Power and Freedom Theme Analysis

It’s clear from early on in Gathering Blue that the Council of Guardians wields a huge amount of power over the village. It presides over all trials, hosts the annual Gathering, and can expel anyone in the village at any time. What’s unclear, at least until the end of the novel, is the source of the Council’s great power. At any time, it would seem, the villagers could rise up and overthrow the Council—in fact, this seems like exactly the kind of wild, violent gesture the villagers specialize in.

Throughout the book, the Council of Guardians uses psychology and manipulation to stay in power. By holding an annual Gathering, which every villager must attend, the Council subtly persuades the villagers to abide by their rule. The Ruin Song that’s performed every year at the Gathering tells the story of the great civilizations of the past, with their tall buildings and powerful armies. By residing in the huge, imposing Council Edifice, and hosting the Gathering in the Edifice, the Council steals some of the respect the villagers feel for the civilizations of the past. In a different way, the Council encourages the villagers to accept their place in life. The Ruin Song describes how all civilizations inevitably die out, to be replaced by other civilizations. The pessimism of this song is so great that it teaches the villagers, from the time that they’re children, to view their lives pessimistically, believe that no real change is possible, and therefore accept that’s it every man for himself. With no alliances or friendships, the villagers are too weak to rise up against the Council.

Another way the Council wages psychological war on the villagers is by spreading the myth of wild beasts. The villagers are told to be afraid of the wild beasts that surround the village. Partly because they’re afraid of beasts, they don’t help one another—in dangerous times, it’s every man for himself. The Council clearly profits from the villager’s fear and confusion. Indeed, when the Council learns that people don’t believe in beasts, it has them killed.

It’s clear the Council stays in power by “persuading” the villagers to accept their rule—in essence, by frightening or intimidating them into submission. The Council controls people’s freedom by controlling what they think, not what they do. A good example of this is Kira. Though she’s summoned to live in the Council Edifice, she can—and often does—leave at any time. Yet she always returns—in part because she likes the life the Council provides her, but also because the Council has intimidated her into thinking that she must respect their wishes and continue working on the robe.

Nevertheless, it’s possible to achieve freedom simply by recognizing the source of power. At the end of the novel, Kira understands how the Council uses the Ruin Song and her robe to control the village. Yet she doesn’t leave the village with her father; instead, she stays behind to alter the robe’s message. Seemingly, Kira is as much of a slave as she was before—she’s still working for the Council, after all. Yet Kira has gained freedom for herself—she’s not intimidated by the Council anymore, and she’ll work as a “secret agent,” dismantling the Council’s power from the inside. Because power consists of mental control as much as physical control, Lowry concludes, there is freedom simply in taking control of one’s mind.