Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Power, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Power and Violence
Corruption
Gender Reversals and Sexism
Stories, History, and Perspective
Religion and Manipulation
Revolution and Social Change
Summary
Analysis
Daniel and Margot are having another argument, this time about a video showing girls using their power on one another. They dedicate their actions to the Goddess, jolting each other until they bleed and faint. Demonstrations like these have sprung up all over the internet, as has a symbol like the hand of Fatima, with a palm containing an eye. Daniel says angrily that they should shoot any girls with the power, until he remembers that Margot’s daughter Jocelyn has the power. Again Margot thinks about killing Daniel, and reprimands him for his words.
The repurposing of the hand of Fatima serves as another way in which Allie’s religion is simply a manipulation or alteration of symbols that already exist. Additionally, this exchange demonstrates the continued shift in gender norms between Margot and Daniel. She is blunt enough to correct his offensive comment, and again bold enough to think about killing him. It’s clear that she doesn’t need to use her electric power in order to gain other kinds of power from its existence.
Themes
Margot then decides to hold a press conference with Jocelyn. During it, Margot explains to the Tom that Jocelyn’s been having trouble with her power, that she accidentally hurt a boy because she’s unable to properly control it. Margot explains that current thinking about the power is that girls should just not use it. But Margot introduces a three-point plan: set up safe spaces for girls to practice together; identify girls with good control to teach other girls; zero tolerance of usage outside of these spaces.
Although Margot’s intentions are well-meaning on the surface, they belie a deeper level of corruption. She does want what’s best for her daughter and other girls, but she also knows that she can gain a big political victory if she can succeed in setting up these training camps for girls—which is why she goes behind Daniel’s back in order to hold this press conference.
Themes
Tom asks nervously how they will know what the girls teach each other. He says they should be trying to cure the power instead. Kristen cuts in, saying that a new study is finding that the power is caused by a change in the human genome, due to “an environmental build-up of nerve agent that was released during the Second World War.” Kristen continues, saying that she thinks this is a great idea.
Tom’s nerves point to yet another example of the slow and steady approach being ineffective for enacting change. Tom (and other men) would rather things return to normal than cede any kind of power to the women or admit that this new power might somehow be a good thing. Kristen cutting in to contradict him also foreshadows the reversal of the dynamics between her and Tom—and between women and men more generally.
Themes
Jocelyn receives an anonymous email from someone who saw her on the news. It recommends that she check out urbandoxspeaks.com to find people who are having similar trouble. The email reads, “This rabbit hole goes all the way down. Your gender bending confusion is just the start of it. We need to put men and women back where they belong.”
The internet plays a large role in the novel, and shows both the light and dark side of stories’ power. Both women (like Allie) and men (like UrbanDox, who is soon revealed to run this website) benefit from these forums, which show how easy it is to craft a narrative to suit one’s own perspective and gain traction using the internet’s wide audience.
Themes
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Daniel goes to see Margot again, furious that Margot announced a state-wide program without talking to him first. He’s outraged that she wants to use public money to train “terrorist operatives to use their weapons more effectively.” Margot dismisses him, saying that they are just girls.
At first, it seems like Daniel is merely exaggerating. But this is an example of the insidiousness of stereotypes and how they can hurt even the person who holds the bias. Eventually, the girls’ power does corrupt them, and enables them to act like terrorists.
Themes
At that moment, many people are calling, emailing, and tweeting, asking how they can sign their girls up for Margot’s program. There are people who want to invest in her initiative, and use it as a model of how government and business can work together. Within a month, she’s found spots for the first test centers. Within three months, people are wondering if Margot should run for something “a little more ambitious” and set up meetings with her.
The phrasing “a little more ambitious” is key in tracking the continued slide in gender dynamics. The boldness to put forth a new idea without permission, as well as strength and ambition, begin to be valued in women, in contrast to the way they are normally more valued in men.
Themes
