45 pages • 1 hour read
Jenny NimmoMidnight for Charlie Bone: The Children of the Red King #1
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2002A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Red King
The Red King was a 13th-century sorcerer-king from Africa and is the shared ancestor of many of the characters in Midnight for Charlie Bone. As such, he is a literal representation of The Weight of Family Legacy. He left behind a wondrous and tragic legacy; while he used his powers for good, his 10 children split into factions after his departure. Half chose to use their power to “trick and to steal, to plunder, maim, and kill” (349), while the other half fled. After a prolonged absence, the Red King returned to find the devastation his children wrought. His regret and inability to reconcile his family led him to leave once more, showing that even the most powerful have limits.
The Red King’s story is a reminder that power itself is neutral; its morality depends on the intentions of those who wield it and how even those with the best intentions can be partially responsible for atrocities. Because he waited, he would have needed to kill his five children who turned evil, which he refused to do. The consequences of the decision rippled as each generation of his descendants had to grapple with the implications of the unresolved conflict. For Charlie and all the other endowed characters, the Red King represents a larger truth about the complex relationship between ancestry and identity. Their heritage carries an obligation that they must reckon with, and each descendant must make their own mark within or despite their heritage.
Tolly Twelve Bells
Tolly Twelve Bells is an invention designed by Dr. Tolly to free his daughter from her hypnotic trance by mimicking the sounds of the cathedral and reminding her of the day she was lost. Outside of its literal purpose in the plot, it symbolizes The Power of Friendship. Dr. Tolly and Miss Ingledew were unsuccessful in saving Emma because they both operated alone. Only when Miss Ingledew gives the case to Charlie, and he, in turn, brings others into the fight, can they prevail. The collectivism around the use of Tolly Twelve Bells begins from the moment Charlie receives it. Despite Miss Ingledew asking him to keep it a secret, the case is both figuratively and literally too heavy for him to carry alone. He gets Benjamin’s help, and they hide it at his house. Without his help, then Fidelio’s, the Yewbeams would have found the case long before it could ever have reached Emma. The discovery, preservation, and ultimate use of Tolly Twelve Bells to save Emma and reunite her with her aunt are only possible through the collective efforts of Charlie and his friends. Even though Charlie and his friends come from different backgrounds and possess different abilities, they unite around a common purpose: to help a friend in need.
The Flames
The three cats, known collectively as “the Flames,” are tied into the book’s theme of The Power of Friendship by providing guidance, warmth, and courage to the characters who need them most. They always work as a trio or with other characters, such as Mr. Onimous or Billy. While appearing to be three ordinary, if brightly colored cats, Aries, Sagittarius, and Leo are actually the centuries-old leopard companions of the Red King. While he is long-deceased, they continue to help his good-aligned descendants in the present. They become sources of literal and figurative light for the characters. For example, they are the ones who swapped the photo of Runner Bean with the one of Dr. Tolly and Emma, and one cat appears in the image itself as it tried to prevent her father from giving her away. Later, when Charlie is trapped in the ruin, they guide him to safety while using their magic to keep him warm.
The Endowed
In Midnight for Charlie Bone, the “endowed” are those descendants of the Red King who inherited some aspects of his magical powers. These characters represent both sides of The Struggle Between Good and Evil, and because of this, their powers often represent some aspect of their characters or their roles in the story. For example, Charlie Bone is curious and compassionate and wants to seek justice for wrongdoing. His endowment manifests in the ability to hear conversations in photographs and to literally read people, which provides him with clues as to what happened to Emma Tolly. For Emma herself, who spent most of her life imprisoned in some form, the ability to fly away from the Bloors represents her freedom once she regains her sense of self. Her endowment shows her willingness to look beyond her circumstances to help others, like birds often symbolize protection and freedom in literature. Finally, on the antagonists’ side, Manfred Bloor’s hypnotism is aligned with his cruel, manipulative personality and desire to control others. He uses his powers to intimidate others and force them to submit to his will, which contrasts with Charlie and Emma, who use their powers to support and protect others.
