51 pages • 1 hour read
Opal ReyneA Soul to Keep
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2021A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Impact of Loneliness and Isolation
The impact of loneliness and isolation is a key theme in A Soul to Keep. Reia and Orpheus, the two main characters, both experience acute loneliness as a result of their different isolations. Reia is isolated by the people of her village as a harbinger of bad omens. The priestess who prepares her to be offered to Orpheus even tells her, “The Demons left you alone, that in itself is a bad omen. You are cursed, and you are probably the reason your family is dead” (9). The Priestess’s beliefs are echoed by the rest of the village. They force Reia to stay in her house, only allowing her outside to get food and water, during which time no one speaks to her. She lives entirely alone until Orpheus takes her. Orpheus, as a Mavka who does not understand where he came from, struggles to keep his human companions alive and happy. Though he does not mean to, he terrifies humans due to his appearance and difficulty controlling his hunger urges when he smells fear. The Mavka do not live together, though he does attempt to help the other nameless Mavka who wants to obtain a human companion. Until Reia, Orpheus had not had a long-term companion for over two centuries.
Reia immediately recognizes Orpheus’s loneliness, which causes her to “pity” him and reconsider her plan of escape. His loneliness is mirrored in her own, but her loneliness causes her to yearn for freedom and the ability to make her own choices without mistreatment from other humans, while Orpheus yearns for a companion who will stay with him. Reia forced herself to learn to survive by herself, learning “to keep herself content, despite her misery” (238). However, her loneliness reemerges when Orpheus keeps his distance from her during her menstrual period. Her loneliness and misery fade with Orpheus’s company and the blossoming of their romantic relationship. Orpheus's loneliness also dissipates. He is self-aware of his desires, as he thinks Reia is “a perfect little human that [is] quickly stealing his lonely, aching heart” (224). He still describes his heart as lonely, as he still is worried Reia may choose not to stay with him, which is a result of his years of isolation. While Reia’s isolation made her self-sufficient, Orpheus’s isolation made him feel insecure about his ability to keep a companion, an insecurity that Reia assuages by choosing to stay with him and give him her soul.
The Tension Between Fear and Acceptance in Identity Formation
The tension between fear and acceptance in identity formation appears in the character arcs of Reia and Orpheus. Reia has not been accepted by her community since childhood due to the village’s perception of her as the harbinger of bad omens. She is punished for things outside of her control and labeled a “monster” for simply surviving the attacks that killed those around her. She lives in fear of the abuse she endures at the hands of the men in her village, those who throw rocks at her and taunt her about her family’s death. The community treated her so terribly that she became completely self-reliant. The narrator says of her suffering and loneliness, “She wore it like a badge and persevered, refusing to wallow since she’d known the villagers weren’t going to keep her company” (238). Reia stops fearing the lack of acceptance she faced in her village, but it still has ramifications on her view of the world. She is shocked by Orpheus’s kindness toward her, due to both his status as a Duskwalker and her lack of familiarity with kindness from those around her. To the other Mavka, Reia even describes Orpheus as “kind and gentle.” Reia’s view of Orpheus challenges the typical perception of him as a monster. She sees him for the identity he chooses to cultivate, which is one of care and kindness.
Orpheus fears Reia’s rejection because of Katerina’s rejection and hatred of him. He does not, at first, want to even hope that Reia could be his companion: “Orpheus refused to allow himself even a flicker of hope. Other humans had also not been totally afraid of him, and they still hadn’t survived” (40). Many of his humans died escaping him, so their rejection of him led directly to their demise. Humans choosing death over life with him greatly hurt Orpheus and his ability to trust Reia and truly believe she does not find him horrifying. Though Reia is confused by and questions her attraction to Orpheus, feeling internalized fear about what other humans would say, she never makes him feel repulsive.
Reia and Orpheus find acceptance and belonging in each other. Reia finds love with Orpheus and gains the opportunity to form her own family with him. Orpheus finally has a companion who sees him for who he truly is and loves him earnestly. Neither has to fear where they belong or if others will treat them poorly. Together, they now have the freedom to forge their future and live a life unfettered by loneliness, cruelty, or judgment.
The Role of Redemption and Forgiveness in Forming Relationships
Redemption and forgiveness play important roles in the narrative and various character arcs in A Soul to Keep. Reia seeks forgiveness from Orpheus for her attempted escape by caring for him during his injury. After she gets Orpheus safely home, “guilt also [clutches] her throat heavily, refusing to ease or lift away. She’d fled, and now he [is] injured and forced into a sleep state” (172). She feels guilty for trying to leave him and letting him get hurt rescuing her. She tenderly cares for his wounds, makes more protection trinkets, and sleeps in the bed with him. This is a turning point in their relationship; Reia trusts Orpheus enough to be physically close to him and sleep beneath his arm. When Orpheus wakes, he forgives her for leaving and comforts her as she cries about what the spider demon said to her. Orpheus later seeks redemption for hurting Reia’s feelings by taking her with him and the other Mavka to the demon town. The trip to the demon town represents another type of redemption for Orpheus outside of just making Reia happy: He gets to help another Mavka avoid the same loneliness and suffering that he endured in his past. Orpheus’s display of empathy, even though he does not fully think it is “fair,” allows Reia to continue to see the kindness and goodness in him. These instances of redemption and forgiveness allow Reia and Orpheus’s relationship to deepen. Being faced with leaving Reia behind to go to the demon village with the other Mavka makes Orpheus “ache.” He realizes that he would worry about her, but most of all he would miss her. To earn her forgiveness, he helps the Mavka, but he takes her with him. This visit to town allows Reia to find the books from the Witch Owl, which propels the plot forward.
In contrast, lack of forgiveness is a theme that informs Katerina’s character arc. Katerina’s refusal to forgive Orpheus prohibits her from forming any new meaningful relationships. She lives as Jabez’s lover, though she does not feel a full connection to him. She merely describes him as “handy when [she] need[s] him” (441). She never loved Orpheus, but she certainly does not love Jabez, remaining with him to have access to his luxurious castle and the resources necessary to exact her revenge against Orpheus. If she had returned to the human world and lived a normal life, she might have found greater fulfillment. Instead, she dedicated her life to revenge against Orpheus, leading to her death. She ultimately fails to kill him, and Reia and Orpheus’s relationship emerges stronger from her attempted revenge.
