him to believe that the stories of Sapphique are real because he cannot understand how escape could be possible or what form it would take.

“When I was tiny and we were at Court. People flocked to see him—the Warden of Incarceron, the Guardian of the Inmates, Protector of the Realm. I didn’t know what the words meant, but I hated them. I thought Incarceron was a person, another daughter, a secret spiteful twin. I hated her. […] When I found out it was a prison, I imagined him going down into the cellars here with a lantern and a huge key—a rusty, ancient key. There would be an enormous door, studded and nailed with the dried flesh of criminals.”

Incarceron is a mystery because nobody other than the Warden knows its location or understands its true nature. As a child, Claudia speculated that it was “another daughter,” which is close to the truth because Incarceron is “alive,” conscious, intelligent, and emotional.

“Her life was a labyrinth of plots and pretense, and the only person she could trust in all of it was Jared.”

This quote develops The Ambiguity of Imprisonment and Freedom. Incarceron is described as a “labyrinth,” and because Claudia uses the same word to describe her own life, this similarity demonstrates that she is “caged” by circumstance just as Finn is caged by the boundaries of Incarceron itself. The fact that she can’t trust anyone besides Jared also suggests that she is not “free,” but must constantly be on the lookout for danger.

“Incarceron’s night was inky. But the prison never slept. One of its small red Eyes opened, turned, and clicked as he raced below it. […] The prison would watch cautiously. It played with its inmates, allowed them to kill, wander, fight, and love until it grew tired and tormented them with Lockdowns, with twisting the very shape of itself. They were its only amusement, and maybe it knew there was no Escape.”

This quote develops The Ambiguity of Imprisonment and Freedom. Although inmates are constantly surveilled by Incarceron’s eyes, Incarceron does not prevent inmates from breaking laws. Ironically, the inmates are therefore allowed to have more “liberties” than people living outside the prison, where laws are actually enforced to a certain extent. However, the inmates’ ability to break laws does not improve their quality of life, nor does it make them feel “free.” Regardless of their relative freedom of activity, they remain locked in an extensive cage with no hope of escape.

“They were trying to isolate her. She had expected this; Jared had warned her of it. At Queen Sia’s court they wanted her alone with no one to trust, no one to plot with. But she was having none of that.”

To limit Claudia’s freedom, Queen Sia tries to isolate her from everyone she might like or trust. This dynamic suggests that freedom is not solely defined by one’s physical location (such as in a prison or palace); it is also dependent on a person’s access to communication, companions, knowledge, and resources.

“‘You’re still thieves then,’ Gildas said acidly.

‘You know the rule of the Comitatus.’ Keiro sounded cheerful. ‘Everything belongs to the Prison, and the Prison is our Enemy.’”

Morality is different inside Incarceron because conventional laws no longer apply. Incarceron is not a regular prison because there are no human guards to enforce rules, and Incarceron rarely cares about enforcing any rule besides preventing escape. Instead, inmates are allowed to do whatever they want, harming each other extensively while the prison watches them. When Incarceron does interfere, it is usually to cause a prison quake or lockdown, which creates more large-scale violence without preventing any human crimes.

“We forbid growth and therefore decay. Ambition, and therefore despair. Because each is only the warped reflection of the other. Above all, Time is forbidden. From now on nothing will change.”

This passage is from King Endor’s Decree, a new set of laws that was written generations ago. In a misguided attempt to prevent decay and despair, the Decree banned modern technologies, science, and knowledge, insisting instead that everything conform to a bygone historical “Era.” The implementation of such a law is ironic because rather than curing society of the ills it suffered from technology, the Decree has rendered the kingdom entirely dystopian by denying its citizens access to knowledge, scientific discovery, and proper medical care.

“‘I don’t mind. It’s a dynastic thing, that’s all. My mother’s explained it. You can have any lovers you like, after we’ve had an heir. I certainly will.’

[…] ‘Caspar, listen to yourself! Have you ever thought about what sort of life we’ll have together, in that marble mausoleum you call a palace? Living a lie, a pretense, keeping false smiles on our faces, wearing clothes from a time that never existed, posing and preening and aping manners that should only be in books?’

[…]

‘Have you never wanted to be free, Caspar? To be able to ride out alone one spring morning and set off to see the world? To find adventure, and someone you can love?’”

This passage develops The Ambiguity of Imprisonment and Freedom. Claudia thinks that “living a lie” is a form of imprisonment, even if it is within a palace. “Freedom,” to Claudia, would involve true love rather than a false marriage. Under Claudia’s definition, most people at Court are “caged” because they all must pretend to be happy and conceal their personalities beneath contrived and outdated social customs. Furthermore, her derisive characterization of the palace as “mausoleum” implies that such an existence is akin to death itself. Likewise, the opulent palace is no more than a tomb in which are interred the living corpses of the courtiers who have abandoned their true lives to become something they are not.

“In ancient statutes Justice was always blind. But what if it sees, sees everything, and its Eye is cold and without Mercy? Who would be safe from such a gaze?

Year by year Incarceron tightened its grip. It made a hell of what should have been Heaven.”

Lord Calliston, the first prisoner of Incarceron, wrote this in his diary. This quote develops the symbolism of eyes, which were meant to ensure the inmates’ safety, but have instead become cruel and dangerous. This passage suggests that Incarceron is the villain because it has transformed the prison into “hell.” However, other passages suggest that Incarceron’s downfall was the fault of humans rather than the prison itself, or that the fault lies with both humans and the prison.

“The Realm stretched before her to the distant misty heat of the horizon, and she wished for a second that she could run into its summer stillness, escape into the peace of the empty land. Somewhere no one else would be.

Somewhere she would be free.”

Approaching Queen Sia’s palace, with her wedding to Caspar growing near, Claudia considers the possibility that freedom may lie in a place where there are no other people. This thought is not unreasonable given her experience, because the things that “chain” Claudia—expectations, propriety, absurd laws, and mistrust—stem from the people with whom she is forced to associate. However, when she spends time with people she trusts, namely Jared and Finn, she feels freer.

“‘Understand what the iron decrees of the Havaarna have done to us. We are rich, some of us, and live well, but we are not free. We are chained hand and foot by Protocol, enslaved to a static, empty world where men and women can’t read, where the scientific advances of the ages are the preserve of the rich, where artists and poets are doomed to endless repetitions and sterile reworkings of past masterpieces. Nothing is new. New does not exist. Nothing changes, nothing grows, evolves, develops. Time has stopped. Progress is forbidden.’

[…]

‘We are dying, Claudia. We must break open this cell we have bricked ourselves into, escape from this endless wheel we tread like rats. I have dedicated myself to freeing us. If it means my death, I don’t care, because even death will be a sort of freedom.’”

This is Lord Evian’s explanation for why he wants to assassinate Queen Sia and Caspar, both of whom continue to enforce the laws that King Endor and the Havaarna instituted generations ago. This quote illustrates The Dangers of Romanticizing the Past. Access to knowledge has been restricted, so misinformation flourishes while people are left ignorant. Inequality is also exacerbated because it is easier for wealthy people to evade the laws and gain access to science and technology. In a static society that never progresses, everyone comes to believe that life itself is meaningless. The comparison to rats is apt because, by attempting to stop time and progress, these laws have robbed people of their humanity.

“As the carriage jolted he glanced out the window and his expression darkened, his black hair brushing the collar of the Sapient coat. ‘Here’s our prison,’ he said bleakly.

And following his gaze she saw the pinnacles and glass towers of the Palace, the turrets and towers festooned with flags and bunting, heard that all the bells were ringing to welcome her, all the doves flapping, all the cannon were being fired in deep booming salute from every mile-high terrace that rose in splendor into the pure blue sky.”

This quote develops The Ambiguity of Imprisonment and Freedom. Jared calls the palace a “prison” because inside it, he and Claudia will be surveilled, restricted, and dominated by others. In this setting, they are unable to make their own choices or be honest about their feelings. Although the palace is physically beautiful and elaborate, its inhabitants are far from “free.”

“They torment each other. There is no system that can stop that, no place that can wall out evil, because men bring it in with them, even in the children. Such men are beyond correction, and it is my task only to contain them.”

Here, Incarceron argues that the experiment of a utopian prison failed because of human nature. The Sapients thought that putting criminals in a special prison with idealistic principles could create a utopia. Instead, the inmates turned against each other and committed even more egregious crimes. The cold tone and inexorable logic of the passage also reflects the dispassionate and uncaring nature of Incarceron as a sentient entity, for it has long since ceased to adhere to the directives of its creators and is just as dedicated to maintaining the status quo as King Endor’s Decree was to impose a sense of stasis on the society beyond Incarceron’s boundaries.

“We know nothing about Sapphique but a muddle of tales and legends. Those fools down there in the City […] invent new tales of Sapphique every year. […] Men love to make stories, brother. They love to dream. They dream that the world is deep underground, and if we could journey up we would find the way out, a trapdoor into a land where the sky is blue and the land breeds corn and honey and there is no pain. Or that there are nine circles of the Prison surrounding its center, and if we go deep into them we find the heart of Incarceron, its living being, and we will emerge through it into another world. […] Legends. Nothing more.”

Blaize’s theory that there is nothing outside Incarceron complicates The Murky Distinction Between Imprisonment and Freedom. Although Blaize is actually the Warden and this “theory” is a lie, there is truth to it because even outside Incarceron, people are still “chained” by propriety, mistrust, societal expectations, and limited access to knowledge. The world beyond Incarceron may be different, but it is still a “prison” of a different kind.

“I remember a story of a girl in Paradise who ate an apple once. Some wise Sapient gave it to her. Because of it she saw things differently. What had seemed gold coins were dead leaves. Rich clothes were rags of cobweb. And she saw there was a wall around the world, with a locked gate.”

This excerpt from Lord Calliston’s diary represents a biblical allusion to the story in the Book of Genesis, when a snake (or Satan) tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden in order to gain access to forbidden knowledge. Here, the woman in the “Paradise” of Incarceron also gains forbidden knowledge by becoming aware that the “world” (which may refer to the whole place, or just Incarceron itself) is a prison and that it is a dystopia rather than a utopia.

“Let me tell you something about the Prison. […] It’s a closed system. Nothing enters. Nothing leaves. When Prisoners die their atoms are reused, their skin, their organs. They are made from each other. Repaired, recycled.”

In this passage, the Warden explains how the prison recycles materials to create new inmates. This process is an exaggerated version of how the real world works. Incarceron uses metal in addition to organic material to create new people, animals, and materials out of old or dead ones. Although real people aren’t made of metal at birth, the “recycling” process used by Incarceron bears a striking resemblance to the law of conservation of matter, wherein matter cannot be created or destroyed, but can only change form. This means that deceased humans and animals decay, and the matter that once made them up is absorbed into other materials that are also part of the universe, thereby repeating an endless cycle. This quote suggests that the prison of Incarceron is not so different from the world at large.

“For a moment she thought […] she might scramble down and steal a horse from the stables and ride away, escape just as she was, in her white nightdress, into the green forests on the far hills.

[…]

She knew that all the Court was like [Lord Evian], that behind its perfumed and elaborate facade lurked a web of hatreds and secret murders, and her own part in that would begin very soon, and to survive it she must be as hard as they were.”

This quote illustrates The Ambiguity of Imprisonment and Freedom because on the morning of Claudia’s wedding, she fantasizes about escaping from the “prison” of arranged marriage and a life at court. Despite her wealth, Claudia feels “chained” by social expectations that force her to live a lie.

“Do you know what I’m escaping from? From not knowing myself. Having this darkness inside me, this emptiness. I can’t live with that. Don’t leave me here, Claudia!”

Finn explains that he does not want to merely escape the physical confines of Incarceron; instead, he wants to “escape” from his lack of knowledge of his past and his true identity. This complicates The Ambiguity of Imprisonment and Freedom because it shows that physical confinement within a building is not the only means of imprisonment.

“I want you to tell me what is Outside. Sapphique promised faithfully that he would come back and tell me, but he never has. Your father does not speak of it. I begin to wonder, in my heart of hearts, if there even is an Outside, or whether Sapphique passed only into death and you live in a place here I am unable to detect. I have a billion Eyes and senses, and yet I cannot see out. It is not only the inmates who dream of Escape, Claudia. But then, how can I escape from myself?

[…] ‘I don’t know. It’s pretty much what I’m trying to do.’”

This quote emphasizes that even the prison, which is a machine and not a human, is imprisoned by its purpose and longs for freedom. Also, as a prison, Incarceron wants to escape from itself, but it is not the only one. Claudia also wants to escape from her roles and responsibilities even though she is not literally incarcerated.

“You might just be taking him out of one prison into another.”

Attia makes this comment when Claudia wants to help Finn to escape Incarceron and become King of the Realm outside. Attia correctly infers that conditions outside the prison are far from ideal, and the underlying assumption is that escaping the physical building will not automatically translate to true freedom.