(NOTE: page numbers refer to the hardcover edition)
Lily is one of my favorite characters in The Eight. At first I
didn't think I would like her so much; Catherine calls her "obnoxious" (p.
32), and she complains all the time. But Lily changes as the book goes
along; she's much more mature at the end. We see this especially when she
and Catherine and Solarin are on the boat. At first, Solarin and
Catherine do all the work on the boat, while Lily, who is seasick, stays
in the cabin. But, after the storm at sea, when they stop on the island
of Formentera to repair the boat, Lily's attitude changes; she shares the
work with Catherine and Solarin (p. 490), and, when they start out again,
she stops complaining about being seasick. Even before they go on the
boat, Lily turns out to be much braver than we thought she was at first;
think of the way she fights back in the confrontation with Sharrif and his
friends.
I also like Lily because she's the "comic relief" character in The
Eight. There is, after all, something very funny about her constant
complaining, and Catherine's reactions to it. She's also funny because
she seems to think of nothing but chess; interestingly, that is something
else that changes later in the book, as we will see. Also, I must admit
that I love her little dog, Carioca. It's interesting that Catherine's
attitude towards Carioca, as well as her attitude towards Lily, changes;
at first, she thinks Carioca is a nuisance (see p. 69-70, for example),
but, later in the book, when they think Carioca is lost, Catherine is
almost as upset as Lily, even though she doesn't get so emotional (p.
411).
Interestingly, I have noticed that Lily and Mireille have some things
in common. You wouldn't think, at first, that they did; after all,
Mireille and Catherine are supposed to be "parallel characters", not
Mireille and Lily. Mireille is very brave throughout the book, while Lily
seems to be something of a coward at first, until she turns out to be
brave after all. What do Lily and Mireille have in common? First of all,
and most obviously, they are both very intelligent. Also, they both have
an animal that they love; Mireille has the falcon and Lily has Carioca the
dog (Catherine doesn't have an animal).
Most importantly, Lily and Mireille are both very emotional; they are
probably the two most emotional characters in The Eight, although
they show it in very different ways. Lily, of course, complains all the
time, while Mireille is not a complainer; the only times we see Mireille
complain are very early in the book. Both characters cry several times,
but Mireille cries more than Lily does. Of course, Mireille has a more
tragic life than Lily, so this is probably why she cries more.
(If I missed any, let me know.)
Another thing that Lily has in common with Mireille is that they are
both interested in ancient history. Mireille writes down the legends of
Shahin's people; she is also familiar with the story of Dido and Aeneas,
and she mentions Herodotus in her diary. Lily tells Catherine about the
Minoans and the labyrinth (p. 407); this shows you that chess is
not her only interest, after all.
I think of Lily and Valentine as "parallel" characters, to a certain
extent. They play a similar role in the Game, at least until Valentine's
death; they are both the pawn who accompanies the Black Queen. Valentine
is also something of a "comic relief" character towards the beginning of
the book. (And this is probably one reason why her death is completely
unexpected.) Valentine is also emotional and a complainer; in the very
first chapter it is Valentine, not Mireille, who does most of the
complaining about being in the convent. Lily and Valentine are more
immature than Catherine and Mireille. Lily matures as the book goes
along; Valentine never has time to mature. Also, Lily and Valentine have
personalities that contrast with those of the two main characters;
Catherine and Mireille are much more rational and level-headed than Lily
and Valentine. This is especially true of Catherine, since Mireille is
very emotional (but see my article on changes in Mireille's character;
you'll see that Mireille becomes less emotional and more
scientifically-minded by the end of the book).
Although Lily and Valentine are parallel characters, there are also
some important differences between them. Of course, there is the obvious
one: Valentine dies and Lily doesn't. Lily is much more intelligent than
Valentine. Lily is a great chess player; as far as we know, Valentine
doesn't play chess. Lily's mother is evil; we don't really know anything
about Valentine's parents, but I think that if they were in the Game, they
were both on the Black team. Also, the main characters' attitudes are
different; Mireille likes Valentine from the very beginning, but Catherine
does not like Lily at first.
It happens very gradually, I think. Possibly, Catherine doesn't even
realize that her attitude towards Lily is changing. In fact, the
200-year-old Mireille probably realized it before Catherine did; she says,
"The two of you will make a perfect team." (p. 378). Catherine's reaction
is, "I was as anxious to be teamed with Lily as an ox is to be yoked to a
kangaroo." (p. 378). At the same time, however, she admits that she needs
Lily's chess skills to win the Game. I think that Catherine is trying to
deny that her attitude towards Lily has changed, while Mireille realizes
that it has, to some extent.
I think the first time we realize that Catherine has actually started
to like Lily is when they're in the desert, in the 130-degree heat, and
Catherine says, "Gee, we're friends at last..." (p. 400). By the time
they're on the boat, the change is complete. At the end of the book,
Catherine and Lily, as well as the other members of the Black team, know
that they are going to be friends for a long time (p. 550).
When, exactly, did her father choose her to be a Black player in the
Game? It must have been when she was very young, since her mother, the
White Queen, named her Lily on purpose, hoping that she would become a
White player (p. 531).
Why does she always call her father "Harry" and her grandfather
"Mordecai"? It seems strange that she always calls them by their first
names.
Where did she go to college? Or did she? It's not clear whether or
not she went to college.
Will she ever beat Solarin at chess? (Somehow I doubt it. Lily is a
great chess player, but Solarin is the greatest in the world.)
If Lily and Nim played chess, who would win? They seems to be at about
the same level.
Does Lily ever get to be a Grand Master, or whatever the highest level
of chess player is? (By the way, I would appeciate any comments from
someone who can tell me about the ranking of chess players, and the
different levels.)
Does she ever get married? There is no love interest for Lily.
How does she deal with knowing how evil her mother is?
Copyright 1997 Vicki Kondelik.
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