Snapdragon

Most societies have sets of behaviors, actions, appearances, and identities they consider normative—they can have a variety of reactions to people who differ from these norms. The novel suggests that there is nothing inherently wrong with people who diverge from what a society considers normative; ideas about normativity are socially constructed and have to do with a society’s larger ideologies. Jacks, Snap, and Lulu all differ from what their society deems normative in various ways; this affects how society treats them.

Jacks is the first character who is mistreated because her society has preconceived notions about her based on its stereotypes. Jacks’s ostracization from society began when she was a young woman. Her parents kicked her out of the house. Jacks doesn’t fit into her parents’ idea of normativity, so they rescind their parental care. This rejection has ramifications for Jacks’s relationship with Jessie; Jessie is willing to offer her The Strength of Found Family, but Jacks’s fear and trauma is too great. She lives her life in isolation, with her town spreading rumors because they perceive Jacks as different and further ostracizes her.

Jacks tells Snap that this experience is common among witches. While Snapdragon makes witches real in-universe, historically, women who fell outside traditional patriarchal roles designated for women in Western society were persecuted—and sometimes killed—as witches. When Snap learns magic is real, she thinks being a witch might provide a reason “why [she] feel[s] so different” (121) from the people around her. Even when she still thinks magic is “bull,” bullies spread the same rumors about her that they do about Jacks. While this foreshadows her entry into the magical universe, the reversal of Snap’s assumptions about Jacks and her connection to her, it also demonstrates how people treat those they perceive as different, regardless of whether their assumptions about them are right.

Snap receives this treatment even from people she doesn’t know, like a bookseller who tells her that the book on skeletons she wants isn’t for little girls—sentiments such as these imply to Snap that there is something wrong with her. Being treated this way by people she knows at school and by people she has never met negatively affects her even though she has people around her like Violet and Lulu who accept and treasure her for her true self. After Lulu’s brothers tease Snap for being Lulu’s “weird girlfriend,” Snap walks away, embarrassed. This shows how even when you have a group of trusted family and friends around you, the social effects of being perceived as different can still affect you.

Like Lulu tries to support Snap, Snap faithfully stands by Lulu through every step of her social transition. While Lulu’s family is accepting of her identity, bullies make transphobic insults. Snap knows what it feels like to receive the bully’s malice, so she headbutts him in defense of Lulu even though she gets in trouble for it. While the graphic novel thus depicts several ways that different people are affected as a result of being perceived as different, it also emphasizes the strength that can be gained from having supportive family and found family.