The Book of Life

For Diana and Matthew to reach their goals, they must separate. This separation causes Diana’s many doubts to surface. She questions her abilities and her identity. While her family comforts Diana during this challenging time, they also contribute to her worries, thus highlighting the theme of Family as Both Comfort and Grief.

Matthew resolves to break off from the main family and form a separate scion at Diana’s insistence. This is the only way that Diana can save Jack. Although it was her decision, Diana cannot help but resent Jack and the twins: “It wasn’t fair, nor was it logical, but I was blaming [Jack and the twins] for our separation, even though I had been the one to insist upon it” (1453). This resentment compounds Diana’s guilt and frustration, and Sarah tries to soothe her. Sarah tells Diana:

I hated you for a while [...] if not for you, Rebecca would still be alive. Or so I told myself [...] Then I got over it [...] you will, too [...] One day you’ll see the twins and you’ll realize that Matthew is right there, staring out at you from an eight-year-old’s eyes (1454).

Diana struggles to accept Sarah’s words as she cannot understand her place without Matthew, which again highlights the complex nature of family. Resentment toward characters that they recognize are not at fault shows the deep love between Matthew and Diana, and of course Emily and Sarah. They do not want to be separated under any circumstances, and when they have no choice but to leave each other, their feelings are so strong that they spill into other relationships.

Diana’s dependence on Matthew is all the more surprising as they have only been together for a year, and much of that year has involved Diana fighting Matthew for greater independence. Matthew’s separation from Diana is entirely at Diana’s insistence, as creating a scion is not a path Matthew wishes to take:

It put Matthew in an impossible situation. To save Jack, Matthew would have to disobey Baldwin. If he disobeyed Baldwin, he would have no choice but to become the sire of his own scion. That would require convincing a pack of rebellious vampires to accept his leadership and risk their own extermination by exposing the blood rage in their ranks. It would be a bloody, violent, and complicated process (1411).

Despite his many misgivings, he agrees to create a scion because Diana begs him to. He must explain another of his closest-held secrets: Matthew’s mating with Diana has worsened his blood rage. However, he does not share that being separated from Diana will cause Matthew symptoms similar to withdrawal. Diana’s quest for independence is physically painful for him, and all of these secrets highlight key aspects of Matthew’s character and the theme of The Impact of Secrets. Matthew suffers deeply because of the secrets he holds, both in his past and his present. Given his largely unchanged nature, it is difficult to envision Matthew’s future character growth leading him to full trust and transparency.

Diana’s separation from Matthew manifests not in physical symptoms but in general anxiety. Diana’s world has mostly revolved around Matthew. In Sarah’s words, Diana becomes too much of a vampire. Ysabeau does not help this, as she lectures Diana almost immediately upon her arrival in London. When Diana tries to share information with Ysabeau, Ysabeau tells her, “You must never explain Matthew’s actions to anyone [...] Vampires don’t tell tales for a reason. Knowledge is power in our world” (1438). Diana persists, only to discover that Ysabeau already knew Andrew was Matthew’s grandson. Ysabeau was hiding that information from Matthew. Ysabeau agrees to teach Diana how to be a sire’s consort. While Ysabeau means well, her actions erode Diana’s already fragile self-confidence. Diana’s openness is a liability in the world of vampires, which she now occupies, and this trait contrasts sharply with Matthew’s extreme secrecy. Further, Ysabeau’s words make Diana believe she cannot fulfill her role as a sire’s consort while remaining true to herself.

Diana’s newfound insecurity prompts Sarah to attempt to cheer Diana up. Unfortunately, Sarah is not particularly soothing. She responds angrily to Diana’s attempt to copy vampire behavior, correctly pointing out that Matthew married Diana as a witch and that he has no intention of changing Diana into a vampire. In many ways, Diana is ashamed of her status as a witch, highlighting the theme of The Challenges of Power. Indeed, when Sarah and Diana arrive at Blackfriars, Diana accidentally casts a spell, further shaking her confidence and demonstrating the challenges of her own power not only as a gifted witch but also as a weaver, or creator of spells. Linda and Sarah’s subsequent lecture on handling a counterclock spell, which Diana did not even mean to cast, does not help Diana recover her confidence. Diana struggles to find her place in the witch and the vampire world because of the enormity of her power; while others might view it as a blessing, it marks Diana as an outsider, as she is in a league all her own.

Further complicating matters, Diana understood her place when she was on her timewalk. In addition to grieving the loss of Matthew, Diana also grieves the loss of this understanding. Despite many obstacles, Diana was happy with Matthew in 1591, and they were always together. With her usual tactlessness, Sarah points out that they were happy because they were not pretending to be something other than what they were. She encourages Diana to use her full power as a weaver, including the higher magics. Sarah understands that Diana needs to accept all the parts of herself, even those that Diana finds uncomfortable. However, Diana has yet to accept this truth in this section.

Diana also refuses to accept the truth of Mother Shipton’s prophecy. The prophecy refers to a dragon and a serpent, most likely the firedrake—which represents Diana—and the ouroboros—which represents Matthew, rebuilding the races. Diana thinks, “it was too much responsibility. First the twins, then Matthew’s scion, and now the future of the species [...] I felt pulled in too many directions, the parts of me that were witch battling with the parts that were scholar, wife, and now mother” (1477). Diana struggles to find her identity because she cannot see how all these parts of herself can coexist. That Diana highlights the witch part of herself as operating in opposition to her other parts again signals to The Challenges of Power. If Diana were not so powerful, perhaps her other roles as a scholar, wife, and mother would be easier to fill.

Throughout this section, Diana struggles to find her new identity, separate from Matthew. Her many new responsibilities, as a soon-to-be mother and vampire sire consort, cause Diana to doubt her abilities. She also lacks confidence as a witch, but her continued power is key to her family’s survival. She must overcome this insecurity to grow as a character.