Divine Rivals

Nineteen-year-old Roman Carver Kitt is the male romantic lead and is initially Iris’s professional rival. When the story opens, both characters are working hard to secure a promotion to the position of columnist at the Oath Gazette. At first, Ross delves into his perspective just enough to provide the necessary context that reveals his true identity as Carver, clueing the readers in to his true role as Iris’s mystery correspondent via the enchanted Alouette typewriters that they both possess. Roman is described as “tall and lithe with cheekbones that could cut stone” (8), black hair, blue eyes, and a pointed chin. He exudes a pompous attitude that motivates Iris to defeat him in the office. He comes from a wealthy family and attended the prestigious Devan Hall school before joining the Oath Gazette. He doesn’t interact much with his coworkers and despises when others mess with the contents of his desk, which Iris quickly resorts to doing just to provoke him.

Four years ago, Roman lost his young sister, Del, who drowned in a pond after he fell asleep on the bank. He blames himself for her death, and his guilt keeps him firmly under his father’s control in the first part of the novel. Mr. Ronald Kitt forces Roman to pursue an early career in journalism rather than the literature degree he truly desires, and Roman also temporarily submits to an unwanted arranged engagement with Elinor Little, the bitter daughter of a successful chemist who creates tear gas for Dacre to use against his enemies. Roman’s guilt over a past he cannot change and an event he could not have controlled creates his false belief that he does not deserve to feel happy or to be loved. Before his growing love for Iris spurs him to break free, Roman submits to a life of his father’s choosing, full of misery and regret because he believes it is no more than he deserves. Roman’s character arc develops as a result of his correspondence with and developing feelings for Iris Winnow, which prompts him to break off his engagement with Elinor, quit his job as columnist, and renounce his claim to the Kitt family fortune by following his heart to the war front. Iris’s words prompt Roman to allow himself to feel joy and love, and loving her ultimately convinces him that he does deserve good things in life despite the horrors of his past.

Twenty-year-old Thea Attwood is a fellow war correspondent for the Inkridden Tribune. Iris meets her on the train to Avalon Bluff. She has “brown skin and curly black hair” (116) and a passion for adventure. An old professor once told Attie that she would never be published because her writing “lacked originality and conviction” (117). The drive to prove him wrong prompted her to buy him a subscription to the Inkridden Tribune before enlisting as a war correspondent to write influential articles about life on the front lines. Attie embodies the idea of embracing life and celebrating its joys, even during difficult circumstances. She abhors the idea of “living the same careful and monotonous routine, day in and day out” and doesn’t “want to wake up when [she’s] seventy-four only to realize [she hasn’t] lived” (118). Attie serves as a foil to Iris’s work friend at the Gazette, Sarah Prindle, who, when asked about her dreams, mentions that she always wanted to work at a museum but feels those dreams are forever out of reach. Sarah settles for a mundane and unfulfilled life as Zeb Autry’s assistant, which is almost the life Iris settled for as a journalist: a professional existence limited by narrow boundaries as to what topics she is allowed to report. Attie therefore represents a life beyond those small boundaries, providing an example for Iris that can motivate her to pursue her own dreams of writing about important matters regardless of the consequences.

Attie has a contagious laugh and is the oldest of six. She used to play the violin and had dreams of joining the symphony before stringed instruments were banned because the goddess Enva using her harp to call eastern citizens to war. Her passion for music mirrors her passion for using her words to deliver the truth. Just as Enva uses her divine music to inspire bravery in the hearts of eastern citizens to fight for what’s right, Attie plans to employ her own words to do the same.