Wet Magic · Chapter
XI: The Peacemaker explained
The children meet the Professor of Conchology, who sees through their disguise.
What happens
The children meet the Professor of Conchology, who sees through their disguise. Ulfin warns the Mer Princess to be careful. Later, the children discuss their hopes: Mavis wants to restore the Mer King, Francis dreams of ending the war forever. They decide to retrieve Cathay's memory-restoring charm from the Museum of Foreign Curiosities. Ulfin helps them, and the Princess uses magic to break the bubble case. The children retrieve their coats and escape by pressing their third buttons.
Themes in this chapter
War and Peace
Francis passionately argues for ending war forever, challenging the Mer Princess's belief that war is inherent to Merman nature.
Memory and Forgetfulness
The Professor of Conchology is revealed to be the Mer King with lost memory; the children plan to restore it using Cathay's charm.
Adventure and Bravery
The children and Ulfin bravely plot to retrieve the coats from the museum, risking capture.
Characters to notice
- Mavis
Wants to restore the Mer King; takes lessons in Conchology as a cover.
- Francis
Dreams of ending the war forever; proposes talking to the Queen of the Under Folk.
- Bernard
Suggests using Cathay's charm to restore the Mer King's memory.
- Ulfin
Helps the children; kisses Francis's hand in honor of the peace plan; arranges the museum distraction.
- Princess Freia
The Mer Princess; retrieves Cathay's coat and uses magic to break the bubble case.
- Cathay
Her coat contains the memory charm; mentioned as not present.
- The Under Folk
The Queen of the Under Folk is mentioned as a potential peace partner.
- Professor of Conchology
Sees through the children's disguise; is actually the Mer King with lost memory.
Key passages
“I am only an exiled Professor, teaching Conchology to youthful aliens, but I retain some remnants of the wisdom of my many years. I know that I am not what I seem, and that you are not what you seem, and that your desire to learn my special subject is not sincere and wholehearted, but is merely, or mainly, the cloak to some other design.”
The Professor sees through their pretense, recognizing that their interest in conchology is a cover for a hidden agenda.
Highlights the theme of hidden identities and the Professor's insight.
“I want to stop this war. For always. So that there'll never be any more of it.”
Francis expresses his desire to end the war permanently.
Central to the peace theme and Francis's character development.
“If my Father's memory were restored, his wisdom would find us a way out of all our difficulties.”
The Princess believes that restoring the Mer King's memory will solve their problems.
Connects the memory theme to the plot's resolution.