What are all the owls in Mist and Shadow?
Note: Spoilers for the book below.
If you’ve read Mist and Shadow, you might have noticed that owls keep popping up.
There’s the bracelet Daphne always wears, the owl she meets in the woods in chapter 2, the owls in her dreams, her dad’s last birthday card, and the stuffed animal Nathan wins for her.
So what’s with all the owls? While they are pretty adorable, the symbolic meaning of the owl actually stood out to me as being perfect for the story. Owl symbolism and meanings include:
Intuition, an ability to see what others do not see
A life change/transition
Harbinger of Death
Intuition: Daphne is able to literally see what others can’t. Only her and Claire, as far as they know, have the ability to perceive shades and have visions.
A life change/transition: Her first encounter with a live owl occurs during a walk in the woods. Later that day, Daphne meets Claire for the first time and learns that her nightmares might be more than they seem, which in turn kicks off the rest of events. The owl is a sign that a major life change is in store for Daphne. Things won’t ever be the same again. Nathan also wins a stuffed owl for her on Halloween, a night that would change everything.
Harbinger of Death: Because of shades and her own past, death constantly surrounds Daphne. Owls directly remind Daphne of her dad’s death since it’s the last gift he gave her before he passed away, a silver bracelet with an owl that she wears constantly.
So there you have it. As you read through Mist and Shadow, take special note of each owl’s appearance!