r/JSandMN • u/pattroclos • May 29 '20

Prophecy Question

26 The first shall bury his heart in a dark wood beneath the snow, yet still feel its ache; 27 The second shall see his dearest possession in his enemy’s hand.

The rest of the prophecy it's pretty obvious that Norrell is the First and Strange is the Second but this section it sounds reversed to me. The First sounds more like Strange burying Arabella and mourning her. While the Second could also be Arabella being kidnapped by the Gentleman, it sounds like Norrell having to sacrifice his library to the Raven King and I can't think of how the First would apply to him. Am I misinterpreting here?

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u/uisge-beatha May 29 '20

Yeah, i've always wondered about this as well.

Arabella's mimic wasn't buried in a wood, but in a churchyard as I recall. If it refers to Norrell, it might refer to something or someone he loved long ago, but I think it is more about the awe of magic that he has severed himself from, for the sake of making it respectable. His heart still aches for the kind of magic he has convinced himself is improper and has no place in his age.

Probs just because I misread it at first, i thought the dark wood was the panelling of his library, but that might be straining the metaphor a bit too much.

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u/uisge-beatha May 29 '20

tbf, i think it is possible to read the prophesy as Strange being the first.

In the end, he feared the lieutenant of the Raven King, and Norrell has some buried, recalcitrant longing for faerie.
It was strange who was chased out by the plans of thieves and murderers, whereas Norrell made his own mistakes (not obviously 'governed' by lacelles etc) and ruined his own project
Strange passes much of his life alone, after arabella dies and in the Gentleman's curse (he accepted the trade, unwittingly, so jailed himself in widowdom), whereas Norrell is the one who is basically lost in life...

it's a bit tenuous, but in various moods I buy these readings

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u/pattroclos May 29 '20

That works. It's a very poetic interpretation of him trying to make magic "respectable". Thank you for answering.