This is Part 2 of a series of three Guest Posts by Christine Wesley on the Literary Alchemy of Veronica Roth’s Divergent trilogy. Click here for Part 1: On Divergent as Series Nigredo.

One Choice Can Destroy You: Insurgent as Albedo

In the first post of this alchemical exploration, we posed the following question: if Book One of the Beatrice Prior novels bears significant nigredo hallmarks of an alchemical work, does Insurgent’s artistry satisfy the requirements of the work’s albedo?

In Divergent, Tris learned not only to overcome fear, but also recognize that two parts of her tripartite Divergence—courage and selflessness—when working in tandem, enable her to achieve heroic status. But her achievement comes at a sobering cost: her parents are dead, having sacrificed themselves to save her, and she carries the guilt of killing her friend Will while he was subject to Erudite’s mind-controlling simulation. If Tris had to choose between bravery and meekness in Divergent, in its sequel she grapples with prioritizing truth (Candor) over willful ignorance in the service of peace (Amity).

More after the jump! [Read more…]

A Guest Post, the first of three on Divergent and literary alchemy, by Christine Wesley. Enjoy!

One Choice Can Change You: Divergent as Nigredo

Having devoured Divergent and Insurgent over the past week, I could not help but ponder what influence, if any, the literary alchemy of the Harry Potter books, of which Veronica Roth is an admitted fan, imparted on the writing of her work. Given the release of the first “Divergent” teaser trailer and the Fandango Behind-the-Scenes featurette last week, and the upcoming launch of Allegiant in October [editor: not to mention the The Transfer story coming out Tuesday and The World of Divergent on 22 September…], the time seems as ripe as any for a thorough unpacking of the literary alchemy undergirding Divergent and Insurgent (Significant props to Jenna’s first post and to Arabella over at the Hog’s Head for her early analysis on this topic).

On the surface, the theory that Divergent operates as the nigredo installment of Tris’s story—the crucible reducing her to her most essential understanding—seemed to apply: well over 80 percent of the narrative unfolds in the shadowy depths of the Dauntless compound’s system of caves and tunnels, with the entry point a seven-story drop into darkness. And of course, Dauntless faction members and initiates wear black.

But for Divergent to resonate on an alchemical level, it must first function as one part of a tightly woven three-act narrative. Plenty of tripartite book series earn the classification of “trilogy,” but while the individual books share settings or characters, each installment may not necessarily flow together as a singular, uninterrupted narrative. Considering that Insurgent begins at almost the second Divergent concluded, I think it is safe to say that Roth intends for her trilogy to operate as one story. (To find more evidence of this, check out her weblog). Secondly, for Divergent to unspool as a narrative of distillation, Insurgent’s crises must influence Tris’s development in a washing, purifying capacity. Part 2 of this post will demonstrate how Insurgent’s structure fulfills that requirement, and Part 3 will attempt to predict how Roth’s alchemical framework might support the plot of Allegiant.

But first, Divergent as alchemical nigredo — [Read more…]

From Fandango, a longer clip played at the MTV Music Awards show:

Please share your thoughts — and stand by for a Guest Post tomorrow about the Literary Alchemy embedded in the trilogy’s first novel, the nigredo of the series!

Hogwarts Professor.com Interview with Veronica Roth: Part 1 (with Prof Louise Freeman) and Part 2 (with Prof Elizabeth Baird-Hady)

In my conversation with Ms Roth in Orlando last summer, she told me point blank she didn’t plan her books. Hence my query below, the last of our ’10 Questions’ exercise, which is more of a reading comprehension selection followed by an essay question, alas, than a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ short answer piece. Ms Roth very graciously and generously replied. Enjoy!

You told me in Orlando that you “don’t plan” your work, period, full stop. My question is “Really?” How can a dystopian world of such coherent complexity be written ‘off the cuff’? Let me explain why I think a more credible answer to the planning or jump-right-in question deserves a qualified “both yes and no” response. It’s hard to believe that the five groups came to you in mid-flight of the story; there must have been some world-building plan on the ground, if you will, as the story took shape or reverse engineering to have it work as it does.

For this I’m leaning on the psychological interpretation and exegesis of Prof Freeman. If you haven’t read them already, please read her two HogwartsProfessor posts on the five tribes of Divergent and their alignment with psychological categories (OCEAN).

Given your comments about your interest in Personality factors in interviews, it’s a real stretch to think this kind of artistry wasn’t planned.

Prof Freeman, in answer to a question I posed her about allegorical qualities of Divergent, wrote this:

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