Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Hag-Seed, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Theater and The Tempest
Vengeance
Imprisonment and Marginalization
Transformation and Change
Grief
Summary
Analysis
Felix drives up the hill where the prison is located. Snow is still falling, and he worries that one day he’ll have a heart attack while shoveling his car out and die alone. The guard, who knows and likes Felix, lets him in cheerfully and Felix enters the prison, which smells like “unloved food eaten in boredom,” “dejection,” and “motherless years.” The atmosphere of the prison is like an “enchantment,” one that only Felix is able to lift.
The feelings troubling Felix and the atmosphere of the prison are somewhat similar—isolation from society and lack of family. It’s a reminder that like his students, Felix is languishing in a jail of sorts; however, unlike them, he has the power to free himself.
Themes
Felix passes through the metal detector, greeting the guards, Dylan and Madison. Neither of him suspect him—a “harmless old thespian”—of smuggling any contraband into the prison. He plays into this impression, smiling foolishly, but he knows it’s his words that should worry them the most, and they don’t appear on scanners.
Notably, in projecting a persona that differs crucially from his actual character, Felix is behaving very similarly to Tony. However, while he constantly criticizes his nemesis for this behavior, he doesn’t see it as problematic in himself.
Themes
Madison asks what play Felix will stage this year; the guards enjoy watching the performance as well, and Felix always gives them a special lecture to make them feel included and benevolent towards the project. Madison especially liked Macbeth, and Dylan can remember favorite quotes from the play. They both want to see another play about war, and are a little disappointed when Felix mentions The Tempest. Dylan asks distrustfully if The Tempest has fairies, but Felix explains that he’s thinking of A Midsummer Night’s Dream; The Tempest has goblins, and he promises they will like it.
The way everyone in the prison becomes enthusiastic about Felix’s plays—especially the political dramas—reflects how even plays considered inaccessible can reflect the concerns of real life. Atwood uses moments like this to argue that theater isn’t merely aesthetically appealing, but socially useful as well.
Themes
Madison asks if The Tempest has a fight scene, and Felix says vaguely that there’s something of the sort. But when he tells them the play is about revenge, they both perk up; to them, “revenge is a known quantity” and always interesting to hear about. The guards tell Felix they trust him, and give him the security pager he has to wear at all times, and which can summon the guards in case of a problem. Felix knows that there’s going to be trouble this year, but not the kind the guards worry about.
Felix is partly emphasizing the importance of vengeance in The Tempest for his own aims—he wants to use the play to effect his own revenge. At the same time, it does bring prisoners and guards together around the unusual play, showing how Felix’s pursuit of revenge both displays his own flaws and helps him relate to (and even help) those around him.
Themes
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