I was so in love with The Princess in the Opal Mask by Jenny Lundquist that I just had to talk to her. The novel is set in an imaginary kingdom with two young girls, one who doesn’t know who she is and the other who is literally hidden from everyone around her. When their paths cross, unexpected mysteries develop.
This is a tale of many hidden individuals, both literally (as in the king’s adviser who hides his real agenda, the princess who hides behind an opal mask) and figuratively (Elara, who doesn’t know her true identity). Can you discuss the metaphorical and emotional significance of your masked princess and her foil, Elara, who doesn’t know who she is?
The mask is very symbolic of both girls being “unknown” both to those around them and to themselves. Wilha is literally masked, literally unknown; but Elara is equally unknown: her mask is an emotional one. She never lets people in. She rarely speaks without first calculating how her words and actions can affect a better outcome for herself. One of my favorite passages from her perspective is:
Sometimes I wonder if I’m capable of loving another. I learned early on that if I was going to survive Mistress’s abuse, I would have to take the little girl who cried and craved another’s love and tuck her away, somewhere deep inside of me, where no one could ever find her.
All these years later, I wonder if that girl even exists anymore.
While Elara literally doesn’t know who she is; Wilha is in some senses also a stranger to herself. Though she is the most famous woman in her kingdom, she’s been sheltered behind palace walls, and rarely been allowed the type of friendships and responsibilities we all need to help us figure out the people we want to be and become in this world. A favorite from Wilha’s perspective is:
People look at me, not as someone they may wish to know, but as a macabre curiosity, a freak that both intrigues and repulses them. Men hold their children tighter, fearing that the rumors may be true, and I have the power to harm their family. Beautiful women glare at me, feeling upstaged by the grandeur of my jewels and dress. The peasants worship or revile me, calling out their well wishes or ill will in equal measures.
None of them want to look past the Masked Princess’s costume and see the girl underneath.
As the story begins, Wilha is able to understand that there’s a distinction between who she really is and the icon her kingdom either worships or fears, but beyond that she’s pretty unclear about her own identity and self- worth. As the author, I consider it my job to help her (and Elara) find those answers, both in The Princess in the Opal Mask, and in the sequel, which will be out in October of 2014.
Can you talk about the importance of identity for teen readers?
Although I never set out determined to incorporate a specific theme into my books, through my years of writing I’ve discovered that the issues of identity and self-worth are hugely important to me. It shows up not just in Princess, but in the two middle grade novels I’ve written, Seeing Cinderella, and Plastic Polly. I feel like teen girls are given so many conflicting messages from our society about what they should value, who they should be, who they should try to become. As a former youth counselor, it was my job to listen to whatever was on a girl’s mind. Oftentimes I’d find myself in the position of hearing a girl agonize over a particular boy in her life and wondering how she could make herself more attractive/acceptable to him. I remember wanting to scream in frustration. I always want to listen to a hurting person’s heart, but I also think that one of the best things a girl, or we as women, can do is spend time developing our own personality and strengths. I believe our future selves will thank us for it.
Wilha grasps the opportunity for freedom when it comes, but Elara finds her freedom fettered with obligations that she’d no idea she had. Freedom is a quintessential value for Americans, one of our “founding” values so to speak. Can you comment on what “Freedom” means to the various characters in the novel? Why does freedom look different–or is defined differently–for different individuals?
As I said, when I begin a novel I never set out with a specific theme in mind. I’m much too involved in discovering the basic story in the early stages. But a few drafts in I realized that the idea of freedom and what that looks like was extremely important in this series. Specifically, I wanted to explore the idea that as individuals we have the right to find and fight for the future we want, instead of settling for the one we were marked for. I believe freedom looks different depending on your starting point, or station in life.
From Wilha’s perspective, she’s had no freedom, as she’s always been under the thumb of her father the king, and has been condemned to wear the mask all her life. She has been marked for a royal marriage match, despite her feelings for Patric, the soldier who trains her how to use a sword. For Wilha, freedom means having the power to choose her own destiny and the privilege of being in the company of people who will look past the glitter and glamour of her jeweled masks (and the ugliness of the rumors surrounding her) and see her, Wilha, the individual underneath.
For Elara, she’s been marked for a dreary future. Without a family who loves her, she can only expect to spend the rest of her life serving the Ogdens. Her idea of freedom must, by necessity, be linked to a way to provide for herself in her world. This is partially why she is initially put off by Wilha. From Elara’s perspective, Wilha’s wealth and privilege should have given her all the freedom in the world—if only Wilha had been strong enough to stand up and assert herself. Wilha’s perceived “weakness” from Elara’s perspective lies at the very heart of her inability to want to know Wilha as the girl behind the mask.
For both girls, much of their story is spent striving to find the freedom to secure a better life. I think my favorite line in the entire book comes toward the end from Wilha’s point of view:
Once upon a time, I stood in this room and chose to run away from my future. But tonight, I choose to run to my future.
Can you give us a sneak preview of the themes and plot of the sequel?
I am so in love with the sequel (and final book of the series). I think it’s my favorite of all the books I’ve written. I say that about every book I write, but darn it, this time I really mean it! Keep in mind I’m still revising, so certain things could change. At the end of Princess, both girls make a big choice. That choice is a victory for both of them, and I’m glad they make it. But Book 2 will open several months after the conclusion of Book 1, and we’ll see that choice has had wearying effects on both girls.
Without giving away too much, I’ll say that the plot revolves around a mysterious death, a secret that becomes known to all, a city on the brink of revolution, a stronger romantic element, a carriage chase through a crowded street, and a good sword fight.
As we move a bit further into the overall story, each girl has gained more freedom over the choices she can make in her life and has to wrestle more with the type of person she wants to become, and how she wants to be remembered, both by the people close to her, and by History itself. A major theme I want to explore is the ability a person has to change, and that who someone has been in the past doesn’t have to dictate who they become in the future. It has been insanely fun to write the sequel, and I have to admit, I will be a little sad when it’s finished, but at the same time, really excited to show readers the next step in Elara and Wilha’s journey.