Background and summary
Robin McKinley’s The Hero and the
Crown was published in 1984, and won the Newbery Medal in 1985. Its
prequel, The Blue
Sword, is a Newbery Honor Book. The story takes place in the kingdom of
Damar, a kingdom filled with memories of magic and great heroes, but very
little of that left, ever since they lost the Hero’s Crown generations before.
The kings of Damar wear no crown in memory of the Crown, and in hopes that it
will return to Damar. The royal family has some Gift that allows them to do
small feats of magic (such as mending broken plates by staring at them). They
also rely on a plant called surka, which is supposedly fatal to all but the
royal family, to induce hallucinations which sometimes end up being visions.
Aerin, the main character, is the
daughter of Arlbeth, king of Damar. Unfortunately, Aerin is not the picture of
what a princess should be. She is clumsy, and lacks the Gift that normal royals
have. She feels she is tolerated, but not loved, except by Tor, her cousin who
is next in line to the throne, and Talat, a war horse who was left to himself
after being injured in battle. One day, however, Aerin finds a recipe in an old
book for kenet, a substance that protects against fire – even dragon fire.
After many months, Aerin perfects the recipe. Since she cannot fit in at the
court, she decides to go dragon-hunting to prove to her father and everyone else
that she isn’t entirely worthless. She starts with smaller, relatively
non-dangerous dragons, but eventually fights Maur, one of the ancient dragons,
who has been awoken through sorcery from the northern enemies of Damar.
Although she defeats Maur, she is
badly injured, and grows gradually sicker over the next few weeks. Luthe
contacts her through a dream, telling her to come to him before it is too late.
She takes Talat and eventually does find Luthe, who heals her, but in so doing,
also makes her immortal. He teaches her magic, and also reveals that her
mother’s brother, Agsded, is the one responsible for the sorcery against Damar.
A prophecy foretells that only one of his own blood will defeat Agsded. Aerin’s
mother was not able to do it, but if Aerin cannot, her beloved Damar will fall.
Aerin barely defeats Agsded, and
wins the Hero’s Crown, which Agsded had for all those years. When she leaves
his tower, however, she finds a very different world. Apparently, her ascent
and descent from the tower were really years rather than minutes. Luthe,
however, is able to take her back through time so that she can reach Damar in
time for the power of the Hero’s Crown to be able to save it. This she
accomplishes as well, promising to return to Luthe after she has fulfilled her
duty to her country – which includes not only saving it, but also marrying Tor
and becoming Damar’s queen.
Interest group
This book appeals to both genders.
Boys will enjoy the number of places Aerin travels throughout the book – Maur’s
lair, Agsded’s tower, Damar, Luthe’s mountain, and many other places. They will
also enjoy the action scenes, such as when Aerin is fighting Maur or Agsded.
The story also takes place over a long period of time, which boys tend to like
more than girls do. Damar is also an incredibly developed world with a rich
history and very clearly defined rules for magic and supernatural elements.
Girls will enjoy the female main character, and the romantic subplots, both
with Tor and Luthe. Girls will also enjoy the descriptions of Aerin’s emotions
throughout the story, even in the action scenes, which girls may not enjoy as
much.
This book would be good for upper
high school, probably no earlier than tenth grade. It would be acceptable for
younger readers if not for some of the objectionable elements listed
previously. Also, the writing style would be hard to follow for younger
readers. It deals with coming of age and growing up, but it also deals with
harder concepts that would interest older readers. While junior high students
may enjoy the story, some of the objectionable elements (discussed later) make
it more appropriate for upper high school.
Developing Mature Readers
This book deals with six of the
nine tasks for developing mature readers. First of all, Aerin learns about
relationships with members of the opposite sex. Unfortunately, this book does
not always provide good guidance in this area. As I said previously, Aerin’s
relations with Luthe are clearly beyond the boundaries of appropriateness.
However, Aerin’s relationship with Tor is a good one, especially in their
loyalty to one another. Beyond a kiss, there is no physical involvement in
their relationship, and it is Tor who teaches Aerin swordplay, looks out for
her, counsels her, and sticks up for her. Even when Aerin thinks she should
avoid Tor because of what it might do to his reputation, Tor is a faithful
friend. Their friendship grows from something like a brother and sister into
romance later. Romance aside though, readers can learn a lot about what it
means to be a loyal friend through Aerin’s relationship with Tor.
Aerin also gains an understanding
of her gender role and her physical body. She does not fit with the other court
ladies at the beginning of the book. Galanna tells her she isn’t really a
royal, isn’t really her father’s daughter, and Aerin begins to believe her
since she isn’t good at any of the things girls are normally good at in that
culture. She is clumsy, overly tall, and not very graceful in social settings.
Aerin becoming a dragon-killer gives her a distinctive role, something she is
good at, and also gives her the confidence to fill her role as a queen and
member of the court later. Aerin can teach readers to focus on what they can do, rather
than what they can’t.
Aerin also finds a vocation and
sense of achievement during the book. She decides she wants to do something
with adventure, so she perfects the kenet and sets out to slay dragons. Dragon
killing gives her a sense of achievement, but she also returns to Damar with a
new title – Aerin-sol, Dragon-killer. The title gives her a place and earns her
the respect of the court, including her father. Eventually, she comes to accept
that her differences are part of her purpose – not just slaying dragons, but
defeating Agsded, and becoming Damar’s queen.
Aerin also learns independence from
parents. She rehabilitates Talat without her father’s knowledge (or so she
thinks), and her first dragon-killing attempts are also without any involvement
from her father. Through the story, she stops fearing what her father or anyone
else will think of her decisions, and just does what she feels is right. Aerin
shows readers that they are responsible for their own actions and choices.
Aerin learns to live with her
beliefs and values as well. She has to decide how she is going to
live her life, and she decides she is not going to let others tell her who she
is. She goes and finds out who she is. When she finds out, however, and in the
process becomes immortal, she has to decide whether she will go back to Damar.
Ultimately, her choice to go back to Damar and marry Tor is a choice she makes
according to her own values. Aerin can teach readers that the right choice
isn’t always easy, but is still worth making.
Potential Issues With
the Book
The potential issues with this
novel are few, but definitely worth noting. First of all, language could be an
issue. There are no true swear words in the book, however, the characters do
swear. Although they technically do not take God’s name in vain – the
characters say “gods” rather than “God” – they are still blaspheming their own
deities in doing so. The plural use of God’s name is a technicality, and for
many, may not make the language any less offensive.
The greater issue has to do with
Aerin’s love interests. First of all, there are two love interests – one mortal
(Tor), and one immortal (Luthe). Rather than having to choose between them, as
a character normally would in a love triangle, Aerin finishes the book with the
idea that she can have both. She marries Tor, all the while intending to return
to Luthe once Tor dies. Since Aerin is immortal at that point, she knows she
will outlive her husband.
The idea that Aerin can have both
love interests is more of an underlying idea, however, and is not nearly as
concerning as her interactions with Luthe. After her battle with Agsded, Luthe
drags Aerin back through time, and they travel together toward Damar, until
their paths separate as Luthe travels back to his mountain, and Aerin toward
her home. During this journey, Luthe and Aerin sleep side by side. While it is
not appropriate for them to do so, for the first few nights, it is simply for
comfort, and they are just sleeping.
Unfortunately, it does not stay
that way. While the author is not overly descriptive, it is clear that Aerin
and Luthe have premarital sex at least once toward the end of the book. Not
only is this unnecessary to the plot, it is also presented as perfectly
acceptable. Aerin never even has to admit it to Tor, who she marries only a few
pages later.
Recommendation
I will say that I thoroughly
enjoyed the book. The style is very similar to Tolkien’s, and it occurred to me
as I was reading that it would make an excellent stepping stone to reading the Lord of the Rings
trilogy, which many readers struggle to get through in junior high and early
high school due to the writing style and tone. Additionally, this book is set
in a highly developed and engaging world, with well developed characters and an
engaging plot.
That said, I cannot, with a clear
conscience, recommend that this book be taught in a classroom. The issues
concerning Aerin and Luthe’s relationship could not be adequately discussed in
a public school setting, and in a Christian school, I believe most parents
would find this book offensive even if it were discussed in class.
Whether or not a teacher should
give this book to a student for outside reading should be evaluated on a case
by case basis. The scene is brief and non-descriptive, but the student would
have to be mature enough to realize that, although it is presented positively
in the book, premarital sex is sinful, and the circumstances in which Aerin and
Luthe find themselves does not make it any less sinful. The teacher (or parent)
could point out how many questionable situations Aerin willingly involved
herself in before she actually crossed the line into sin, and in that way, this
book could be a useful teaching tool for a more mature reader.
Resources for Teaching or Research
Robin McKinley has both a website
and a blog about her work in general. Her website includes links to interviews
and speeches she has given. She has summaries of all her books, including the
ones she has co-written with her husband. She has a link to her blog, which
could be interesting to explore, as it give insight into her personality, but
overall is rather odd in her tastes and style.
Scholastic.com gives some basic
statistics on the book, including age level, Lexile© measure, and a very brief
summary. Teachingbooks.net gives a link to an audio recording of part of the
book. Bookrags.com, of course, has lesson plans and packets with activities,
quizzes, etc., available for purchase. The website readwritethink.org suggests
this book as an option for reading in their set of lessons entitled “Heroes
Around Us,” which seems like it could be an interesting set of lessons to
consider.
Works Cited
Bookrags. “The Hero and the Crown
Lesson Plans for Teachers.” Bookrags, 2015. Web. 12 Apr 2015.
McKinley, Robin. The Hero and the
Crown. New York: Puffin Books, 1984. Print.
“Robin McKinley.” Robin McKinley,
2015. Web. 12 Apr 2015.
ReadWriteThink. “Heroes Around Us.”
ReadWriteThink, 2015. Web. 12 Apr 2015.
Scholastic. “The Hero and the Crown.”
Scholastic, 2015. Web. 12 Apr 2015.
TeachingBooks. “The Hero and the
Crown.”TeachingBooks, 2015. Web. 12 Apr 2015.
