56 pages • 1 hour read
Tamsyn MuirGideon the Ninth
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Literary Devices
Free and Indirect Discourse
Free and indirect discourse is a literary device that shapes a story’s narration. Free and indirect discourse occurs when a third-person narrator speaks in ways that reflect the internal thoughts of a character within the story. The narrator describes the Fourth House teenagers as “ghastly,” “loathsome,” and “awful” (85-86). These are the feelings of Gideon, not the narrator. The novel is told from a third-person limited perspective and while this does allow insight into the perspective character’s mind, it does not project the perspective character’s thoughts onto the narrator.
Free and indirect discourse lets the narrator “dip” into Gideon’s head to share her thoughts and feelings as if they were objective facts about the scenes described. The narrator saying that Gideon thinks the teenagers are awful carries less weight than the narrator simply stating that the teenagers are awful. Free and indirect discourse allows a third-person narration to make characters’ feelings weightier by placing them in the authoritative perspective of the narrator.
Allegory
Allegory is a symbolic story that allows a given scene, object, or character to represent something greater within the narrative. It is also a simplified way to explain a moral or lesson that would be difficult to convey otherwise. The subjects of allegory are figurative, meaning that they are not confined to their literal meanings and represent larger, often abstract concepts.
Gideon the Ninth uses allegory to explore LGBTQ+ identity and the effects of anti-LGBTQ+ biases and violence. Anti-LGBTQ+ biases do not exist in the world of Gideon the Ninth, meaning these issues must be explored figuratively and not literally. Harrow is full of self-loathing and hatred. She is unable to trust anybody or let Gideon near her because Harrow fears what intimacy with the other woman would mean. Harrow is also notably infatuated with the girl who lives in the Locked Tomb, which causes her parents to die by suicide. As an allegory, Harrow’s attraction to the girl in the Locked Tomb is a cause of shame for her family because of her attraction to the girl. Harrow’s feelings of self-loathing and shame over who she is are also very similar to closeted LGBTQ+ teenagers in the real world. Gideon’s forgiveness of Harrow in the pool and their subsequent intimacy represent a figurative acceptance of Harrow’s LGBTQ+ identity, allowing her to express affection and self-acceptance.
Anachronism
Anachronism is the presence of objects, ideas, phrases, or other things in a time during which they should not exist. Muir makes multiple references to internet memes throughout Gideon and uses contemporary slang that should not exist thousands of years into the future. Examples include the “studied the blade” meme (48), Gideon using the word “salty” (137), and the suggestive “That’s what she said” joke (192, 336).
Gideon the Ninth is rife with references to Greek myths and biblical figures (see the essay “A Little Explanation of Naming Systems” in the back of the book). Muir has stated that she views biblical and meme references to be the same; she believes the divide between high-brow and low-brow allusion is a false binary (Grady, Constance. “How Gideon the Ninth Author Tamsyn Muir Queers the Space Opera.” Vox, 5 Feb. 2021). Muir’s stance is a statement on what literature should do, and she believes that Gideon the Ninth should be marked as a product of its time. Often, authors avoid topical references to popular culture to create books that will be “timeless.” Muir uses anachronisms to make the novel just as irreverent and filled with humor as Gideon’s personality. The anachronisms intentionally contrast the grimdark setting and conventions.
