54 pages • 1 hour read
Marissa MeyerScarlet
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2013A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
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BetaSymbols & Motifs
ID Chips
In the world of The Lunar Chronicles, ID chips are an integral part of people’s everyday lives. They function not only as personal identification but also as a means of buying things, keeping in touch with family, and being tracked in case of an emergency. However, throughout the novel, ID chips become complicated symbols, and as Cinder learns, ID chips represent a person’s sense of belonging in Earthen society.
In the first novel of The Lunar Chronicles, Cinder watches in horror as the medical androids in the New Beijing quarantines try to cut out her deceased stepsister Peony’s ID chip. Cinder panics and steals the chip, and she isn’t sure why anyone would order an ID chip to be cut out of a dead person. Scarlet provides a partial answer: In Chapter 30, Master Jael tells Wolf that they’ve “just received [a] shipment of ID chips from the Paris quarantines” (312), all of which were presumably stolen from the bodies of letumosis victims. Jael then orders Wolf to “take [the chips] down for wiping and reprogramming” so they will be “ready for the new recruits [he] expect[s] to arrive” (312) the next morning. The Lunars are stealing ID chips to fabricate new identities for the Lunar soldiers they are hiding on Earth so that they can pass themselves off as regular human Earthens.
When Scarlet cuts out Wolf’s ID chip in Chapter 44, she notes that “he already had a scar there, as though it hadn’t been very long ago when the ID chip had been put in him to begin with” (424). Meyer does not yet explain how the Lunars were able to get government androids to steal these chips for them, but the implications are grave: Letumosis victims are dying each day, and each death equals one opportunity for a dangerous soldier to steal their place on Earth.
Wolf Packs and Pack Hierarchies
One of the most complex motifs in Scarlet is that of the wolf pack and its hierarchy system. Meyer set out to create a story that borrowed from the elements of the “Little Red Riding Hood” story, and while Wolf himself is human, he is so entrenched in the wolf pack culture that the boundaries between man and beast become blurry. Meyer uses the wolf pack to represent the complex relationship between a person’s humanity and their proximity to violence and to draw parallels between the complex social relationships within the ranks of the Lunar soldiers.
When Scarlet starts researching wolves, she learns that packs have a hierarchy, and “at the top of the social structure are the alpha male and alpha female, a mated pair” (115). The wolves that show the most skill in physical combat, as well as boldness, often take the rank of alpha, while the weaker, less successful wolves become the lowest-ranking members, the omegas. Alphas are born through “ritual combat” (115), which Meyer alludes to in the street fighting scene of Chapter 8. Scarlet witnesses Wolf’s prowess as a fighter, and Wolf himself explains that “the only way to prevent becoming an omega is to fight” (166). The pack members are obsessed with improving their rank to escape the shameful label of omega. After all, an omega is “often treated as a scapegoat” (115) and feels no sense of belonging, safety, or kinship within the pack.
The irony of this ranking comes in the form of Wolf and his brother Ran. Ran is a loyal soldier to the cause, yet he is disrespected as an omega. Wolf is the one who has doubts and is tempted to leave the pack, yet he is held in high regard as an alpha. The wolf pack hierarchy in Scarlet is less focused on actual loyalty and more focused on a soldier’s ability to fight hard in a physical sense. In Chapter 46, Levana notices a young soldier who “snarl[s] at his thaumaturge” with “rebellion and hatred glow[ing] behind his golden eyes” (435). Instead of being annoyed, Levana believes that “that one would make alpha” (435). Alphas are not wolves who blindly follow directions but dare to strike out on their own and form their own path. In this context, Wolf is the ideal alpha, and Ran’s blind obedience is what makes him an omega. Alphas can think for themselves, but omegas cannot.
The Lunar Glamour
When Cinder discovers that she is Lunar in the first novel of the series, she unlocks her ability to use the Lunar gift known as “glamour.” This special genetic gift, found in most Lunars, allows them to control other people’s bioelectricity. Glamour is a blend of mind control, telekinesis, and optical illusion, and in Scarlet, the glamour becomes a potent symbol of Cinder’s true identity as Princess Selene and her Lunar heritage.
While glamour is not explicitly evil, it is often used for evil purposes, especially with Earthens. Lunars like Dr. Erland only use their glamour to protect themselves and move through life without detection, but Lunars like Levana and her thaumaturges actively use the glamour to hurt other people and exert their control over those who are weaker than them. Because of the glamour, Kai is disgusted to learn that Cinder is Lunar. He wonders if their entire relationship was real or just a “Lunar trick” (144). Glamour has gotten a bad reputation because of irresponsible and abusive practices, and Cinder initially pushes it away for this reason.
As Cinder starts practicing this newfound gift, she is full of conflicting feelings. On the one hand, she thinks that she doesn’t need to use the glamour and that she’s “gotten on just fine without any Lunar gift before,” so she will “get on just fine now” (57). However, Cinder finds that she can’t always control the glamour. She accidentally uses it on Thorne when she first meets him, and although “her guilt [was] instantaneous” (53), Thorne isn’t hurt or bothered by the experience. In fact, Thorne is the one who actively encourages Cinder to keep practicing using her glamour. Cinder complains that the gift is “too unnatural, too powerful, too unfair” (61) and that using it makes her feel “evil” (345).
Still, Cinder can’t deny the peace that comes over her when she uses her glamour. When she decides to use her glamour on the French girl Émilie, she finds that “all the doubt and guilt she’d felt about it had faded away. It had seemed so natural, so easy, so clearly the right thing to do” (343). In Cinder, Dr. Erland explains that using the glamour is a vital part of being Lunar, and refusing to use the gift can lead to madness. However, when Cinder uses a woman as a human shield during the Lunar attack, she is overwhelmed with guilt and disgust with herself. She doesn’t want to turn into a monster like Levana or her minions. In Scarlet, Cinder is forced to look at every side of the Lunar gift and take in usefulness as well as its potential for great evil. Cinder’s identity is now wrapped up in being Lunar, and she must learn to accept this gift as a symbol of who she is and where she comes from.
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By Marissa Meyer
