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Chapter 7: Matthias
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Six of Crows, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Greed
Friendship and Difference
Trauma, the Past, and Moving Forward
Identity, Values, and Growing Up
Summary
Analysis
Upon hearing the revelation that Wylan is Van Eck’s son, Jesper laughs. It all makes sense, and it’s fun to see Wylan’s embarrassment and everyone else’s surprise. Kaz says he’s only kept Wylan around because he’s “excellent at hostage.” Wylan tries to argue, but Kaz points out that in the last few months since Wylan left his father’s home, nothing bad has happened to him. That’s because the Dregs have been protecting him. Wylan won’t say why he left home, but he does share that he attended an embassy dinner at the Ice Court, so he can help plan. As it comes out that Wylan is an exceptional sketcher and also plays the flute, Wylan’s blush deepens.
Aside from being “excellent at hostage,” Wylan doesn’t seem to bring much to the table aside from comic relief, which the detail about him being a flautist highlights. Kaz tries to impress upon Wylan that he hasn’t just been leading a charmed life in the Barrel since leaving Van Eck’s house: Kaz has been protecting him, and so Wylan now owes Kaz.
Themes
Finally, Kaz tells Wylan to start sketching Matthias’s description of the Ice Court. Jesper mocks the expensive drawing supplies as Matthias describes the Ice Court’s concentric rings. The drüskelle facilities, the embassies, and the prison are in the outer ring. Then there’s the ice moat, and in the middle, the White Island. To get past each ring, there are multiple guarded gates and an alarm system. At Kaz’s request, Matthias points to the prison, where Yul-Bayur will probably be kept on the top floor with Grisha and terrorists. But Kaz doesn’t think he’ll be with “the rabble,” so Matthias suggests he’ll probably be on the White Island in the very secure treasury or palace. He insists that no foreigners will make it to the White Island due to the intense security, so this is a pointless cause.
As Matthias describes the Ice Court, the crew and readers get an idea of what they’re in for—and it seems, as Matthias suggests, that the whole heist is impossible due to the security and the danger. For now, it’s unclear how, exactly, the crew is going to get in and out with Yul-Bayur. Note that Matthias lumps Grisha in with terrorists as he describes the prison. This speaks to how the Fjerdans think of Grisha: they’re as horrible and are treated the same as criminals whose goal it is to cause chaos and immense harm.
Themes
Nina pipes up that Hringkälla is coming up. Ignoring Matthias’s snarls and glares, she explains that this holiday is when new drüskelle are initiated; there’s a huge party on the White Island with foreign entertainment. Nina suggests they sneak in with performers, but since Hringkälla is only two weeks away, they don’t have time to get appropriate identity documents. So, Kaz says, they’re going to use the fact that the Fjerdans are going to be so busy protecting the royal family and guests to sneak in through the prison as prisoners. Jesper is shocked and Nina shivers, but Kaz makes two lockpicks come out of his sleeve and disappear again. He’ll get them out of the cells. Kaz explains that Yul-Bayur knows the code word from the Kerch, so he should come willingly. He tells Matthias to remember as much as he can about the Ice Court.
Kaz has already shown himself to be exceptional at picking locks and planning heists like this, so it begins to look more likely that he’ll be able to make this work. However, note Nina’s response to his initial plan in particular. He’s asking her to willingly become a prisoner in Fjerda, even if just for a short time—something that’s particularly dangerous for a Grisha. Kaz is asking his crew to risk their lives in ways they’d certainly never choose to in order to pull this off, and for now, it’s not yet clear what everyone’s motivation is for following Kaz.
Themes
