45 pages • 1 hour read
Ava ReidA Study in Drowning
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Literary Context: The Rise of Dark Academia Literature
A Study in Drowning is a work of “dark academia” literature, a contemporary term that rose to prominence in the early 2010s. It represents both a literary genre and a visual aesthetic, with the latter strongly influenced by the former. As a literary genre, dark academia follows morally ambiguous characters who pursue knowledge in some way. This usually occurs within a controlled establishment, such as a school, archive, or museum. These stories explore themes like the cost of knowledge and the systemic class divides that have historically been present within these institutions. Much of the moral ambiguity in these novels comes from the fact that prestigious institutes of higher learning have traditionally been comprised of male, white, and upper class individuals. For many, such as Oxford in the UK, it was only in the late 1900s that the student populace became more consistently co-ed and multiracial. This transitionary period is explored through a secondary world in A Study in Drowning.
Donna Tartt’s The Secret History is widely considered to be the first overtly dark academia novel, although the term was not yet in widespread use when the book was first published. This trend of “campus novels” inspired an aesthetic and subculture that arose between 2010 and 2015, first on the blogging platform Tumblr and later on other social media platforms. At this point, dark academia became a romanticization of the concepts and settings presented in books like these: luxurious paneled study halls, tweed blazers, ancient leather tomes, and moody classical music. It also sees a return to traditional intellectual craftsmanship such as calligraphy, cartography, or bookbinding. Capitalizing on trends from the 2020s, the novel also includes elements of Gothic aesthetics and higher fantasy. Dark academia is often set in the real world, though it could be set in any location or time period; the inclusion of a second world setting, fairy mythology, and older, sweeping architecture helps the novel bridge several genres at once.
In a cyclical fashion, the 2020s are seeing a surge of novels that reincorporate this visual and tactile lifestyle. Dark academia has flourished due to its reverence of the pursuit of knowledge, but despite its tendency to criticize systemic discrimination or class systems, it has sparked controversy due to its lack of racial diversity. However, modern literature is beginning to shift to more inclusive writing, often using this inclusivity to critique the genre’s inherent problems. A Study in Drowning uses its space to enter into discourse with the gender stigma that has traditionally existed in conventional academia.
Sociohistorical Context: Superstitions and Defense Against Fairies
The origins of fairy legends are rooted mostly in Brythonic, Gaelic, and Germanic cultures, but they are very commonly associated with Ireland in the modern day. Unlike some contemporary western interpretations that depict them as charming or wish-granting, Irish myths portray fairies as mischievous, threatening, or morally ambiguous. According to legend, they originally lived in the real world and interacted with humans before being driven underground by the Celts; the entrances to their world now exist in liminal spaces in remote areas. Developing Christian influences in Ireland rebuked Pagan beliefs and conflated interpretations of the fairy world with religious ideas, portraying locations associated with the creatures as entrances to Hell.
Many of the wards against fairies that are mentioned in A Study with Drowning can be sourced from the original myths and superstitions, such as the use of rowan and iron. The novel uses them specifically to keep the Fairy King at bay. Effy mentions both rowan trees and mountain ash, seemingly unaware that they’re the same plant. Iron plays a particular role throughout the novel, with Angharad wearing a “girdle of iron” and binding the door to the guest cottage with heavy iron hinges to protect Effy from the Fairy King (47). The use of a hag stone, or an adder stone, also occurs in the story. This stone has many uses depending on the culture, but the novel uses it in a way that aligns with Welsh culture: A small stone with a naturally occurring hole in the center can be looked through to reveal magical entities.
Other folkloric sources of protection from Ireland and beyond that are not explored in the text are St. John’s wort (a yellow flowering plant), red thread, four-leafed clovers, bread made in a mortal home, and turning one’s clothes inside out. Exhibiting the contradictions of some myths and legends, some cultures believe that fairies have less power over running water, such as rivers or streams; however, others see fairies as an extension of this natural landscape. In A Study in Drowning, the Fairy King is more powerful near the wildness of the sea. This is likely because Hiraeth Manor exists at a threshold between land and sea, and these “in-between” places and times were deeply associated with otherworldly influence. Ultimately, the Fairy King is defeated by the use of a broken piece of chandelier that catches his reflection, harkening back to a myriad of myths on mirrors and water. A reflective surface could act as a portal, capture a soul, or bind a creature to the world.
Though the story is a second world fantasy, meaning it takes place in an alternate reality, the use of real-world mythology helps offer more complexity to the lore behind the story. Despite a growing distrust in fairy legends in the world of A Study in Drowning, with books about the topic housed in the Fiction section of Effy’s school library, she exhibits a secret, adamant faith in them that is affirmed by the existence of the Fairy King. This faith in cultural tales is shown to be a central element of the story, as Effy’s attachment to them acts not only as a plot device that foreshadows the novel’s climax but also as a connection to her culture.
