In Granted, many of the characters try impose excessive control over things that they ultimately come to realize they have no real power over. On a large scale, the novel explores this theme through the fairies’ structured system of protecting and controlling magic. On a smaller scale, characters in the novel, like the protagonist Ophelia, come to realize that excessive preparation and planning is not particularly useful when faced with real-life problems. In fact, the novel emphasizes that having set ideas about people and situations causes trouble and that it takes flexibility and adaptability to be a true problem solver.   

One way in which the novel illustrates this theme is by showing how the fairies’ world is bound by strict rules and procedures. One of the rules that the fairies follow is living in the Havens, which are the designated permanent homes for fairies. Fairies are not born there; they come from plants in the outside world. They are “creatures of nature in the most intimate sense, sprung from magic and beauty and wisdom” (6). Founders take young fairies from the human world to the Havens, and they must stay in the Havens from that point forward.