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Chapter 11
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Last Unicorn, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Love and Friendship
Mortality and Innocence
Obsession and Control
Belief and Stories
Summary
Analysis
Renewed with motivation to help Lady Amalthea, Schmendrick locates a smiling skull, determined to make it speak, as the cat previously told Molly it should in a riddle. His numerous spells fail, however, and the skull only speaks when Schmendrick shouts at it in anger. To Schmendrick, Molly, and Lady Amalthea, the skull explains that he once worked for Haggard and no longer feels loyal to him—but he refuses to explain how to get to the Red Bull. In a desperate attempt to make an offering, Schmendrick tries to make a flask of wine from water, as Molly’s cat mentioned wine in his riddle. Elated, the skull reveals that the way to the Red Bull is through Haggard’s clock, which stands in the corner of the great hall.
Despite Molly’s previous comment to Lady Amalthea that Schmendrick has lost hope in their journey, Schmendrick is able to successfully use magic after a few failed attempts. This suggests that there’s hope for Schmendrick as a magician after all, and perhaps his loyalty to Lady Amalthea and desire to help his friend are part of what’s powering his magic. After all, his previous significant feats of magic—summoning Robin Hood and turning the unicorn to a girl—were in service of the unicorn’s quest, ultimately taken to protect the unicorn from harm.
Active
Themes
Molly and Schmendrick press the skull for more of an explanation, and it refuses, asking instead to be shattered on the ground. When they refuse, the skull begins to screech for King Haggard, alerting him that Schmendrick intends to find the Red Bull. Schmendrick, Molly, and Lady Amalthea run away from Haggard’s henchmen, and when they get to the clock, Lady Amalthea simply passes through it without hesitation. With the clock acting as a door to a different realm, Lady Amalthea finds herself alongside Molly and Prince Lír, the latter of whom saw her pass through the clock and followed without question. An injured Schmendrick appears moments later, having taken a blow to the head from King Haggard, and he reveals that the king has smashed the clock, leaving no way out.
Active
Themes
