u/Ecstatic-Mud7345

Early on in the volumes, Emma says that she can’t picture Hawkes by the seaside. As the series continues, Emma begins to associate Hawkes with the sea:
-He and Islington both tell Emma that Hawkes was raised by the sea.
-Hawkes is associated with tides and waves often in Emma’s descriptions.
-At Stonecrop, Hawkes chooses the sea over land- his most straightforward answer to one of Islington’s questions he has ever made. Actually, now that I think about it, that may be the most straightforward answer Hawkes has ever given to a question asked by anyone 😅🫠

What doesn’t make sense to me is… why did Emma also choose the sea over land at Stonecrop?? We are in volume 8 and I can now picture Hawkes by the seaside perfectly… I cannot picture Emma there.

Emma has never lived by the sea. Cambridgeshire, where she was raised, is inland. Do we even know she has ever seen the sea? She tells Islington and Pierce she hasn’t traveled outside of England (and Scotland as a young girl- reachable by land travel.)

So, why ever associate Emma with the sea? Why have Emma choose sea over land? Given her character development at the moment I imagine she would feel more similarly to Pierce- wanting solid ground after a tumultuous teenage-hood and young adulthood.

Only a very few times in the series does Emma get associated with the sea.
-Emma paints her garrett white and is glad it looks like a cottage by the sea- she is happy about this! And that is when her garret starts to feel like a home to her.
-Arabella pictures Emma in a cottage by the sea. Why????
-Of course, there is Hawkes’s line: “you need the sea.”

For Hawkes, “there was always the sea-” although Emma didn’t picture him there at the beginning, I bet she has gotten to know him enough to picture him there now. For Emma, the sea is something she has never had, but seems to fit a need of hers that is even recognized in others.

I can’t picture Emma at the seaside now… will we be able to see her there in future?

Well. I really don’t think this play relates to EML very much. 😅 Now, don’t get me wrong. It’s my favorite of the three plays. It has some of my favorite poetry I’ve ever read with Hamilton as translator. Aeschylus and the characters in this play have yet to be alluded to in the series, though. I’ll revisit if one of them pops up in future. 

As u/TybaltsCurtain pointed out, we could compare Agamemnon sacrificing his daughter for favorable winds to Aunt Eugenia or The Countess of Ellam with their daughters, which would be appropriate for the upcoming Season in Vol 9. The accompanying vengeance taken upon that sacrifice could be a foreshadowing moment that a gorgon of the Ton will be taken down. Clytemnestra is undaunted and sure of herself- a truly formidable woman, and that is like our Emma. Cassandra likens her to a lioness in the play. Lions, dogs, and eagles are recurrent symbols in Orestria. However, Emma actively does not take revenge even if she could and should- see: Cousin Archibald. Given that Clytemnestra’s story is one of revenge at its center, I don’t see it being very like Emma’s story.  She strikes Agamemnon three times- maybe that’s something? Cassandra is a prophet who was put to death for her prophecies and felt abandoned by the god who favored her, Apollo- a fear of Hawkes’s, perhaps? Maybe, maybe not.

As Agamemnon was underwhelming from our EML lens, I tried to pick up my Henderson translation of Aeschylus’s Oresteia to see if more could be found in the continuation of the trilogy, but after basking in the glory of Edith Hamilton’s translations I just couldn’t get into it... I picked up a few of my other Greek tragedy collections, reading only the intros, and found very interesting info that I think is more fitting for our story: comparisons between the three major tragic Greek playwrights. Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides- Immediately they reminded me of Declan/Islington, Hawkes and Pierce. Info here includes Googleisms and tidbits from the intros I stumbled upon:

• Aeschylus (c. 525–456 BC)=Declan? Maybe Islington???
  • Known as the father of tragedy. He added a second actor to the stage, reducing the focus solely on the chorus and allowing real dramatic conflict. He wrote the Oresteia  trilogy (which begins with Agamemnon), the only surviving complete trilogy of ancient plays. Hamilton equates Aeschylus to Isaiah (as well as Euripides, which I noted in Part One)- a man acquainted with grief. She claims he is not the life-long anti-war rebel that Euripides was, but became more so later in his life. Some of his anti-war verses I include below.
• Sophocles (c. 496–406 BC)=Hawkes?
  • He lived for 90 years, remarkably. He introduced a third actor, which further reduced the importance of the chorus and allowed more complex character interactions. Though only seven of his plays remain, he touched on a wide variety of themes- like Hawkes with his poetry. He focused heavily on human suffering, free will, and the inescapable weight of fate. Per Fagles, Sophocles was interested in poetic theory as well as practice… He seems to have been content to spend all his life at Athens and is said to have refused several invitations to royal courts…Sophocles first won a prize for the tragic drama in 468BC, defeating the veteran Aeschylus. So, a man who can theorize about poetry as well as write and perform it, is happy to be in the town he sees as home and not any high society balls, and who is something of a wunderkind like our Young Hawkes, even overtaking “father” Aeschylus at the height of his own game. His famous works include Oedipus Rex (yes, that Oedipus. But we will focus on the fate of it all rather than the incest of it all…), Antigone, and Electra.

   

• Euripides (c. 480–406 BC)=Pierce! Already discussed in Part One but I’ll include more here. 
  • The Rebel. He is known for portraying psychological realism and questioning traditional religious and societal norms. There are seventeen of his plays remaining. He frequently used the deus ex machina (a plot device where an impossible or hopeless problem in a story is suddenly solved by a surprising, unexpected, and out-of-nowhere event…. Foreshadowing for Pierce??). Per Vellacot, he disliked performing the public duties expected of him… Such a man was likely to win only grudging admiration and little popularity, and during fifty years’ writing of plays for the festivals of Dionysus he was awarded the prize only four or five times… When news of his death reached Athens in  407BC Sophocles appeared publicly in mourning for him. I won’t get too into this as I discuss in Part One, but the catalyst to me analyzing the Three Greek Tragedians was this Sophocles mention.  Vellacot gives only one paragraph to Euripides in his intro, and it ends with Sophocles/Hawkes honoring Euripides/Pierce. Absolutely precious. Anyway, his famous works include Medea, The Bacchae, and The Trojan Women. 
  • Tangent ahead: The more I read about Euripides, the more I think Emma is the one who sees him as “beloved,” which she notes while reading Plutarch in Vol 7 when mentioning the lightning strike, but the world sees him as a grump.  Hmm. That sounds familiar. It may even apply to a Photographer as well as the playwright. 
  • I’m thinking in real time here and went back to Plutarch- OMG!!! Okay, so… Plutarch actually states after mentioning the lightning striking the two graves: “...it may serve that poet’s admirers as a testimony in his favour, that he had in this same fate with that holy man and favourite of the gods.” It is Lycurgus that is described as “beloved-” as a “holy man” and “favorite of the gods,” which sounds like a Lucky Vicar to me- NOT the poet Euripides/Pierce.  In direct opposition, Emma journals that the lightning strike was “taken as a sign of favour [for Lycurgus], as the only other person to whom this happened was beloved Euripides, buried in Macedonia. What a curious detail.” An incorrect detail, em-MA! Unreliable narrator, indeed. This might be my favorite catch in Part Three. I’m giddy!!

 

***Takes a deep breath*
*Closes all five books in front of me*
*Promises not to go too crazy on a deep dive again soon*
*Silently acknowledges that the above is likely a lie*

I’ll leave you with some of my favorite lines of Agamemnon as penance for not actually analyzing the play itself. 🙂

************
Guide of mortal man to wisdom, 
he who has ordained the law, 
knowledge won through suffering.
Drop, drop- in our sleep, upon the heart 
sorrow falls, memory's pain,
and to us, though against our very will, 
even in our own despite, 
comes wisdom
by the awful grace of God.
*************
And though they wend their way unerringly, 
what those dead suffered may yet work them ill,
—that pain, which never sleeps—and fresh woe come.
Such words you hear from me that am a woman.
But may good conquer, shining clear to all.
Of many blessings this joy I would choose.
************
No hiding place
covers sin.
It blazes forth
a light of death.
*************
And war who trades
men for gold,
life for death,
holding scales
where the spear-points meet and clash,
to their beloved
back from Troy
he sends them dust
from the flame,
heavy dust,
dust wet with tears,
filling urns in seemly wise,
freight well stowed, the dust of men.
They make lament and speak each fair. 
This one so wise in battle-lore, 
that one fell nobly in the fight 
and died— for whom? Another’s wife.
So in silence the women speak. 
***********
To learn is to be young, however old. 
***********
Glad end can make toil to seem merry.
Time, wisest of teachers, will guide you to know
him who dealt justly, him who did evil
************
nothing is sure.
Sickness or health-
they are neighbors.
Thin is the wall between them. 
***********
O world of men, what is your happiness?
A painted show. Comes sorrow and the touch-
a wet sponge—blots the painting out.
And this moves pity, sadder still than death.
**********
As one astray
knows not where to turn him, 
so do I wander witless 
where path is none.

“Bonfires?” he asked.
“Glorious,” I said.
“Primal,” answered Pierce.
“Prometheus.”
We all looked at Hawkes. He, after a moment of silence, looked up as if only now remembering we were all there. After looking at each of us he said simply, “You know I never answer Islington’s questions.” Then, “But, yes, Prometheus.”

Part Two: A Greek Psychological Drama- Intro to Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus and other thoughts:

• Hamilton starts this intro by noting that all the characters, “...however brief his appearance, is an individual, clearly characterized.” Sounds like BB to me! 
• Although the play is a tragedy, there is at least one comical element- Ocean’s bird with four legs. I lie not. A bird with four legs. EML symbolism abounds with bird, Ocean, and four “legs” of support references. Humor, too!
• Hamilton reports that some compare Milton’s Satan in Paradise Lost to Prometheus, but she disagrees with the notion.  She posits that compared to Milton’s Satan, “...Prometheus seems experienced. He has learned what is important to him and what is not. He is calmly strong, loftily indifferent, never to be shaken, because he is sure, both of what he wants and what he means to do. He stands forever as the type of great rebel.” I don’t think Hawkes has this calm confidence yet about what he wants, nor has he decided if he will rebel to get what he wants. I DO think he will get there with the help of The Alchemy.
• Hamilton finds a comparison of Prometheus to Job to be more apt, saying, “Prometheus, too, is faced by irresistible force. His body is helplessly imprisoned, but his spirit is free. Just as with Job, the unconditional surrender is demanded of him. He refuses….”
• In Part One, I liken Hawkes to a Sophoclean figure who is aware of the way of the world and calmly resigned to the fact that it cannot change. I also set the hope that our Euripides (Pierce) will help our Hawkes to shift into a more Prometheus figure, who will take his “fighting chance,” even while knowing it will be dangerous. 
  • Ocean says of Prometheus, who sounds very much like the rebel Euripides here: “I know you’re very clever, but real self-knowledge– that you haven’t got… You certainly should know the harm that blustering has brought you. But you’re not humbled yet. You won’t give in…” That’ll be the day– when Hawkes takes a stand and is not humbled by the cost of it! Ocean also prods, “if one were discreet as well as daring…” Hawkes has discreet down. I’d love to bear witness to the daring side of him, though! We all know it’s there, lying dormant!
  • With this, I think of Hawkes’s sermon on April 27- the one that Pierce attends. Pierce takes the message of the sermon as courage to end The Great Considerations and be with Emma.  I think Hawkes might have taken this sermon personally, as well, as a sign that he is moving from a resigned/Sophoclean outlook to a more fighting/Prometheus outlook as this is just after the Rabbit Room/letter from Declan entry. “...for we agonize beneath the weight that someone we care for might be caught in the twilight of our indecision, our ignorance, our selfishness, or our fear… Virtus Apprime.”
• Also, Mr. Harper equates Hawkes to Prometheus after the May Day fight. Most refer to the fight as a David and Goliath situation, so I find it odd that he mentions our “resident Prometheus” with regard to Hawkes. It does apply, but less so.

Unlike Part One, the intro has less for us and our EML context when compared the text of the play itself.  It is also slightly less straightforward and the relation to EML involves more speculative thought than Part One. Leave it up to the Hawkes play to be less straightforward and more speculative… Very apropos. So, much of this might be proven wrong, and that’s okay—this was fun!  From the play:

• I lie not: The coolest thing I learned from this play with regard to EML is that Prometheus means "forethought" or "foresight" in ancient Greek. We are over here debating whether Hawkes has the magical power of foresight, but he tells us: “yes, Prometheus.” (!!!)
  • “Nothing, no pang of pain that I did not foresee. Bear without struggle what must be.”
  • “...she who is my mother, told me… The future, how it should be brought to pass, that neither violence nor strength of arm but only subtle craft could win.” This line brings up two things for me. It’s very much the attitude of Odysseus and his way to win the ten year Trojan-war and to get through his ten-year journey home. It also makes me think of the lines in the Gazette “Glory” that Hawkes’s own mother says, “One would almost think her to be a fairy. You, my boy, would know. You have the knack to see through such games, on account of your heritage.” AND ”‘You must have read all the books before you were born,’ she said. ‘It’s the only way I can account for it all.’”
  • “I helped men and found trouble for myself. I knew– and yet not at all….Hear me, oh, hear me. Share my pain. Remember, trouble may wander far and wide but it is always near.”
  • “All that has come I knew full well.”

   

• I lie not AGAIN: The first character in this play is “Force” (ya gotta be kidding me…). Force is the one carrying out Zeus’s orders to bind Prometheus. ForcesTM, indeed!!! u/TybaltsCurtain
  • Force “forces” Hephaestus (a Chambers figure) to tie Prometheus to the rock—literally nailing him to it akin to Christ on the Cross, AND bound him to it akin to St. Sebastian tied to the tree. This is very much a martyr moment since Prometheus had the foresight to see his punishment but acted on behalf of the humans anyway. It likely tells us Hawkes is living the life of a martyr already in this story, but I don’t see him as knowing he can fight his way out of that martyrdom yet. He is not yet truly stepping into that side of Prometheus, but staying resigned/accepting his fate (like Sophacles was resigned/accepting of war).
  • Hephaestus tells Force, “The tie of blood has a strange power” when feeling guilt for binding his fellow god to the rock, to which Force responds, “but don’t you think that disobedience to the Father’s words might have still stranger power?” I wouldn’t want to mess with that ForceTM… 
  • Force seems to be nervous about Prometheus’s skill and wit, stating “Still harder. Tighter. Never loose your hold. For he is good at finding a way out where there is none”  Now I lean into conjecture heavily, but I think of Valentine’s Day here. If it truly were the ForcesTM that didn’t like that Hawkes found a way to be close with Emma by taking a drink from her glass where her lips were and then licking his lips… perhaps that little moment of finding a loophole really did cause the ForcesTM to essentially try to kill Emma in order to punish Hawkes for trying to “find a way out where there is none…”
• Themes of speaking vs silence: Over and over again in this play, Prometheus wrestles (boxes?) with speaking truth vs staying silent.  We see Hawkes do the same.“There are forces at work in my life, Emma, and the only way I can see how to manage them, the only way I can keep those I care for safe, is… to keep a certain distance.” And, of course, “Ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies.” 
  • Hephaestus to Prometheus: “Groans shall your speech be, lamentation your only words- all uselessly.” Switch the word “groans” for “poems” or “sermons” and we see the curse Hawkes seems to be dealing with. He tries to communicate with Emma and probably others as well through the veiled words of sermons or poems, and Emma doesn’t normally seem to catch on. No wonder he is trying to quote less poetry! Useless, indeed.
  • “Necessity is strong and ends our strife. But silence is intolerable here. So too is speech.”
  • “To speak is pain, but silence too is pain, and everywhere is wretchedness.”
  • “Neither in insolence nor yet in stubbornness have I kept silence. It is thought that eats my heart…”
  • When asked if Zeus will rule forever, which Prometheus would know given his foresight, one character accuses Prometheus: “some solemn secret hides behind your silence.” To which Prometheus responds, “Think of another theme. It is not yet the time to speak of this. It must be wrapped in darkness..” I’d argue it IS time to speak of the secrets Hawkes is keeping about Declan but in BB we trust.
  • Io is a parallel character also scorned/cursed by Zeus- Prometheus reveals in the play that she is the ancestor of Hercules, who will free him. Io and Prometheus have quite the back and forth about sharing what Prometheus knows. Prometheus answers Io’s questions in the most vague sense, then when it gets too personal, he stops responding to her.  Sound familiar? He says it’s better not to know, and that he is not keeping silent from ill-will. Io continues to prod and Prometheus finally reveals her horrible fate. If only Emma prodded Hawkes like this in the Rabbit Room! Io responds to Prometheus, beginning with “I do not know how to distrust you.” Which feels very much like how Emma sees Hawkes right now. She should distrust him at times.
• Themes of Prometheus as a Healer and a Giver: Hawkes is a Healer of the Soul and Body as Vicar and (probably) trained Physician. He gives his time and abilities to everyone around him. Of course, he is also the very best gift giver for Emma:
  • “Through me they won their minds… From me they learned the stars that tell the seasons, their risings and their settings hard to mark. And number, that most excellent device, I taught to them, and letters joined in words. .. Such ways to help I showed them, I who have no wisdom now to help myself.” Sounds very familiar to me, with Hawkes being in charge of Emma’s freedom but himself not being able to be free…  
  • Another character responds to this, saying, and again, I lie not, “You suffer shame as a physician must who cannot heal himself…”
  • Prometheus responds with more: “Best of all gifts I gave to them was the gift of healing… The ways of divination I marked out for them, and they are many; how to know the waking vision from the idle dream; to read the sounds hard to discern; the signs met on the road; the flight of birds, eagles and vultures, those that bring good or ill luck in their kind…. The fire omens, too, were dim to them until I made them see. Deep within the earth are hidden precious things for men… All arts, all goods,  have come to men from me.” This sounds to me like Hawkes might teach Emma about her own powers of Foresight. Hmm. He also might be a tutor to a certain Heloise figure, teaching her some of these things.

   

• Comparisons of Prometheus to Atlas, both associated with Hawkes who are known to carry “the weight of the world” as punishment from a higher power (Hercules/Pierce saves them both- in some versions of the stories at least):
  • “Because I am unfortunate myself I would not wish that others too should be.  Not so.  Even here the lot of Atlas, of my brother, weighs on me.” says Prometheus. Hawkes says essentially the same in Vol 8: “I keep my distance, not to avoid burden. It is to spare others.”
  • “Another Titan, too…. Atlas the god, he bears on his back forever the cruel strength of the crushing world and the vault of the sky. He groans beneath them.”
• Prometheus on his being “less free:”
  • “And yet– and yet– all tortured though I am, fast fettered here, he shall have need of me, the lord of heaven, to show to him the strange design by which he shall be stripped of throne and scepter.  But he will never win me over with honeyed spell of soft, persuading words, nor will I ever cower beneath his threats to tell him what he seeks. First he must free me from this savage prison and pay for all my pain.” Foreshadowing for how he will become free, perhaps? BB has said he is wanted for his abilities and goodness. Does someone want him to see their future for them, like Zeus with Prometheus, but he is being punished for not giving in? 
  • When responding to Prometheus when he says he will become free and get revenge on the one who bound him in the line above, another says: “You are bold. In bitter agony you will not yield. These are such words as only free men speak.” Here, Prometheus is shown to have switched his attitude from Bound-Forever to Will-Be-Free-Again and I think Hawkes will have a similar attitude switch, possibly having begun already. 
  • Prometheus on someone giving him advice on how he should handle his current bind, which I find myself relating to: “Your feet are free. Chains bind mine fast. Advice is easy for the fortunate.”
  • When asked how he will become free, Prometheus responds, “Fate, threefold, Retribution, unforgetting… He cannot shun what is foredoomed.” Which according to Google (because I had no clue lol) means “that absolute cosmic power belongs to inescapable destiny, not even to Zeus. Intelligence or force cannot overturn what is pre-ordained by these primordial forces.” 
  • So, Prometheus knows that Hercules will save him- it is Fated. But Prometheus will have to suffer for a long time before that happens, as he says, “Ten generations must first pass and then three more.”
  • Io tells Prometheus that she would rather die than continue to endure Zeus’s curse, but Prometheus reminds her “For me there is no end…”
• Last little tidbit: Io describes a herdsman named Argus who was violent and watched her *“with his hundred eyes”...*Which is very familiar to a day in February 1884. Not to worry, though, “death came to him, swift and unforeseen.” lol

I’m currently re-reading Edith Hamilton’s Three Greek Plays (1937) and I am getting the most uncanny of feelings. It seems as though BB could have used this exact book to have set up her characters. Uncanny, really and truly.  As Emma reads Plutarch in Vol 7, she mentions Lycurgus’ tomb was struck by lightning in Sparta (there’s some debate about who this could be alluding to but I lean toward Hawkes as Lycurgus). Emma says, “This was taken as a sign of favour, as the only other person to whom this happened was beloved Euripides…” see u/MLC311311 ‘s post about comparing Lycurgus and Euripides which is excellent! Lycurgus came after Euripides and held his work to particularly high esteem. Both men held women to particularly high esteem for their time, as well.

It has been a while since I read any Euripides, so I picked up my Hamilton translation and just was absolutely blown away by how perfectly she aligns Euripides to Pierce, and very occasionally Hawkes! The EML characters are positively teeming in these pages.  I’m going to attempt to spell it out for you all here, too, in three parts for three plays- but be warned that I underlined nearly every line of her intros to the plays and will do a great deal of quoting her work because, holy smokes… SO similar to our characters. When I finish with my re-read of this, I’ll be snooping pics of BB’s Instagram pictures of her bookshelves to see if this volume is there… I already apologize for the length of this post but to keep this to myself would be a crime lol

Part One: A Pacifist in Periclean Athens- Intro to Three Trojan Women by Euripides

• Hamilton reports this to be “The greatest piece of anti-war literature there is in the world…” written in 416BC. In the same paragraph, she says it was essentially ignored, saying, “In that faraway age a man saw with perfect clarity what war was, and wrote what he saw in a play of surpassing power, and then– nothing happened. No one was won over to his side…” with complacency in the millennia following.
• Written in 1937, before the anti-war movement of the 60s and MLK Jr, she writes, “And except for Christ, to whom non-resistance was fundamental, we do not know of anyone else who disbelieved in violence as a means of doing good.” I would say our Photographer might have been one of these people!
• She then considers Shakespeare, who does not let his own views of the virtue of war shine through, but shows both sides through his characters.  I lie not, she cites King Henry’s “band of brothers” monologue which mentions Saint Crispin’s day.  I double underlined that part in my book! She uses that excerpt to draw attention to how Shakespeare wrote of the glory of war. Then, in an excerpt that occurs shortly after this monologue, she cites an example of Shakespeare drawing attention to the cost of war on the citizens of Harfleur. She says, “It is not possible to know what Shakespeare really thought about war… Always that disconcerting power of imagination blocks the way to our knowledge of him.”
• Then, and I lie not… She mentions Isaiah.  “‘The burden of the valley of vision,’ wrote Isaiah, when he alone knew what could save his world from ruin.  To perceive an overwhelmingly important truth of which no one else sees a glimmer, is loneliness such as few even in the long history of the world can have had to suffer. But Euripides suffered it for the greater part of his long life. The valley of vision was his abiding place.” Sounds like a certain Vicar to me…
• Hamilton compares Sophocles to Euripides
  • Sophocles resigned to the terrible fate of war: “To him the way to be enabled to endure what was happening, the only way for a man to put life through no matter what happened, was to face facts unwaveringly and accept them, to perceive clearly and bear steadfastly the burden of the human lot, which is as it is and never will be different.” Okay, so.... to me, this line is very much like a certain monologue by a secret legal guardian on April 25, 1884 in a certain Rabbit Room. “There are forces at work in my life, Emma, and the only way I can see how to manage them, the only way I can keep those I care for safe, is… to keep a certain distance.” Hawkes is a Sophocles character for now, resigned to the fate of his world, but will Euripides’ views rub off on him so he is able to take his “fighting chance?” (More on The ForcesTM and how I think Hawkes might change from a resigned Sophocles figure to a Prometheus figure who takes action despite the cost with the help of our resident Euripides/Pierce when I review Prometheus Bound.) 
  • Now for Euripides’ view: “But Euripides saw clearest of all not what is, but what might be. So rebels are made. Great rebels all know the valley of vision.  They see possibilities: this evil and that ended; human life transformed; people good and happy.” 
  • There are more apt comparisons of Sophocles and Euripides, with one literally mentioning Heracles/Hercules, another Pierce figure (who is noted to have saved Prometheus BTW). If I went on I fear I will have quoted every line. Just know there's more and Hawkes and Pierce. I find this to be the case with almost all veins of symbolism in EML, (including the symbolism of a storm- water and wind coming together),  but looking into the Greek symbolism specifically, I find Hawkes and Pierce to be so very tangled together, sometimes taking each other’s role, and sometimes fighting with or alongside each other. Hamilton gives us more examples for this.
• Euripides’s death is not well documented per Hamilton, and no lightning strike was mentioned here.  She believes he was exiled due to his shedding light on what war truly is.  “Athens called that being unpatriotic, not to say traitorous, just as emphatically as the most Aryan Nazi today could. And Euripides kept making her think.” Niall, is that you???? Is that why you left America??? 
• As accidental leader of the NCCMS, and with a recent post about the end of Vol 5 mentioning the numbers 27 and 12 to my great confusion, I must note the numbers in this section.
  • The war Euripides lived through lasted twenty seven years.  
  • Three years into fighting, an Aegean island revolted. Athens was so disgusted with this that they sent fleets to kill the men and ravage the city.  Shortly after the fleet was dispatched, the Athenians realized the mistake this action would be to their values and sent a smaller crew ahead to prevent their intentions with the fleet. “We are told how the rowers rowed as none ever before, and how they did arrive in time” Reprobates, is that you?? 
  • Twelve years later (fifteen years into the war) another island revolted against Athens.  “...but by that time Athens was incapable of weighing pros and cons. She took the island….. And we hear of no one who protested.” Shortly after this, Euripides brings out The Trojan Women, chronicling the end of a ten-year war and its terrible consequences.

    

• Three Trojan women has very little action.  Almost none.  The primary plot point is the unnecessary death of a toddler at the hands of the already-victorious Greeks. The only light in the play is from a window which shows the light of the burning city. Hamilton writes, “That is the whole of it. Not one gleam of light anywhere. Euripides had asked himself what war is like when one looks straight at it, and this is his answer.”  NIALL PIERCE, INDEED. The play is almost exclusively made up of women who “talk little about the heroes, much about the helpless,” and one of the only men in the play is a soldier who seems to recognize the follies of his orders but says he must complete them anyway. Not related to EML, but for this translation to be written just before WWII is interesting, to be sure. Pierce tells his mother about the women/mothers he has seen suffering in war, specifically, and what they are forced to do.

On the actual play:

• One of the women in the play, who is wondering to whom she will be assigned (because the play notes that death would be too merciful for a woman who could otherwise be used), states, “The land of Theseus, Athens, is known to be a happy place. I wish I could go there.” I don’t totally believe this from the woman, but as Hawkes and Emma are positioned to be Theseus/Athena I find this positive mention to be notable. The play also makes Odysseus out to be the villain (a Hawkes character) but notes that his wife (Penelope) is wise and fair.
• The women are noted to be exceptionally strong and supportive of each other in their despair which reminds me of our Heroine Emma. “Life cannot be what death is, child. Death is empty– life has hope.”
• At the very end of the play, Queen-turned-slave Hecuba looks out to the burning city, and calls out to her dead children in the burning city she once ruled. Another woman gently responds “They are dead, those you are speaking to.” Maxwell. “Pain, all pain.”

The find that was made in the comment section of my crazy number post last night deserves its own post, I believe.

Click here for more insane number breakdowns and watch my real-time freak-out in the comment section if you need entertainment... lol https://www.reddit.com/r/EmmaLion/comments/1vgo66h/number_mania/

I'll copy sections of the start of it to make my case here for why I'm looking into 773 at all:

It all started on May 21, 1884..... Emma is outside Hawkes' boarding house corridor and then outside of his room: “I turned to look at the door. Then I counted to seven. And for good measure counted again, but to twenty-one. Turning to the left I saw a room 13, then a 5, and lastly, the door with 773…." October 24th is the entry that hit me like a dump truck: On the first Sunday after the first Thursday dinner, the reprobates admit to Emma that ALL (ten-meaning Hawkes included) of the Reprobates pined for her last night. She asks if it was really all of them and one responds “certainly.” They say she was one of seven that we’re pining for and Emma was number three, then Emma mentioned Dante’s seven levels of hell… Hawkes’ number- 773.

If you choose to read my lengthy, crackpot manifesto, I think I make a decent enough case that these numbers and their associated numbers play important roles in the series in a way I don't think is accidental.
u/ArdenWestlea suggested looking for page 773 of the series....

Page 50 of Vol 5:

https://preview.redd.it/r54k1196qqhh1.png?width=320&format=png&auto=webp&s=87242af3a1e8010b209f821593d5242fbe973910

​I. Lie. Not. I lie not!!

Beginning with "I am Fate." The middle includes "uncanny," Islington being very sweet to Emma and telling her that Hawkes will show up for her (granted, at the last second, but still), and ending with (albeit unheard but then why mentioned at all?) FOOTSTEPS ON THE STAIRS and they are Hawkes'! Less important but may be something: she mentions her "second" will arrive shortly... her second side of the prophesy, perhaps?

Given how strange it is that Emma notes she counts to 7 then to 21 in the corridor of the boarding house, u/Surgeon-to-old-souls suggested looking at page 28(7+21) of the series. This is what I find:

https://preview.redd.it/davdlty7qqhh1.png?width=320&format=png&auto=webp&s=ec77888cbc1a316079f216969731eb2b386140ad

I. LIE. NOT.

.

.

.

Now, there are many things this could mean that could Pierce, for a lack of a better word, the Hawkes bubble I'm in.

-She does not hear his footsteps on the stairs. (Granted, I posit that this is because Hawkes "slips through time" or at least is a sneaky, sneaky guy like Jack and can go anywhere undetected- possibly becoming more relaxed with less need for stealth when Emma is his other half of home, but I digress) She does not hear them and that is clearly stated.

-There could be numbers associated with Pierce and Islington in future that are VERY intentionally set apart to be important (like a page dedicated to how odd that number is, supported via indirect mentions in other entries, etc.) by Beth in future volumes that have similar associations when looked at with this lens.

-Even if my Hawksian theory is correct, I also think this means we are in for the long haul. When they meet shortly after Maxwell dies, he asks her to "wait." Then it is three years before they speak again. Could it be 7 years after that date when they finally get together? This would put us at the end of the series. That would certainly align with Hawkes' last minute arrival on our fated 773 page. Is Beth preparing us for a last-page endgame with this?

-Seconded to this^, I think 5 is a Pierce number and this could go with his being the other side of the prophesy. About 3 years after Maxwell dies, they meet. Will it be 5 years after his death that they break up? This would put us at the end of 1884/beginning of 1885, any many have already hypothesized a spit at that time anyway...

Lastly I'll add my comment regarding possible important page numbers in Vol 1 from my comment on the other post. These could mean many things! They seem slightly less significant but still something:
-Page 3 starts off talking about Parian Taking Emma’s old rooms. She talks about Lapis Lazuli, finds Paradise lost, and the last sentence is “And so I say to myself, welcome home.”
-Page 5 she talks about being confined to her Garrett and taking meals there instead of the dining room. Who takes meals with her in the dining room later and shares a Garrett wall? Pierce. A Pierce number.
-Page 8 (5+3) mentions Islington
-Page 7 is LITERALLY blank except this one sentence at the top: “my great thanks, cousin Matilde, for your generous view on my future life” as Matilde had just complained about women having girls first. Is Emma going to bear a girl first then?
-Page 10 she describes St. Crispian’s layout. She says Maxwell always said he would have taken up rooms on Traitors Road…..
-Page 13 (which is possibly an Islington number mind you) she talks about The Dalliance and introduces Arabella…..
-Page 17 only says “Rain, dismal enough to be cozy.”
-Page 18 (5+13) discusses the allowance she was owed and that Cousin Archibald is withholding her Tidy Sum.
-Page 21 introduces the mice.. which sets up Emma and Pierce.

ETA: https://www.reddit.com/r/EmmaLion/s/ydixdaYwIZ because I can’t forget for a third time… the lion’s den, of course.

No one asked for this.

I am being this guy right now:

https://preview.redd.it/klsl0li0ymhh1.png?width=246&format=png&auto=webp&s=2ea4a3477435d574fce7630d400c0edaebe67517

Here goes!

I didn't think numbers and dates would be that important in EML, but with Beth including layer upon layer of symbolism and classic lit references, I should have known. "Geometry/Euclid" are also important, so I REALLY should have known. This is the beginning and basis to my collection and notes on my crazy number theory. PLEASE add to it! It all started on May 21, 1884..... Emma is outside Hawkes' boarding house corridor and then outside of his room: “I turned to look at the door. Then I counted to seven. And for good measure counted again, but to twenty-one. Turning to the left I saw a room 13, then a 5, and lastly, the door with 773…."

I thought, "Hmm, those numbers are probably important!" and then did not look into it further whatsoever until my *insert embarrassingly large number* reread. Then, October 24th is the entry that hit me like a dump truck: On the first Sunday after the first Thursday dinner, the reprobates admit to Emma that ALL (ten-meaning Hawkes included) of the Reprobates pined for her last night. She asks if it was really all of them and one responds “certainly.” They say she was one of seven that we’re pining for and Emma was number three, then Emma mentioned Dante’s seven levels of hell… Hawkes’ number- 773.

Hmmmmm.

Here's the beginning of my collection. I apologize in advance for the length.

NUMBERS 773- 3, 7, (7+3)10, (7+7+3)17, (7x3)21 as Hawkes and/or Emma numbers and also 5 as a Pierce number. 13 as an Islington number?? Or Emma because of her birthday and overall bad luck?? TBD. 10 might also be an Alchemy number.

• Symbolism per Google:
  • Three- creativity, completeness, and harmony across various cultural, spiritual, and mathematical contexts. It is widely viewed as a sacred or magical digit representing a complete cycle of a beginning, a middle, and an end. Creativity and Expression: Symbolizes artistic inspiration, communication, joy, and the power of self-expression. Mind, Body, Spirit: Represents balance, harmony, and the union of past, present, and future or beginning, middle, and end. Creation: Considered the point where two opposing forces interact to produce a third, new entity or result. 
  • Seven- completeness, spiritual perfection, and divine order, bridging the physical and the mystical. Creation and Rest: God finished making the world in six days and rested on the seventh, marking total completion. The Seeker: Numerology views 7 as the thinker, analyst, and seeker of deep, hidden truths. Inner Wisdom: It stands for introspection, intuition, and looking past surface illusions to understand life's mysteries
  • Ten- The number 10 symbolizes completeness, divine order, and the end of a cycle leading to a new beginning. Wholeness: Combines the power of 1 (new start) and 0 (infinite potential), representing the sum of a full journey from 1 to 9. New Cycles: Marks the finish of an old chapter and the immediate start of the next level. Perfection: Viewed by ancient thinkers like Pythagoras as a symbol of structural perfection.
  • 17- representing karma, material balance, and personal power. Spiritual Growth: Often viewed as a bridge between the physical and spiritual worlds, pointing to resilience after hard times. In numerology, the angel number 17 represents spiritual growth, inner strength, compassion, and resilience. In biblical numerology, 17 symbolizes "complete victory" and the overcoming of the enemy or trials.
  • 21- The number 21 symbolizes adulthood, completion, and major life transitions across cultural, spiritual, and numerological traditions. It marks the threshold of maturity, a full cycle of growth, and a transition into new beginnings
  • Five- The number 5 symbolizes freedom, change, and human experience, representing the five senses, grace, and the balance between earth and spirit. The Explorer: Driven by deep curiosity, a love for travel, and a hunger for new sensory experiences. Adaptability: Highly versatile and comfortable with unpredictability, movement, and breaking out of old routines. Core Middle Point: Represents the human experience via the five senses, serving as our primary way to interact with and express ourselves in the physical world. Positive vs. Negative Expression
  • 13- “The number 13 has many meanings depending on the context. In Western culture, it is widely viewed as a symbol of bad luck. In numerology and spirituality, it represents major transformation. Tied to Christian tradition where 13 people attended the Last Supper (Jesus and his 12 apostles), with Judas considered the 13th guest who betrayed him.” Another betrayal foreshadowing moment?

 

Additionally:

• Emma comes of age and Hawkes assumes guardianship when she is 21
• Lots of important Hawkes days happen on the 21st and that date is thought to be his birthday- a la Declan.
• There are 7 years between Emma and Hawkes, 10 years between Emma and Islington, and 13 years between Emma and Pierce.

Now, here are a few dates and ages that are important. Notice that (at least with what we have so far) the 3, 7, and 10 numbers are most important.

• Things that happened ~3 years ago: ~1880 Emma was 17, Hawkes 24, Islington 27, Pierce 30
  • Maxwell died. Was she at Matilde’s already? Not sure. I think so. July 27, 1880.
  • “The engagement on July 27, 1880, was at the Battle of Maiwand during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Afghan forces led by Mohammad Ayub Khan decisively defeated a outnumbered British and Indian brigade under Brigadier-General George Burrows, resulting in nearly 1,000 British/Indian casualties and a famous last stand by the 66th Regiment”
  • Archibald receives a letter from Aunt Eugenia telling him Maxwell died. He tells Hawkes.
  • Emma is sent to Matilde’s at some point that year, either just before or just after Maxwell’s death. Soon after, Archibald reports to Parian that Emma died. Could this have been a miscommunication? Possibly.
  • The Scar incident resulting in Emma not coming back to St. Crispians until she was released from Cousin Matilde’s. 
  • Hawkes gave Emma the lion card, was it the visit of The Scar? Possibly.
  • Lightning strikes the church/the house next to Islington’s floods per “The Window” Gazette.
  • Mary moved to London November 7, 1880
  • Maggie elopes in early 1880 per the Gazette letter from Marianna to Islington
• Things that happened ~5 years ago:
  • Not sure?
• Things that happened ~7 years ago: ~1876 Emma was 13, Hawkes 20, Islington 23, Pierce 26
  • Hawkes comes to St Crispian's and gives his first sermon with Emma and Declan present. New Years sermon? Or maybe it was towards the end of 1875...
  • Emma’s parents both die 11 months apart. She says she is 13 for both. Possibly newly 13 for one and just before turning 14 for the other- all within the year 1876? Which would make her Father's death date around her birthday and her Mother's death date around Christmas... that poor girl. No wonder she didn't want to do much for her birthday.
  • LLH became banned from the gazette via one Cousin Archibald.
• Things that happened ~10 years ago: ~1873 Emma was 10, Hawkes 17, Islington 20, Pierce 23
  • Islington drama- his sister died and we assume Becca married the Austrian count shortly after
  • Islington meets Declan and sits for Saffronia's portrait
  • Glory dies but it may have been the year after that? Not sure. They were 17 when she married the blacksmith’s son, then I think she dies the next year. Maybe Emma will learn about it in 1884 and at that point it will have been 10 years ago.
  • It would have been a few weeks away from Emma turning 10 that Declan wrote to Hawkes and mentioned her in the December 23, 187* Gazette. He writes that she is currently nine years old and this would have occurred about 10 years before the start of the story as well.
• Things that happened ~13 years ago:
  • None of note
• Things that happened ~17 years ago:
  • None of note. I think it’s more important that Emma was 17 when major life events happened. 
  • BUT, in the December 23, 187* Gazette, Declan reminds Hawkes that they met when she was about 4 or 5, which if Emma finds out about this in 1884-1885, it would have been 17 years before she finds out (~1867-68).
• Thinks that happened ~21 years ago: ~1862 Emma was -1 lol, Hawkes was 6, Islington was 9, Pierce was 12
  • Pierce has just left home and is in the Civil War.
  • Hawkes is gallivanting with Glory on the cliffs.
  • Islington is with his first alchemy, or at the very least, his twin.

So at least in the span of time, these numbers seem to be very important, but I'm still collecting their mention in the story itself. It would be useless to share them all now as it's nowhere near comprehensive, but think one of the Alchemy men tapping their fingers 3 times, Pierce glaring at someone for 5 seconds, darts scores being won or lost "3 to 5" etc etc etc. as u/MLC311311 noted in a recent post, 53 is also an important number (5 and 3 together? Or is there more?).

I'll close on my favorite find, though. Regarding the poem Hawkes quotes to Emma right before the "you and Pierce..." comment on June 19: Wordsworth is known for poems that almost exclusively have one-syllable and two-syllable words. The one Hawkes chooses to quote here has many three-syllable (and four-syllable) words. Then he says he wants to quote less poetry…. Lol indirect much, Mighty Nigel?

I am fully aware that this theory is one of the more ridiculous and a good example of why I need Vol 9 so I’ll stop ruminating on nonsense, but if it happens to come true I want to have it written down somewhere 🫣

Emma makes comments herself about Pierce being the Pyramus to her Thisbe, what with the all letters through the wall. There’s another couple known for their letter writing brought to our attention by their mention in the Glory Substack (along with Tristan and Isolde- I’ll come back to that) who is mostly associated with Hawkes but what if it is actually/additionally related to Pierce?

Heloise D'Argenteuil is literally translated to Eloise Silver and is known for the love letters she wrote to her tutor, making her the lead in the theories regarding who could be the Pear Scented Lady. I believe this to be true! Hawkes could very well agreed to tutor her and wrote to her because of that. The name translation is also uncanny. The joke is, though, that Eloise’s tutor/love/letter-recipient Ableard ends up being castrated- so are the Reprobates really just there to Protect Hawkes’ manhood? (Lol- silly, I know).

The “Romeo and Juliet” story is associated with Emma’s/Pierce’s romance and Hawkes’ other childhood love (mentioned to be the ethereal beauties like Heloise and Isolde- if Eloise is Heloise, there’s still Isolde left…)
-Emma/Pierce= Pyramus and Thisbe
-Hawkes/???= Tristan and Isolde

So the same stories can be copied but what if the Heloise/Ableard story is copied/mirrored, too? And what if this time, a form of castration IS involved?? It’s not just Hawkes and the PSL/Eloise who write letters. Emma and Pierce do too.

Pierce tells Emma after Nettle that his stepfather is one of many reasons he doesn’t wish for children. What if he can’t have children? What if he was stabbed in such a way that would prevent his ability to have them?

Anywhoooo… Talk me off this ledge I don’t want this to be true 😭

ETA- In the spirit of an ensuring a full and complete record, Charles Goddard tells Pierce on Guy Fawkes night that he likens himself and Emma as Romeo and Juliet. So, I suppose that story is copied the full three times. 😅

Hawkes and Islington at Nettle have always confounded me to some degree and I would love some help figuring out why 😩🙏🏻

So they see Nance… and Emma notes more than once that Hawkes and Islington are having a discussion on the side. I always just assumed they were astounded as Emma is about the whole situation, but it’s noted so often that they are speaking to each other without including Emma that now I think it may have to do with Emma?? Could that be possible?

I also have wondered what it was exactly that tipped them off that Pierce and Emma have a mutual understanding. Hawkes likely “suspected” something, but now I feel as though he may have suspected that his suspicions were just that Pierce had feelings for Emma and were not mutual (see my previous post about the first Thursday dinner post-kiss for more discussion here). (I’m even thinking now that Hawkes and Islington may have suspected that Emma had feelings for Hawkes by Vol 7 or sooner, but I digress.) So was it Pierce asking Emma if she would be comfortable meeting his mother that confirmed it for Hawkes and Islington that there was an understanding between them? Something else in the conversation that did it? If so, could that be what they are talking about?

Could one be comforting the other over this revelation????

Also, I found it odd that Pierce asked them to go with him to his mother’s house and then neither go in, feigning business to attend to in town. He didn’t exclude them in that request, but they exclude themselves. At first I thought they were providing some time for the newly discovered lovebirds to be with his family more privately… but that’s not what Pierce asked for, so why stay back? Is one of them spiraling over the fact that Emma is taken and needs time to calm down?

Help me parse this out, please!! I know we likely won’t ever know but doesn’t it feel like there are pieces to the puzzle missing here?

When Hawkes walks Pierce and Emma home after the first dinner after their kiss in early March, Emma senses he knows something and looks at them seriously and with some confusion/curiosity, then smirks. She believes he smirks from “part amusement, part curiosity.”

I think this is one of the ways she could be an unreliable narrator and ties into another way she’s an unreliable narrator 🫣

We haven’t gotten a description of what Pierce sounds like when he walks up and down stairs. She should know how it sounds! (She should also note Oberon’s hair, etc, but here we are. lol) It is entirely possible that Pierce does not sound as though he limps on stairs. It is also entirely possible that it does. Unreliable indeed.

Hawkes, we presume, would know how Pierce sounds traversing stairs as well. He is also the only other one who knows about her NYE vision. He knows she didn’t recognize the person coming up the stairs who sounded like “the other half of home.” Could he know that Emma won’t end up with Pierce? Is he questioning why she is entertaining this if she should know it too?

There are many that believe Islington is endgame, and it could be that he is questioning here but he knows it won’t be permanent so there could still be a way for Islington to swoop in.

However, I posit that he is beginning to make way for her in his life during vol 7 so he can be with her romantically, but she becomes “official” with Pierce before he can sort the “forces.” Emma and Pierce both suspect that he knows something is going on, but is it possible that he thought it wouldn’t get so serious so quickly? That he had more time? His smirk here could be interpreted incorrectly by Emma. I believe it is NOT curiosity, but instead due to the hope he can still carry from her vision- that even if Pierce happens now, he can still end up with her!

The May Day entry leads me to Hawkes as end game in more than one way. Below is a theory taking special note of a scene not often discussed and a phrase I hadn’t seen discussed before.

Emma sees Hawkes in cousin Archibald’s tent in the morning. Hawkes is trying to discern where he and Emma stand after discovering he is technically her guardian. Hawkes often avoids looking directly at Emma- she seems to note each time she has his full attention as it is a rarity. Although he is still not very verbose here, we get a glimpse of what it’s like when he does. To me it seems like sparks fly! Especially here: “Hawkes, finally looking me directly in the eye, have a soft smile. It looked like relief. Our conversation in the Rabbit Room, the letter from my father, the unanswered questions, could be managed between we two. Hawkes and I took a parallel breath. Then his smile slid into something stronger.” They seems so on the same page, like an old married couple who are on the same team. Later, he even winks at her, noting it is “unlike Hawkes and yet so Hawksian.” The only other time she says he is acting unlike himself is when he asks about her and Pierce at Stonecrop (Islington points out he is not like himself after the Easter sermon but Emma didn’t clock it). He seems to be letting her in for a moment here. What we wouldn’t give for a few more moments of that, let alone what it would be like if he took his guard down completely!

I digress.

Between that and leaving from the prophesy:
-Emma sees Hawkes win in the boxing ring, surprising everyone and shedding new light on Hawkes hitherto-fore unknown. (I believe this is important to Hawkes and Pierce’s relationship, too! Pierce needed to see him as not just a vicar.)
-She sees him taking off his coat, etc and notes that it should have been intimate if it weren’t for him drawing himself away. Would it have been intimate to her if he gave her the attention he gave her earlier in the tent? With Pierce sitting right there? Emma… haha
-He is noted to have blue and green striped suspenders. Their colors.
-She sees him shirtless!
-She doesn’t let him run away, surprising him, which surprises her. She sees what he needs and asserts herself to care for him in a way no one else would dare do, showing she is strong enough to break a curse (assuming Hawkes is Oberon)
-Then, the prophesy, where his book is sitting in her lap the whole time.
-After that, she immediately says it was “uncanny” a word her father used about Hawkes.

Now onto the phrase I haven’t seen discussed much before, which happens and she and Saffronia leave:

“We found Islington and Pierce in fierce competition at ringala, a boisterous crowd gathered…. I smiled as the two seemed to play up a rivalry for the sake of those watching…. In the end, Pierce won by a single ring”

Every poll I’ve ever seen puts Islington at the top of the list for endgame, and even if he isn’t considered to be endgame I would posit that the majority place Islington as one of the two sides of the prophesy at least. However, what if that line is telling us that the clues pointing to Islington are “played up… for the sake of those watching.” Meaning us, the readers. Pierce wins that round and he has “won” Emma for the moment. To me, this could mean he “won” a spot as one of the two sides of the prophesy. As for the other, is this a clue that Islington isn’t the other side?

….who wins the biggest fight of the day, though?

Then:
-Emma notes a blue-green hue her father loved. Their colors combined.
-She notes the word “uncanny” again.
-She wished to throw her arms around him when he arrived.
-He cares for her unease about the prophesy like none of the others, with her stating he was “placing a star in my hand” and talking to her about it.

So many clues point to Hawkes! Share thoughts on my ramblings, please!

ETA:
-I forgot to mention that when Hawkes reenters, Saffronia notes what he has done to his “beautiful” face. She is seen many times throughout the series and possibly pushing Emma and Hawkes together and this is one of them. Islington explains the fight, Saffronia responds, looks to Emma!!, then the conversation moves elsewhere.
-on May 3, the next day, she is irked by the prophesy and is noted to read it 7 times, a number very associated with Hawkes. His room being 773 and she counts to 7 then 21 (7x3) before entering.

I’m thinking about the story arcs for the different seasons of Emma’s journals. I thought the books already released were one season, but I recently read on BB’s website that 1883 is a season and the subsequent calendar years will be a season, with four total. 1883 is marked by Maxwell heavily- by the end of December she seems to have wrung out her grief for the most part and starts gaining weight back. The first book of 1884 is a white/cream which could symbolize new beginnings with a new love interest now that she has buried Maxwell and dealt with the worst of her grief. 1884 is heavily marked by Pierce as a love interest.

Knowing that the season ended in 1883 rather than in book 8 made it seem like there was a significant line drawn between where she is in her love life between seasons. Could each season’s story arc surround a love/man of sorts? Not that the stories is only a romance, but I could see this lining up. As a Team Hawkes gal myself, I see the first season being Maxwell, the second Pierce, the third being a marriage/engagement out of necessity with Islington OR her being at Oxford 🤞🏻, and the fourth and final being her ending up with Hawkes. If we are splitting the series into halves, I posit that the first “act” will be Pierce focused with Maxwell as a secondary, and the second “act” will be Hawkes focused with Islington as secondary as I see them as both sides of the prophesy.

Obviously Team Islington and Pierce (and Roland!) fans will have different ideas about who might take up most of the storylines for each act and season, but what are we theorizing the seasons might be at this point overall??