In A Glass Grimmly

Adam Gidwitz

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2012

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-8

Chapters 9-12

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Character Analysis

Jill

Jill is one of the protagonists, and the novel is told partly from her perspective. At the story’s outset, Jill suppresses her authentic self in favor of being the person she thinks her mother wants her to be. Jill believes this compliance will somehow earn her mother’s love but doesn’t realize that she is only harming herself by being someone she is not. When the frog first sees Jill, he thinks her eyes look like the sky “when it was its clearest, deepest blue” (49). That the frog gives the same description the first time he sees Jill’s mother’s eyes shows that Jill has been as beautiful as her mother all along but could not see it because she lacked trust in herself. Jill’s greatest strength is her cleverness, which she doesn’t initially give herself credit for. She can outsmart the giants and save Jack’s life through wit and cunning. Jill thinks nothing of her strengths because she disregards qualities other than physical beauty. Only after the goblins capture her does Jill appreciate qualities other than beauty. Becoming desensitized to compliments lets Jill focus on who she is on the inside rather than the outside. By the end of the book, Jill no longer cares what her mother thinks of her, and she is willing to make her own choices based on what she wants, not what she thinks will earn affection.

Jack

Jack is the second protagonist and point-of-view character of the novel. Like Jill, Jack struggles with self-esteem and trust. Where Jill believes her value is wrapped up in her appearance, Jack thinks his value is tied to the village boys’ respect and admiration, so he wishes to be “king of the boys in the village” (58). At the story’s beginning, Jack has let the opinions of others drag him down. He believes the criticisms his father heaps on him, and he is continuously let down by the village boys and their taunts. Jack takes desperate actions in search of attention, such as accepting the giants’ challenge. Jack’s turning point comes at the Goblin Market when he is offered respect in exchange for his left hand. Here, his hand is a physical manifestation of everything Jack would give up by letting the opinions of others dictate his actions. Realizing he doesn’t want to give up his hand or anything else, Jack starts to believe in himself. In turn, he earns the respect of those around him, showing how What We Seek Is Inside Us and that we just have to find it for others to see it too.

The Frog

The frog is both a character in the story and a stand-in for several fairy-tale archetypes (common or stock characters who appear in many different stories). As a character, the frog is the voice of wisdom in the traveling party, often warning Jack and Jill against danger. Sometimes, the frog’s warnings are justified, and other times, the frog is scared, showing how not even the voice of reason is always confident or right. First, the animal companion is a helper archetype. Helper archetypes are wise or magical, but magic or curses don’t affect the frog. The frog of In a Glass Grimmly is under no enchantments. His ability to speak to people results from the stars granting his wish for Jill’s mother to understand him, which also makes the frog a representation of how wishes and magic tend to work in fairy tales. The stars are woken by the queen’s tears hitting their reflection, but it is unclear how this works because fairy-tale magic is often unexplained. Thus, the frog’s wish also represents the uncertainty and unreliability of fairy-tale magic, as well as how such magic comes with a price. The wish gives the frog something he wants (the ability to talk to the queen), but it also leads to an outcome he doesn’t want (losing his leg when the queen attacks him).

The Narrator

Though the narrator is only ever heard from and never seen, his presence is an integral part of the story, and he is as much a character in the novel as Jack and Jill. Gidwitz’s narrator not only tells the story but also has a voice outside the tale itself. Rather than only having his thoughts and opinions expressed through the actions and beliefs of the characters, Gidwitz’s narrator has a direct line of communication with the reader that allows him to offer lessons and additional context. In this way, the messages are clearer to younger readers, and the narrator’s unique blend of humor and seriousness makes these lessons accessible to all ages. The narrator also connects the story to the oral tradition of fairy tales. Before the tales were written for all to read, they were passed along by storytellers. Gidwitz uses his narrator to nod to the old ways of storytelling while putting a contemporary spin on the tales and how they are told. Thus, In a Glass Grimmly is both a modern and traditional retelling.