The Coven

“I was nothing but a means to an end to the man who had sired me for one purpose only.”

With the unadorned bitterness of this straightforward declaration, Willow indicates her deep scorn and sublimated hatred of her father, Samuel, and makes it clear that her father does not love or value her for who she is as a person. Instead, he sired and reared her for the express purpose of forcing her to wield her magic—the very magic that he lacks—to avenge the death of his sister, Loralei. This description demonstrates that their father-daughter relationship is cold and transactional at best.

“I’d existed since the dawn of time, since the creation of the earth itself.”

Gray hints at his true identity in this passage, indicating that he is far more than some low-level demon. Because Harper L. Woods bases key aspects of her world-building upon Christian theology, Gray will eventually be revealed as the avatar for Lucifer, the original fallen angel who was created around the same time as the earth itself, even before humans. The demon’s longevity is one reason for his cockiness when dealing with the Tribunal; he has existed much longer than they have, and he has defied more powerful entities than they will ever be. This idea foreshadows his inevitable rebellion against the Covenant.

“Even if I’d never met her, I couldn’t help but want to avenge the young woman the Coven had murdered fifty years ago. I just didn’t want it enough to never see my brother again.”

Willow’s ambivalence about fulfilling her father’s plan emphasizes The Tension Between Duty and Desire. She relates to Loralei’s willingness to sacrifice herself to protect her brother, and she does wish to honor her aunt. However, she loves her brother more than she respects her father’s need for revenge, and she would prefer to live quietly with Ash rather than dying in the attempt to implement Samuel’s revenge. She understands her family duty, but her sense of obligation conflicts with her personal desires.

“My breath caught at the sensation of those smoldering eyes running over my body, of the way I could feel it like claws dragging over the surface of my skin lightly.”

Willow’s description of Gray’s lustful gaze invokes a foreboding tone and acknowledges the Vessel’s thinly veiled power. First, she uses a metaphor to compare his eyes to embers of flame, and this imagery is suggestive of Hell and hits at Gray’s true identity as Lucifer. Additionally, her simile comparing his gaze to claws emphasizes Gray’s predatory nature and draws attention to her position of vulnerability. Yet within this context, the fact that these figurative claws drag “lightly” over her skin injects a casually playful tone into this otherwise sinister passage. The wording in this scene therefore presages the pleasures of their sexual relationship as well as the danger that he poses to her.

“There was the slightest tint of red to the ends, as if she’d dipped them in the blood of her enemies.”

Like Samuel, Gray identifies the color of Willow’s hair with blood, though he focuses on the bright red tips and uses a simile to compare them to her enemies’ blood. His description focuses on her power, while Samuel, by contrast, describes Willow’s hair as having the color of “old blood.” This slightly different image recalls her Hecate lineage and the reference to “old blood” obliquely indicates Samuel’s focus on “old” wrongs rather than on issues concerning his daughter’s well-being.

“Only a Black [witch] could [unmake a Vessel] without great personal sacrifice. It wasn’t a sacrifice many witches were willing to make. Not when it drained them of everything and left them powerless. A fate worse than death for a witch of the Coven. Humanity.”

This passage strikes an ironic tone by listing “humanity”—relative normalcy—as a “fate worse than death for a witch of the Coven.” Given that Charlotte Hecate made a deal with the devil to secure the witches’ power, Willow already believes that there is an indelible stain on her soul, but even so, she would rather die than lose her powers. Thus, the novel also delivers an understated critique of the nature of power and the various ways in which it corrupts.

“The gold surrounding his pupils seemed to burn as he studied me, flaming with the warning he wanted me to heed.”

Willow compares the golden color of Gray’s eyes to fire, something that can “burn” and “flam[e].” This imagery deliberate foreshadows his real identity and name—Lucifer, which means “bringer of light” or “morning star.” The passage also signifies the danger that Gray poses to her, for Woods uses these descriptions to emphasize fire’s destructive nature. Through the connotations of these words, the author indicates the peril that lies in succumbing to Gray’s passionate and “fiery” nature.

“The Vessels were a symptom of the disease I’d been raised to hate, bodies created to exist alongside the Coven. Housing something nefarious and sinister.”

Willow uses a metaphor to compare the Vessels to symptoms of a “disease,” drawing attention to the inherent corruption that exists at the core of these demon-possessed avatars whose activities indicate a deeper corruption within the Coven itself. By comparing the Vessels to a symptom of physical corruption and decay, Willow indicates that the Coven and Tribunal are the root of this corruption. These comparisons suggest that Willow views the Coven as the source of the problem and holds the Vessels relatively blameless. Her perspective is clearly biased by her feelings for Gray, and she actively disregards the fact that the Vessels literally house the souls of demons: entities widely understood to be inherently corruptive forces.

“It was the symbiotic relationship that a witch was meant to have with her affinity. Harmony, rather than theft.”

This line highlights Willow’s respect for The Balance of Opposites that governs—or that should govern—the world of witches. She acknowledges that each witch must conduct her magic in a way that ensures the health and safety of the natural world; in this view, a witch cannot take from the source of her magic without offering something of equal value in return. If this balance is not observed, the source of magic is weakened, and this weakness is eventually passed on to the witch herself. Thus, a dynamic of give-and-take, “harmony,” and interdependence characterizes a healthy relationship between the witch and her affinity, while a lack of balance harms sides.

“There was no control where she was concerned, as if my body and my mind no longer belonged to me.”

Gray’s description of his feelings in Willow’s presence indicates that she has a legitimately unexpected and intense effect on him; in other words, he is not merely manipulating her. He often tries to convince himself that what he feels is no more than lust and that he is in supreme control of himself and of Willow as well. However, his internal claims are belied by more honest passages such as this one, in which he admits that his vaunted control is slipping. Additionally, this description demonstrates his dubious reliance on her consent—as if by claiming to have lost control of himself, he can dodge all responsibility for any actions that he takes while in this state.

“The faint hum of magic pulsed in my veins with each bite of the fruit as the cycle of life rejuvenated me.”

After her blood sacrifice to the plants, Willow eats fruit the next day and experiences a restorative effect; this dynamic indicates The Balance of Opposites and suggests that Willow is forging the ideal version of the relationship that exists between a witch and the source of her magic. She initially strengthened the plants by giving them her blood, and they now strengthen her magic in return, illustrating a harmonious cycle of give-and-take.

“[M]y eyes drifted closed as the hum she emitted seemed to sink inside me. Like a siren calling me to the sea, there was something unnatural in that noise.”

Gray uses an allusion to Greek mythology when he compares Willow to a siren: a dangerous female monster who sings beautifully and tempts sailors into steering their ships toward the rocky shore, where they inevitably perish. Sirens have become synonymous with near-irresistible temptation. From a modern perspective, they can also be interpreted as evidence of the misogyny embedded in classic mythology and literature, given that their song renders men helpless. Woods both employs and subverts the traditional, patriarchal subtext of this allusion to imply that in some ways, Willow is ultimately more powerful than Gray.

“Help me bring the Coven back to the old ways and restore the balance before it’s too late and Crystal Hollow is nothing more than a husk of what it once was.”

When Gray asks for a truce with Willow, he alludes to The Balance of Opposites required for their world to retain its health. Just as Susannah’s plan weakens Vessels, it also weakens witches—as well as the natural sources that provide and sustain the witches’ magic. Susannah’s attempt to wrest power from the Vessels and to upset the balance between the two conflicting groups would ultimately result in the destruction of the entire community.

“‘Tell me to stop,’ he said, sinking his teeth into my bottom lip […] ‘Tell me you don’t want this.’ My mouth parted with the need to say it, but the words wouldn’t come.”

This sexual encounter between Gray and Willow demonstrates his villainous disregard for her power to either consent or deny him access to her body. He never asks if she will permit him to touch or bite her. Instead, he does what he wants and then suggests that she tell him to stop. Though she feels the “need” to tell him this, she cannot, and the entire scene proceeds on the basis of silent “consent” that is dubious at best and nonexistent at worst.

“She didn’t go to her throne, but moved until she stood in front of the dais, with the threat of it in the background.”

Susannah’s dais symbolizes her power and authority, and she uses it to remind others of her leadership and control. When she threatens Willow, who questions the Covenant’s decisions, methods, and influence, Susannah intentionally stands in front of the dais as though to cow her descendant into subservience—or, at least, into compliance.

“‘I already own you, Witchling. You might as well benefit from that,’ I said […] If she didn’t take my blood, my compulsion would eventually work its way out of her system. But then she’d be in pain.”

Gray manipulates Willow, making her believe that his control over her is permanent, at least until he “releases” her from his compulsion. However, his real motive for persuading her to drink more of his blood is to maintain the effects of this compulsion. In addition to highlighting Gray’s less-than-honest motives, this passage also acts as a prime example of dramatic irony. At the same time, Gray dislikes the idea that Willow will be in pain, and his efforts to prevent this eventuality suggest that he does legitimately care for her on some level, however minute.

“Nothing existed but the brand of his mouth on me.”

Willow compares the touch of Gray’s mouth to a brand, a burning hot piece of metal that is typically used to mark livestock. This metaphor suggests that Gray uses physical contact to implicitly assert his ownership of Willow; this concept is also supported by the fact that he thinks of her as “his” and claims dominium over her so that no one else can drink her blood. In addition, the fierce heat of a brand connotes passion and lust even as it draws attention to the existence of the devil’s mark that has been carved into Willow’s skin: yet another type of “brand.” Thus, Willow’s word choice links the existing devil’s mark to Gray’s current activities—long before he explicitly reveals his role in the mark’s creation.

“She’d lost sight of what the Vessels were, of who we were meant to be. She needed the reminder of what I was capable of and what I was not. A Vessel could never love her. She’d never be anything more than a convenience and a toy.”

In this passage, Gray is talking about Willow, but his words also serve as a reminder to himself that despite his growing feelings for her, he must steel himself and commit to hurting her both physically and psychologically. The resolute tone of his musing indicates that he is trying to remind himself to be callous and cruel and to do what he must in order to resume his true form. At the same time, he has hinted at the existence of feelings like love, but he knows that if he focuses on those feelings, he may not be able to secure his own future.

“I trailed my nose over her jaw for a moment, offering her a single moment of affection and trying to shove away the remnants of her panic.”

At the Reaping, Gray’s ambiguous feelings for Willow develop further. He is aroused by her fear and wants to “play” with her, but when he realizes how terrified she really is, his composure slips. If he speaks, he will reveal his identity, but he does offer one small moment of kindness and warmth in the hope that it will quell some of her fear. This moment shows Gray’s concern for Willow, implicitly contradicting his claim that she could be nothing but a toy to him.

“It would take time for Willow to come to terms with what we were to one another, for the depths of the obsession she’d only intensified by giving me her virginity. By the time she understood, it would be too late for her.”

Gray’s ominous words foreshadow the revelation of his real identity and the true essence of their relationship, which he imposed upon her when she was no more than an infant and had no power to deny him. Additionally, Samuel manipulated Willow into maintaining her virginity so that she would be better able to seduce Gray, but this fact ensures that when she does sleep with Gray, she enthralls herself to him in a way that she cannot possibly understand. Because Willow endures repeated manipulation by her father and by Gray, her plight illustrates the cruel dynamics of a world steeped in patriarchy and misogyny.

“He discarded the halves [of the wolf] to the ground in a pile of mutilated flesh, those steely blue eyes rising to meet my shocked stare.”

Willow uses a metaphor to compare Gray’s eyes to steel. This is an especially apt comparison because steel is strong and unyielding—even stronger than iron—and Gray’s will contains many similarities. He is angry with her for running from the school and fleeing from his protection, and her metaphor foregrounds his inflexibility.

“When [Charlotte] first made her deal with Him, she had no ability to control the magic she suddenly had […] The fear of ignorant men is a powerful thing. Charlotte decided if they were going to kill her for practicing witchcraft even though she was innocent, then she was going to do the very thing they accused her of.”

Ironically, rather than trying to convince the men who persecute her that she is innocent, Charlotte Hecate openly embraced her reputation and prayed to the devil for aid. This early history contributes to the witch community’s belief that losing their power and becoming human again is worse than death. In another irony, humanity is portrayed as being far more morally reprehensible than the descendants of people who made a deal with the devil and obtained power that they still enjoy.

“My earth magic felt like life, like new growth and spring. This felt like the slow decay of autumn, like the death of all nature.”

When Loralei’s bones form a necklace around Willow’s throat, giving her the power of necromancy, Willow uses opposing similes to contrast the ways that these powers make her feel. Her Green magic, with which she channels the earth, feels like springtime and new life, while her Black magic, sourced from her aunt’s bones, feels like autumn’s decay, which precedes the death of winter.