72 pages • 2 hours read
Alix E. HarrowThe Ten Thousand Doors of January
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2019A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 9-10Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 9 Summary: “The Burning Door”
When January and the others walk through the Door, an old main waits on the other side, pointing a spear at them. January explains they’ve come to Arcadia to hide, and at the mention of her father’s name, the old man drops his spear and leads the group into the city, introducing himself as John Solomon Ayers, or Sol for short. He takes them to the chieftainess, Molly Neptune, who explains that everyone in Arcadia is a runaway of some kind, and the city includes people from all over the world: “a great, untidy family” (270).
In the morning, Molly informs January, Samuel, and Jane that they will have to contribute to the community in order to stay. Everyone must “do their fair share” (272) in order to survive. The land in Arcadia is harsh, and while Arcadia has most necessities, some things they must get from earth. When traveling through the Door, they use a magic feather that makes them invisible to ensure no one follows them back into Arcadia.
Later, an old woman comes to Arcadia, claiming a man followed her through the Door. They then find that someone cut Sol’s throat and he is dead. January knows Sol died because of her presence in Arcadia, and that she has put the entire city at risk. As the old woman recounts what happened, January notices Bad growling at her and suspects she may not be telling the truth. That night, January takes Jane’s revolver and waits near the city entrance for the old woman. When she comes, January points the revolver at her, and it soon becomes clear the old woman is actually the red-haired man from Locke’s Society named Mr. Ilvane. He wears a magic mask that, ironically, was an object January’s father brought to Locke for his collection. Ilvane reveals he used a special compass to find January, and has been working for the Society as the one closing Doors behind Julian to “cleanse the world” (282) from wars, upheavals, and revolutions.
When Julian lingered at the Door in Japan, Ilvane attacked him. Instead of fighting back, Julian did everything he could to write in his journal and put it in its box. Ilvane set the Door on fire, and shoved Julian through it. January falls to her knees in relief that her father may still be alive, and Ilvane uses the opportunity to escape. Jane appears and reaches for her revolver to shoot Ilvane, but realizes it’s gone—January has it. Ilvane stabs Jane, escapes through the Door, and closes the Door behind him forever.
Chapter 10 Summary: “The Lonely Door”
Hearing Ilvane closed the Door for good, the Arcadians panic, unsure of how they will survive without necessities from earth. Jane may die without the iodine needed to treat her wounds. January knows it’s her fault and resolves to try to write the Door back open. She and Samuel make their way to the place where the Door used to be, and she writes, “The Door opens” (291). Her words succeed. January feels relieved to know she is not powerless, and “no Door was ever truly closed” (293).
Before she leaves Arcadia, January writes three letters: one to Locke, one to Jane, and one to Samuel. She meets Molly as she’s leaving, who warns her that Sol’s magic feather is gone. When she steps through the Door and returns to Maine, January is alone and without money. She begins making her way to Kentucky, and takes a job at a washroom in Buffalo. It’s harder work than she has ever done before, but she feels more alive and freer than she has ever been. She uses her paycheck on a train ticket to Kentucky, and faces more hardship; she’s forced to sit in the colored area of the train, and recognizes the way the world treats her differently without Locke’s wealth and power to protect her.
As soon as the train stops, January feels Ilvane press a knife to her throat, but he uses the magic feather to remain invisible. January uses her coin-knife to stab Ilvane, takes his compass, and leaves him in a train station bathroom. She writes the words to leave the door locked and forgotten, and boards the next train south in pursuit of her father.
Chapters 9-10 Analysis
Arcadian society differs significantly from the American society January grew up in. First, Arcadian society treats women with respect and gives them prominent positions in the community, as evidenced by Molly Neptune, the community’s chieftainess. Similar to the leopard women in Jane’s world, women have leadership roles in Arcadia. Another significant difference is that people of many different races live together peacefully in Arcadia. In January’s world, people consider whiteness as superior to other races, but in Arcadia, anyone who needs a place to run, regardless of race, receives a warm welcome and equal treatment. Everyone does their fair share of the work, and the community lives together like a family. When January leaves Arcadia on her own, she soon discovers that without Locke’s white skin and wealth, people are less likely to give her a ride or treat her kindly. She must sit in the colored section of the train, and face the reality that, “without money I wasn’t perfectly unique or in-between or odd-colored; I was simply colored” (304). Harrow’s contrast between Arcadian society and American society shows the relativity of race and gender roles. It also highlights the way in which societal rules regarding race and gender dictated a person’s position in the social hierarchy in the 20th century.
Harrow continues to highlight changes taking place in January’s character. Because of her life of privilege, she has no practical skills to offer the community, and feels out of her element. She wants to find her father and fight back against the Society, but feels powerless against them. Even so, Samuel’s belief in her gives her the courage to act. When she successfully reopens the Door, she gains the boldness to leave Arcadia on her own. As she travels, she perseveres through fatigue, hunger, fear, and hard work, and for the first time in her life, makes her own way in the world. Out from under Locke’s wealth and protection, January finds the brave and adventurous spirit that has been inside of her all along. Her love for her friends and desire to find her family propels her towards her true identity.
Along these lines, Harrow also highlights the theme of love. Samuel knows he could be happy staying in Arcadia if January agreed to stay with him, but January feels she can’t truly be happy without trying to find her father and stop the Society from closing Doors. Even though part of her loves Samuel, she also loves her father and at this point feels like she must choose between the two. Samuel believes in January when she sets out to open the Door in Arcadia, and his faith in her gives her the affirmation she needs to try. January also sees Julian’s love for her when she finds out he saved her by writing the message to flee to Arcadia rather than fighting back against Ilvane. This shows the power of words over weapons, and the power of love as a motivator for January to face her fears.
The silver coin continues its recurrence as a major symbol and element of the plot. On the train, January finds comfort in the coin, keeping it clasped in her fist. She then uses it as a weapon to stab and overpower the invisible Ilvane and take the compass away from him. For the second time in the novel, she uses it as a pen by carving the words that lock Ilvane in the train station bathroom forever. The coin continues to symbolize her belief in Doors, and her hope that she will see her parents again.
Related Titles
By Alix E. Harrow
