Power comes in many shapes and sizes in Inkheart. Some power is scary and showy, like the power Capricorn exhibits over his men and the surrounding region; Mo's power to read people into or out of books is pretty mysterious; and other kinds of power are subtler—cunning and cleverness, for example, will also get you a fair bit of mileage, and lets not forget how powerful writing a new story into being is. Yup—power comes in all sorts of forms in this book.
The thing is, though, that power usually comes at a cost. Depending on how a character utilizes their power—and what their power is—the stakes change, but it's definitely safe to say that nobody gets anything for free in this book.
Questions About Power
- Who do you think is more powerful, Basta, or Capricorn? Why?
- How does Mo feel about his reading power?
- Why does Meggie want the power to read people/things out of books?
- What is the relationship between power and fear like? What about between power and love?
Chew on This
Power always comes at a cost; there's no such thing as a free ride.
In Inkheart, the pen is mightier than the sword.