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48 pages 1 hour read

Kate Milford

Greenglass House

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2014

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Symbols & Motifs

Greenglass House

Greenglass House is a sanctuary for smugglers and ne’er-do-wells passing through Nagspeake. As eclectic as the inhabitants of the town, Greenglass House creates a strong sense of place for the events of the narrative. The text describes the façade: “It was an inn, actually; a huge, ramshackle manor house that looked as if it had been cobbled together from discarded pieces of a dozen mismatched mansions collected from a dozen different cities” (1). Greenglass House’s remote location atop a hill overlooking Nagspeake provides not only a shelter for smugglers but also a haven for characters like Milo searching for identity and belonging within its walls. The wintry setting enhances this sense of seclusion, emphasizing the characters’ need for refuge and connection, and the icy storm forces the guests to remain at the inn and face their destinies. Despite its antiquated appearance, Greenglass House exudes a comforting presence as it reveals itself to be a repository of Nagspeake folklore and history. The further Meddy and Milo delve into its architecture and history, the more they learn about the home and themselves.

The architecture of Greenglass House mirrors the complexity of the characters’ identities and the intricate web of mysteries woven into the narrative. Its maze-like staircases, hidden dumbwaiter passages, and eerie green windows serve as metaphors for the characters’ internal struggles and the mysteries shrouding their pasts. For Meddy and Milo, Greenglass also serves as the live-action game board for their role-playing game. They assign code names to parts of the house: The attic becomes a prop room, the niche behind the Christmas tree becomes a rendezvous point, and the living room becomes a gathering place and storytelling arena where they gather clues from the guests. Aside from adding to the adventurous spirit, the inn’s labyrinthine design becomes a physical manifestation of the puzzle Milo and Meddy must sort through to find the answers to why the guests have assembled at Greenglass House. 

The inn is also a symbol of familial ties and connections among the guests, each of whom is looking for a part of their past, present, or future inside the inn. Once all the guests depart, it once again becomes the Pines’s family home. Milo rests knowing that, “little by little, Greenglass House changed from an empty inn back to Milo’s home at Christmastime” (372). The old inn, a fixture and landmark of Nagspeake geography, ultimately is a symbol of love as people for generations have found family, safety, and comfort there under the watchful eyes of the green windows nestled in the warmth of its covering.

Milo’s Rucksack

A rucksack is another name for a backpack and is used to tote items when traveling on foot. Milo finds the rucksack in the attic when he and Meddy discover its treasure trove of antiques. At first, Milo uses the rucksack to store items he uses to investigate the mystery, but soon it becomes a repository for everything he finds along the way. More than just a useful carryall, the rucksack comes to symbolize Milo’s past, his present adventure, and his future hopes. As an adopted child who was also a foundling, Milo doesn’t have any possessions from his biological family. When Milo’s father sees the bag, he says, “That might be my dad’s old city scout bag. I bet he’d love that you found it” (227). Though the rucksack didn’t belong to Milo’s biological grandfather, having it provides him a connection to his adopted family heritage and becomes a family heirloom.

In the present, the rucksack emblematizes adventure, history, exploration, and the unknown. Milo uses it to collect items he finds during his investigations, such as the lamp and the keys. The rucksack also carries the notebook where he keeps a log of the clues they find. Lacking a story of his own, Milo uses the rucksack to create a history for Negret. Carrying the rucksack on his back becomes a metaphor for the emotional baggage he bears from the unresolved questions about his past. Toting around the keys marked with the Chinese characters becomes a physical manifestation of Milo’s deep desire to know his identity. When Milo surrenders the keys and gifts them to Owen, he lightens his rucksack load and in turn, lightens his emotional burden by accepting that he may never get all the answers.

After he solves the mystery, the rucksack becomes a marker of Milo’s identity in the future as it represents who he wants to be. Through Negret, Milo learns he is brave, creative, and a loyal friend who cares for his family. The rucksack is a reminder that he has a family who loves him and that he can still have questions about his past without dishonoring his loving parents. Inside the rucksack, Milo carries The Raconteur’s Commonplace Book, a gift from Georgie, which he plans to continue reading to learn about Nagspeake. The bag also holds his lockpick kit from Clem, a sign that Milo has more sleuthing adventures to come. Having the proper gear is crucial to the success of any journey, and Milo’s rucksack, full of reminders of his experience, symbolizes his journey of self-discovery and growth and the potential for more adventure in his future.

Relics

A relic is an object that holds cultural, historical, religious, or sentimental significance due to its association with a person, event, period, or belief. Individuals and groups venerate relics for their connection to the past and their value as a tangible link to history or spirituality. In Greenglass House, the relics within the inn represent a preservation of history, memories, and the legacy of those who came before. Both Milo and his houseguests, in their quest to unravel the mysteries, become active participants in the perpetuation of the relics and the stories they hold. As Dr. Gowervine exclaims upon finding the cartoon of Holystone, “This house is full of treasures” (362). Milo first encounters the idea of relics in Mrs. Hereward’s story of Julian Roamer. Roamer owned a lamp, a knife, a flint, and a pair of shoes, and Mrs. Hereward believes that someone hid one of the fabled items in Greenglass House. Just as medieval pilgrims would journey to a cathedral to view a saint’s relics in the hope of spiritual renewal, Mrs. Hereward hopes to locate Roamer’s relics to solve her unanswered questions about her family, the Bluecrownes. The motif of relics adds a folkloric and mystical dimension to the narrative as Julian Roamer’s relics particularly embody a sense of magic and mystery. When Milo finds the ancient lantern, he discovers that the flame glows a strange blue color, suggesting this lamp is no ordinary lamp.

The hidden artifacts are conduits to the past, keys to self-discovery, and symbols of the interconnected lives that converge in the Nagspeake world Kate Milford creates. The iron gate is an important clue in unlocking the story of Greenglass House as it becomes a relic of the inn’s historic legacy. Once Clem confirms that the gate does exist, she explains how simple objects gain value: “Provenance? […] The origin of the thing. Where it came from, and who owned it before” (266). Clem’s explanation underscores the idea that the value of the relic often lies more in its owner and its story than the actual thing itself. As Milo uncovers the gate in the garage, he discovers an invaluable relic of the inn once known as Lansdegown.

Just as moving through a gate marks a passing over a threshold, finding the ancient gate is the beginning of Milo’s discovery of Meddy’s identity and her connection to the inn. Relics are not always monetarily valuable items, and the discovery of Holystone’s last cargo, the figurine for Addie, represents a sentimental relic. The presence of these keepsakes and collectibles inside Greenglass House represents the power of legacy and passing knowledge from one generation to the next. Georgie explains, “But when things were passed to you, you were supposed to pass them on to someone else eventually too” (254). In this way, Owen’s gift to Milo, the dragon, becomes a relic, its provenance more valuable than its material. Searching for and finding the small tokens makes not only a fun adventure but also a chance to understand and learn more about one’s history so one can continue sharing the legacy.

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