Splendors and Glooms

Cassandra wakes, fearing she’s burning from the fire of the phoenix-stone she wears in a locket around her neck. Thirty-seven years ago, Gaspare Grisini, another magician, tried to warn her the stone would consume her; Cassandra didn’t let him finish, gravely wounding him before seizing the stone. This night, she dreamed of an aged Grisini in London. Though she doesn’t want to, Cassandra plans to summon him to learn what he knows about the stone. In frustration, she tries to destroy the stone by smashing a mirror over it; she misses, hitting her own hand instead. She cradles her wounded hand to her chest, and “the fire opal flashed like the eye of a phoenix” (xii).

Clara Wintermute wakes on her 12th birthday, excited for Grisini and his puppets to perform at her party that afternoon. Ever since she saw the puppet performance a few weeks ago, Clara has thought of little else. She’s most excited to meet the children who help the puppet master, as she’s starved for friendship. She begs her maid to help organize a private tea with the children: “it’s the thing I want most in all the world! And it’s my birthday!” (12).