The House of Hades

“But magic is neither good nor evil. It is a tool, like a knife. Is a knife evil? Only if the wielder is evil.”

Hazel fears Hecate, the goddess of magic, and Hecate responds that magic in and of itself isn’t bad; it is merely a tool people use. This quote ties in with the theme of Good Versus Evil in that it highlights how things aren’t inherently evil or good. It is, instead, a choice of how to use it.

“She’d never understood why her friends were so willing to let a god take away their responsibility for choosing. After all Hazel had been through, she trusted the wisdom of the gods about as much as she trusted a New Orleans slot machine. The goddess of magic made a disgusted hiss. ‘Janus and his doorways. He would have you believe that all choices are black or white, yes or no, in or out. In fact, it’s not that simple. Wherever you reach the crossroads, there are always at least three ways to go…four, if you count going backward.’”

Hazel is grappling with the idea of Fate Versus Free Will. She has traditionally rejected the gods’ help because she wants to make her own choices. Hecate explains choices are complicated and hold more complicated risks than just a black-and-white good or bad idea.

“She’d never expected her life to be easy. Most demigods died young at the hands of terrible monsters. That was the way it had been since ancient times. The Greeks invented tragedy. They knew the greatest heroes didn’t get happy endings. Still, this wasn’t fair. She’d gone through so much to retrieve that statue of Athena. Just when she’d succeeded, when things had been looking up and she’d been reunited with Percy, they had plunged to their deaths.”

Annabeth’s mindset at the beginning of the book is grim. She and Percy have been through so many hardships and followed the gods’ instructions, but they still don’t have their happy ending and instead fall into Tartarus. Normally, Annabeth is the strong one, but her character is being tested, and she will have to overcome many trials and learn new ways of survival in Tartarus. She also has to learn good actions don’t always produce rewards and that “good” is more complicated.