r/EmmaLion

“Through fire, nature is reborn whole”

Relistening (again) and noticed something new in the first entry of Journal 7:

“Storms are ominous portents in literature, but when I forced myself from the rumpled tousle of my bed and looked out the window, there was no gloom or ill fate to be had, as if the strong-handed rain had only been intent on washing away the soot and grime and dust of a long winter. It was not gentle, but it was good. And I was glad for it. Now I’m feeling almost eager to see Pierce. To speak with him.”

I missed this before, the idea of the storm being a cleansing experience that washes away the gloom (including the “soot and grime and dust”).

This entry is on March 1st, the first entry that follows the first kiss. The description of this storm made me think of the imagery of Emma’s dream at the end of Journal 8, as the wind and storm are all around her and she clings to the burnt and broken tree. I do believe the tree in this dream to represent Pierce, or a symbol of life that includes Pierce, like her heart or her future or a sense of home, if/when anything happens to Pierce or LLH, or both. All of the entries with the strong wind, the storm, the rain, the changes in atmosphere - these are all Pierce. But the thunder and the lightning? I am starting to believe more and more that the fire and the lightning are Emma. Her emotions, her actions, her conflicts - all of the fire she carries inside her. I know I’ve already said this elsewhere, but Emma seems like the fire.

Journal 7 (3/1/84) - after the first kiss

“Volleys of rain came down half the night. Gusts of wind like cannon fire shaking the windows, as if the storm were being thrown against Lapis Lazuli by the handfuls. Warlike and belligerent, only a thin roof between myself and each clap of thunder. The battle raged until dawn, water streaming off the roof and down the window like an extra sheet of glass, distorting the grey morning.”

Journal 8 (6/30/84) - after Nettle

“Then storm and rain, come with lightning. The tree struck…. marked with lines of spent fire. In the rain, beside the tree… l threw my arms around the trunk and held it, weeping. The night persisted, a cold rain lashing over the hill. Still I clung to the tree. After what seemed like an abyss of hours, the rain abated. The wind also. And I, wet through, pulled myself away. I pressed my hands against the damp, black wood. Tracing every split, every scar. Hours passed. I do not know why I stayed. Then the sky growing lighter. A line of gold on the horizon…..
….And then the impossible: hope. Profound, peaceful hope. Lifting a finger to the crevice in the wall, I knew. I knew that I would give the hope to Pierce, if I could. Every golden coin of it.”

Help... the more I reread, the more I see the appeal of an Islington romance. I'm still a Hawkes-truther mind you, but I fear the man has bewitched me 🧍🏼‍♀️

A small list of my favorite volume 2 Islington moments:

• The journal. His record of trees and birds is so very endearing, and Emma upon returning it describing it as a favorite book... oh Henry, how beautiful your words must be

• Ah.

• "Aren't you supposed to be in a crypt somewhere, for your sins?"

• Emma studying him through the binoculars as he watches her do so after Mary's invitation to join the Jane Eyres

• "And so it was that I brought the Duke of Islington home, as if he were a found puppy."

• How immediately sweet he was to Agnes when she was flustered at the sight of him

• Emma commenting on the scene and Islington himself seeming flustered for a moment

• Islington-adjacent moment? Emma's rather... detailed... account of how he looked during the meeting of the Jane Eyres followed by, "Goodness. It certainly sounds like I was staring. I wasn't." Sure, Emma.

• Islington checking on Emma the day after the endeavor to reclaim Jane Eyre from Mrs. Wade, quietly concerned about Jack's involvement

• "I have had many rabbits in my Rabbit Room, Miss Lion. Alas, you have not been one of them."

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??

I am re-reading book 2, and loved these lines from Roland while dancing with Emma on June 9th.

“Emma Lion, at the club tonight I’ll be congratulated on dancing with every glowing beauty in the room, yourself included.”

“Arabella Spencer is one of the most beautiful women in the history of this world, Emma, but you are seen more than you believe.”

“You see me, not many do…they see my form, Emma. They see my money and my position, but you look directly at me. I’m not a statue for you to parade about.”

I’m beginning to think that he might be caught off guard if/when Emma discloses romantic feelings for someone else. Do you think in the back of his mind, he sees Emma as the only one he could have a real relationship with? With that level of childhood teasing and attention , it seems like he likely fancied Emma. Maybe he has kept himself at arms length because of Maxwell?

Aunt Eugenia seems socially obligated to have them around for events, but I'm confused as to why.

I think it's actually one of the men who beat Pierce up. So, while Pierce is also the "cause", I don't think he's actually the one who destroys it.

I’ve just recently finished Book 8 and seeing how close the group has rallied for one another I will be so disappointed if BB makes anyone in the Alchemy a secondary love interest. It seems so out of character for Islington or Hawkes to betray the loyalty they’ve so reverently show one another and Pierce.

If she feels the need to introduce another love interest, I hope it’s an outside character or someone yet to be met. For me, it just doesn’t align with the characters at this point to be fighting over Emma.

I also think that we’re so conditioned to have these highly dramatized stories/multiple love interests but maybe it’s just me, this series has never felt like that type of story to me. While Emma has talked about the attractiveness of Islington and Hawkes she’s never romanticized her relationship with them (at least to me). Maybe I’m just a Pierce loyalist but I hope Emma is there to help him grow and learn he is not alone. I’ll be quite upset if the narrative gets messy fighting over a girl.

This... got a lot longer than I intended. Apologies.

I suggest checking out Rabbit Hole Soul Sisters on Substack. They make a lot of the same points, and far more eloquently than I do.

But here are some of the reasons I truly believe that Hawkes has a solid chance of being endgame:

1. Unbeknownst to Emma, he's important in her life far before she forms a friendship with him. He knew her father well, had known for years that he was to be her guardian, if necessary, once she turned 21, and gave her the lion card with "imperterritus" on it, which became her personal motto of sorts.

2. The transition in their relationship is, in my opinion, the biggest change out of the three. She's attracted to and fascinated by Pierce from the beginning. She and Islington have had a feisty, banter-filled type of friendship from the start as well. But with Hawkes, you go from her calling him Young Hawkes exclusively, and describing him as "aloof" with "cold blue eyes", to actively seeking him out, obsessing over his whereabouts when he disappears, and referring to him on more than one occasion as "my Hawkes".

3. His chair. He's the only one of the guys with his own seat at her home, and she's rather particular about who sits in it. I've seen people say that if he's the king and she's the queen, they both have their "thrones" there.

4. The color blue and the sea/water are tied to him, and there are many, many references to them throughout. The RHSS make some fantastic connections here.

5. While he tends to keep his distance from her, there are several instances of physical touch between them, and not in the way of helping her from a carriage, dancing, etc. - She sleeps on his shoulder on the bench, he wraps his scarf around her on Valentine's Day, he holds her hand and gives her a "star" after the May Day prophecy, he puts his hand on her shoulder with his thumb resting against her bare neck (!) when the guardian letter scene happens. None of these instances are exactly proper for the time period!

6. The man literally quotes romantic poetry in his sermons while looking at her. Come on.

7. I think it's very significant that he added her name to the key to his room. Why Emma? He tells her that it's for an emergency only, but still, why Emma? It could have been one of the Reprobates (though, granted, I don't think I'd give any of them access to my room without me present, either), or it could have been Pierce if it's only for emergency use - their friendship has grown enough that it would be reasonable. But he chose Emma. He trusts her more than anyone, outside of Islington.

8. The whole scene in his room is charged, in my opinion. Emma states that while she has loved her friends' places, she loves his more. She's absolutely fascinated. She sits in his chair to see how he - scratch that - IT feels. She so badly wants to snoop. Then Hawkes shows up and watches her from the doorway. Her description of him here is... yeah. She says he looks like someone else at first, then that falls away, and he's "my Hawkes" again. The way he sits on the bed, clearly exhausted, and just watches her. If this were her and Islington in Islington's private room, the Islington girls would LOSE THEIR MINDS. lol

9. She's been crowned the Queen of the Reprobates. If Hawkes is the leader of the Reprobates, this is a very interesting thing. There are actually multiple "king" references and nods to Hawkes throughout.

10. Everyone talks about how Emma says she's half in love with Islington after reading his journal, but she says something similar about Oberon, who I believe is Hawkes.

11. She displays a bit of jealousy in reference to the Pear Scented Lady's letters. Actually, that whole scene where she rescues the letter feels a bit flirty. "Are you trying to best me, Miss Lion?"

12. Hawkes gifts her the books that seem to be the most meaningful to her: her father's Ireland book and Treasure Island, which helps her after Maxwell's funeral. Also, two of her most treasured books are her father's Shakespeare and her mother's Bible, and Hawkes has a lot of ties to Shakespeare, and obviously to the Bible as the vicar.

13. Their lives would fit so beautifully together. They value a lot of the same things, and I feel like, of all the men, her life would be able to stay the closest to what she says she wants in one of the early books. (I don't have the books with me to reference, sorry! Something about 2 walks a day, 1, maybe 2 social obligations a week... something like that lol)

14. Can we talk about his suspenders for a moment? Blue and light green? With Beth talking about leaving Easter eggs throughout, and also connecting blue to Hawkes and light green to Emma, and the fact that this is specifically described, it feels significant.

15. I think it's significant that she has the sketch of him that Saffronia did in her room. Not just kept there, but displayed. I think the fact that she has the sketch of him and the Afghanistan photo from Pierce in her room is another potential clue that they are the two branches.

16. When she holds his room key against her heart, and then does the same with his book on May Day. Also, she's tightly gripping his book throughout the May Day fortune teller scene, where she receives the two branches prophecy.

17. Everyone makes a connection between Islington and daffodils (and I definitely understand why), but Hawkes also quotes a Wordsworth poem that talks about daffodils, so that clue could tie to either of them. (Why do you do this to us, Beth???)

18. One theory I see tossed around a lot is that Hawkes and Emma are related, but after reading some of the stories on Beth's Substack, I don't believe that is true. I think romance books have trained us to look for the obvious romantic interest (Pierce) or banter as a sign of romantic interest (Islington), and so the subtle, gradual growth of a relationship from friendship to more is overlooked unless you're reading a book that you KNOW is friends to more. Could a lot of the Hawkes/Emma interactions be read as just a caring friend? Sure. But could they also be the subtle actions of a man who cares deeply for a woman but is intentionally not pursuing her? He says that there are forces at work in his life, and he feels the only way to protect those he cares about is to keep his distance.

19. Another argument against Hawkes I see is that he's more of a spiritual guide. As a pastor's kid, I can attest to the fact that my mom didn't have to have a separate pastor because she was married to my dad - he was both her husband and her spiritual leader. I understand how that may seem odd to some people, but I don't think it excludes him from being a romantic interest.

Okay, those last few turned more "defense of" and less "case for" lol!

Anyway, I am well aware that this is only my own interpretation of what I'm reading, and I could be so incredibly, horribly wrong! We're still so early in this series, and there are many ways that Beth could take this. It could be Hawkes. It could be Pierce. It could be Islington. It could be someone else entirely (though I do believe it's someone we know, as both branches have green and growth in Emma's dream at the end of volume 8).

This is simply how I currently feel about it all.

I would absolutely choose Hawkes myself, and I understand that those feelings are impacting what I'm seeing, at least a bit. It will be truly hilarious (and very sad) for me if he does turn out to be a relative or something!

Some things I would love to see in future books that would definitely feed into the "Hawkes is endgame" theory:

-They play opposite each other in Julius Caesar is Brutus and Portia. Maybe the original Brutus has to drop out, and Hawkes is the only one who could step in at the last minute? We know he could. I think the dialogue when Brutus' wife is begging him to let her in and share his secrets would be so impactful between them! Also, perhaps seeing him acting in such a way would reveal to her that he was, in fact, Oberon?

-The reveal that there is something/was something between Hawkes and Eloise Silver. Emma is jealous of the Pear Scented Lady (who may or may not be Eloise). Can you imagine her reaction if she finds out that there's something between those two? Eloise, the beauty of England, and her Hawkes? I can imagine that might be eye-opening for her. This is speculation, of course. We don't have any proof yet of anything between the two, but if there is, I don't think Emma will like it.

-I think when the inevitable breakup with Pierce happens, Emma will look to the other two, but especially Hawkes, for comfort. She already looks to Hawkes for comfort as it is. I do think Pierce will have to be somewhat out of the picture before anything happens with someone else. Emma is fiercely loyal, and I can't imagine her falling for and pursuing someone else while in a relationship.

*Please note I'm writing all of this from memory (and my memory is definitely not the best), so if there are mistakes, misquotes, etc., it is not intentional. I just love having a place to essentially talk it all out! I know there are many of you who adamantly believe Hawkes is not a romantic interest, and I respect that. This is not to start arguments or try to tell anyone they're wrong. We could all be wrong! lol. Just my thoughts and why I do think Hawkes may be endgame. (TLDR: Please don't come at me aggressively because you disagree. I'm sensitive, I'll cry.)

Alright, Team Hawkes, I know some of you are way more organized and persuasive than I am! Let's see it in your words!

Who do you genuinely believe Emma will end up with in the end? Not your favorite guy, not who you want her to be with… but who you actually think she will end up with based on the story so far, and the clues and foreshadowing (we think) we’ve picked up on so far? 🤔

And of course, we can't forget our favorite photographer!

What are your favorite Pierce moments?

Team Pierce may seem to be in the minority, but I know y'all are passionate about it!

Something Emma said about the Fletcher Sisters stuck with me. She says some are married some are not, some have children and some do not but they all are scholars…or something to that effect. I think this is a clue to Emma’s story arc. I think she’s admitted to one of the women’s programs (likely with the Fletcher family helping facilitate that) begins her studies….eventually marrying “choosing well” as her father wishes and then continuing her studies before having children and not bending to the societal norms to start popping them out like Queen Victoria has or as Charles Goddard 🦒wishes!!!

I had way too much fun with the "Favorite Hawkes Moments" post, so I decided there should be one for each of the guys!

What are some of your favorite Islington moments??

I know Team Islington is a big one, y'all don't let me down!

This is for my fellow Hawkes girls... Or just anyone who loves him, even if he's not your choice.

I know some people think Hawkes is too mysterious and even aloof, but I think there are so many sweet, fun, and endearing moments with him. Here are some of my favorites!

1. When he brings Emma cake in the middle of the night at Stonecrop.

2. "Emma is very pretty."

3. Letting Emma sleep on his shoulder for hours while he sat there in the cold, not moving. I mean, come on. That's adorable.

4. Valentine's Day. All of it. Sitting on the bench with Emma (what is their thing with benches? lol), wrapping his scarf around her rather than just handing it to her when he realized she was cold, his care and concern after the fountain incident. Also, can we just discuss the strength it would take to lift her and her extremely heavy dress out of the water??

5. The whole entire scene when Emma goes to his room to deliver his mail.

6. When he slams his book closed when Aunt Eugenia is at Lapis Lazuli and talking crap about Emma. We don't see too many strong reactions from him, but he was clearly upset here.

7. His incredibly thoughtful gifts to Emma.

There are about a million more, I think, but my brain has decided it's done for now.

I know so many people say they don't see anything romantic in his gestures and how he treats Emma, only friendship and caring, and I absolutely get it. But viewing him through the lens of someone reserved and introverted (I truly think he is, I mean, the man loves to be alone with his books, and gets up and leaves whenever he decides he's done with a social gathering - hilarious and relatable!) I do think it could be the actions of a man who cares very deeply about Emma, but isn't showing it. He has stated that due to the forces at work in his life, he feels that the only way to protect those he cares about is to keep them at a distance. I absolutely believe that if he had feelings for Emma, he would choose not to act on them for her sake.

And as someone who is introverted and reserved myself, I'm pretty sure you could ask any man I've ever had a crush on, and he'd tell you he had literally no idea, because while I think I'm obvious, I'm apparently not at all and very hard to read. Oops?

What are YOUR favorite Hawkes moments? Help me out since my memory is not cooperating and I know there are more!

I think we all know that we're becoming more unhinged the longer we wait for news of volume 9, and so I'm curious:

What is your craziest EML theory, and why do you believe it?

Tell me your most off-the-wall endgame theory, the crazy secret you think someone is hiding, all of it!

I think it'll be a nice break from our go-to mysteries and discussions! lol

This is 100% just for fun; you'll get no judgment from me.