Flawed

“FLAWED: faulty, defective, imperfect, blemished, damaged, distorted, unsound, weak, deficient, incomplete, invalid; (of a person) having a weakness in character.”

The Epigraph announces the main theme of the book, the exploration of morality. The tone is objective, almost clinical. Throughout the novel, this definition is applied to Flawed individuals to dehumanize and discriminate against them. However, the term “Flawed” is later reclaimed to describe the corruption of the Flawed court system itself. This change in meaning highlights how Morality Is Relative.

“I am a girl of definitions, of logic, of black and white. Remember this.”

In the very brief first chapter, the narrator directly addresses the reader. Celestine introduces herself as “a girl of definitions, of logic”; this foreshadows several instances where she’ll refers to her love of logic and reason as driving her actions, especially when her behavior goes against social norms.

“NEVER TRUST A man who sits, uninvited, at the head of the table in another man’s home.

Not my words. They were the words of my granddad, Cornelius, who, as a result of saying them, landed himself the farthest away from this table, and he won’t be welcome back anytime soon.”

Celestine introduces Judge Bosco Crevan. Though they are not her “words,” they announce that Crevan is the antagonist. She follows these lines with her own impression at the time, which is that Judge Crevan is her boyfriend’s friendly, harmless father. However, the narrative makes it clear through Crevan’s behavior that he is arrogant, even though Celestine is too naive to see it at the time.

Celestine’s naivety marks the beginning of her character arc.