57 pages • 1 hour read
Olivie BlakeThe Atlas Six
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Historical Context: The Great Library of Alexandria
The Great Library of Alexandria is estimated to have been established during the third century BC in Alexandria, Egypt. It was one of the largest and most important libraries in the world, and its reputation has endured to this day through countless references in scholarly and popular media.
Originally, the Great Library was part of the Musaeum or Mouseion of Alexandria, an institution dedicated to the nine Muses of Greek mythology. It is thought to have been imagined by Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian general, historian, and companion of Alexander the Great, and built under the reign of his son Ptolemy II Philadelphus. At its height, the library had acquired an estimated 40,000 to 400,000 scrolls and many famed scholars came to work at the library.
Although it is widely believed that the Great Library was destroyed in a fire, it actually declined over time, starting under the reign of Ptolemy VIII Physcon in 145 BC and ending during the Roman period, probably around the third century AD. Part of the library’s collection did burn accidentally in 48 BC, but the greater part either survived or was rebuilt. Today, the Library of Alexandria has become an almost mythical symbol of academic achievements and lost knowledge.
Literary Context: Magical Realism
Although The Atlas Six can be broadly categorized as fantasy, it is also part of the magical realism genre, which is characterized by a realistic depiction of the world with added magical or supernatural elements.
The setting of The Atlas Six is easily recognizable: The story mostly takes place in contemporary London and references real places, historical figures, and events that suggest that the characters’ world is very similar to the reader’s. The only difference is that some inhabitants of that world (namely medeians, witches, and creatures) can wield magic. This fact is treated as a mundane occurrence rather than an exceptional phenomenon. Other works of fantasy that do not fall under the magical realism genre tend to either be set in an unmistakably fantastical setting (e.g., Lord of the Rings), or introduce magic as a novel element (e.g., Harry Potter). In The Atlas Six, however, the characters reference the connection between magic and science repeatedly, emphasizing that magic is a natural and documented part of their world. Atlas says, “Much of what exists in the Society’s archives draws no separation between magic and science. That distinction is more often made in later centuries, particularly pre-Enlightenment and post–Protestant Reformation” (116).
The narrator does not offer detailed explanations about the way magic works in the story, instead portraying it as a well-established occurrence that the characters are familiar with and, to some extent, even indifferent to. The reader has to accept the logic of this world without necessarily understanding all its implications. Describing magical events as normal and common infuses them with legitimacy and enhances the realistic aspect of the story.
By layering reality and fantasy, magical realism is a tool well-suited to social and political criticism. Blake’s use of literary, philosophical, and scientific concepts both anchors the narrative in a sociocultural context and enables her to comment on real-life sociopolitical systems. For example, Tristan, according to Callum, became what he needed to be in reaction to his father’s abuse. He says:
Had you been raised in a loving home, you would not have been forced to see a different reality. Your magic might have accumulated in some other way, taking some other form. But you needed to see through things, because seeing them as they were was far too painful. (305-06).
Additionally, Blake offers direct and indirect critiques of oppressive and exploitative socio-political systems. The medeians who study at the library end up as influential leaders in the real world, while people and creatures at the bottom of the magical hierarchy are marginalized. The Forum’s objective to make information freely accessible to all also contradicts the Society’s aim to protect knowledge from power-hungry people. That ethical dilemma underlies the narrative as the characters reflect on their privileged position as initiates and their responsibility toward the greater good.
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By Olivie Blake
