Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Mysterious Benedict Society, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Confidence and Growing Up
Deception vs. Truth
Loneliness vs. Friendship
Control vs. Freedom
Hope
Summary
Analysis
Jackson and Jillson leave the children alone in a classroom to wait for Mr. Curtain. Kate wonders why the Executives would warn them about the mine shafts when they are clearly traps, and Reynie supposes that they don’t want the children to leave the paths. More students come in, escorted by Executives and a pair of men each wearing two watches. The Mysterious Benedict Society try their best to be inconspicuous, though Constance almost falls asleep until Reynie nudges her. He notes some other drowsy children and realizes that they must have been kidnapped by the men in suits. He wonders why they look so sleepy.
In addition to all the other rules, Executives control students by limiting where on the island they can go. The arrival of kidnapped students indicates that like Mr. Benedict, Mr. Curtain is recruiting children. Their difference is highlighted by Mr. Curtain’s utter lack of children’s agency and consent.
Themes
Jillson announces Mr. Curtain’s entrance. He comes in on a technologically advanced wheelchair and wears large reflective glasses that hide his eyes. The Mysterious Benedict Society are stunned to see that Mr. Curtain is in fact Mr. Benedict, right down to his green plaid suit. Reynie is horrified, and he tries to find an explanation besides the most plausible one: that Mr. Benedict has tricked them.
The instances of deception in the Institute come to a head with Mr. Benedict’s apparent deception of the children. When Mr. Curtain reveals himself to be identical to Mr. Benedict, the children must contend with the notion that the identity of Mr. Benedict––their benefactor, the leader of their mission, and the source of their friendship––might be a lie. Even his reflective glasses prevent people from seeing his eyes, which are commonly referred to as “the windows to the soul,” meaning that Mr. Curtain seems especially enigmatic and hard to read.
Themes
Mr. Curtain approaches Reynie and asks why the boy is staring at him, which makes Reynie understand that Mr. Curtain doesn’t recognize him. He lies that he is distracted by Mr. Curtain’s large nose, and though Mr. Curtain is initially outraged, he calms down and says that the Institute needs honest children. He welcomes all the new students to the Institute, but Reynie is trying to figure out how Mr. Benedict and Mr. Curtain, who seem to be complete opposites, could be the same person. Everything seems backwards. Reynie shudders, realizing that backwards, the acronym for the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened is EVIL.
Mr. Curtain remarks that the Institute needs honest children, even though the Institute is constructed on a foundation of lies. This suggests that he sees the value in honesty and chooses to ignore it. Meanwhile, Reynie tries to understand Mr. Curtain’s identity. He conceives of Mr. Curtain and Mr. Benedict as not only different, but direct opposites. He knows that sometimes external appearances disguise a person’s true intentions, but he doubts that one person could be so double-sided.
Themes
Lights-out in the dorms is 10:00. When that hour strikes, Reynie checks outside his room and sees S.Q. Pedalian, a large-footed Executive, on patrol. S.Q. gently reminds the boys to be quiet, and then he moves on. Once he’s gone, Kate and Constance come down through the ceiling panel. The children puzzle over Mr. Curtain’s identity, and Reynie suggests they send a message to the shore. If they haven’t been tricked, the reply may help them figure out what to do.
S.Q. is kind, but he enforces Mr. Curtain’s rule; he is an example of how good people can easily be manipulated into serving evil leaders. Reynie’s plan to contact their allies on the mainland suggests that he still has hope and faith in Mr. Benedict, and the fact that he needs advice on what to do highlights that although he is a leader, he is still a child and occasionally needs guidance.
Themes
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Sticky uses Kate’s flashlight to send a brief, cryptic message in Morse to the mainland, conveying that Mr. Curtain is Mr. Benedict. A long time passes without a response, until finally the children receive a riddle: “When looking in my looking glass, I spied a trusted face. Alas, not to be taken for him am I. Beware, therefore, the Gemini.” The children are frustrated by the strange message. Sticky explains that a Gemini is a zodiac sign, which indicates what time of the year someone is born. Kate suggests that the Gemini must be a traitor in their group who was born under the Gemini, but Reynie doesn’t believe Mr. Benedict would send a message that made the children turn on each other. He recalls that Gemini is the sign of the twin and concludes that Mr. Benedict must have a long-lost brother.
The riddle is similar to the original tests: it demands the children pool their knowledge and apply it in an unconventional way to decipher the truth. Reynie again demonstrates his faith in Mr. Benedict when he insists that Mr. Benedict would not want the children to turn on each other. This puts to rest a moment of tension between the friends, as they briefly fear that one of their number is a traitor. Reynie’s realization that Mr. Benedict and Mr. Curtain are twins is the most literal example of doubleness that the children encounter.
Themes
Kate asks why Mr. Benedict hadn’t told them that he had a twin on the island, and Reynie says he probably didn’t know. The “looking glass” in the riddle must refer to a telescope, so Mr. Benedict saw Mr. Curtain through his telescope only that day. Because Mr. Benedict was an orphan, he and his brother must have been separated. Sticky signals to the mainland that they understand, but the response from the mainland is cut off when a pair of Executives come outside. Since the response had only been wishing them good luck, the children adjourn the meeting and go to bed.
The backstories of Mr. Benedict and Mr. Curtain are not dwelled on in this book, but the impact of their respective childhoods is evident on both men. Mr. Benedict has sought to remedy the loneliness of growing up an orphan by surrounding himself with intelligent, compassionate friends. Mr. Curtain has responded to the lack of control he had over his upbringing––characterized by losing his parents and being separated from his brother––by trying to exert control over the entire world.
Themes
