“If I planned to continue my bold adventure without reducing myself to living beneath a bridge and eating from rubbish bins—or worse, writing to my parents for help—I would need a proper job.”

Early in the story, this moment reveals a lot about Abigail’s character and relationship with her family in a small space. She hyperbolically considers her assortment of unappealing options, and reaching out to her family—in other words, admitting weakness—comes out last. While the line is comical, it also reveals a deep-seated truth about her need to stand on her own.

“Despite all of the mismatched chaos of its design, the building coalesced into something that seemed, somehow, right. No two elements of the property belonged together, but taken as a whole, not a thing stood out of place.”

This first glimpse of Jackaby’s house foreshadows his character and Abigail’s relationship with him. Jackaby and his home are both embodiments of controlled chaos. His relationship with the unseen world around him is one of disparate elements coming together in, if not harmony, some sort of manageable order. This is likewise the case with Jackaby and Abigail, who would seem to be completely at odds but instead complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

“I have ceased concerning myself with how things look to others, Abigail Rook. I suggest you do the same. In my experience, others are generally wrong.”

This idea is echoed later at the novel’s end when Abigail says, “I have ceased concerning myself with how things look to others […]. As someone told me recently, others are generally wrong” (292). This gives the novel a circular quality and illustrates the journey Abigail has taken since first meeting Jackaby. The line also has a double meaning: Jackaby literally sees the world differently than others, and they are “wrong” because they see projected glamour and illusion; however, it also suggests that others often only observe the surface of others and make hasty judgments.