55 pages • 1 hour read
Geoffrey TreaseCue for Treason
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1940A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Weaponry
Weaponry is a reoccurring motif in Cue for Treason, embedding the story in its historical context and into the adventure genre by signifying danger. Geoffrey Trease references small weapons such as pistols and daggers that can be easily concealed to reflect the covert nature of the conspiracy and the counter-conspiracy.
Firearms were a frightening and volatile weapon in this period and Trease uses this in his symbolism. Peter is shot at several times, and Trease describes the sound of the crack and the sight of the muzzle flaring, heightening the drama and physical danger of these moments. The pistol was the first weapon with range small enough to be covert until the point of use: The first two political assassinations using guns happened during Elizabeth’s reign (James Stewart in 1570 and William the Silent in 1584), and at least one historical conspiracy against her planned to shoot her. The plotters’ intended assassination using a pistol reflects a genuine fear in this period.
Trease often includes daggers at moments of threat and tension, even when physical violence is unlikely. Kit holds a dagger to Peter’s throat when they first meet, reflecting her desperation. Peter uses daggers to climb the walls of Vicar’s house to break in, suggesting the high stakes of this escapade: He’s likely to be killed if he’s caught. Confronted with Sir Philip when he goes onstage as Juliet, Peter remembers how he drives his “blunt stage-dagger into the folds of my dress” (121), reflecting his proximity to danger and vulnerability: Just as the dagger is fake, only his fake appearance protects him from real harm.
Rivers
Trease uses rivers to symbolize Peter’s journey and the Coming of Age theme, represented by his move from rural childhood innocence to urban jeopardy and maturity. At the start of the book, the trip to attack the wall takes Peter by a stream; he notes “the rush and gurgle of the beck” (3). The peaceful sounds of the small stream and Peter’s use of local terminology (“beck”) reflects his safe, happy childhood rooted in the local culture of Cumberland. At this point he is accompanying the older men on their mission, taking on the easiest job and following instructions, reflecting his status as a child.
As Peter journeys to London with the Desmonds, they come across a tributary to the Thames, forcing them to make a hazardous crossing. Peter notes the river’s power: “the flooded river had already carried me out my depth” (99). This is a metaphor for Peter’s circumstances, highlighting his journey into new territories and challenges. He and Kit rescue Desmond from the water: Peter is no longer just accompanying adults, but taking an active role in confronting the obstacles, even saving adults himself.
London’s position on the tidal estuary of the Thames is emphasized with “the incoming tide stung my nostrils with the tang of the sea” (147). This shows that Peter’s world is expanding, as the rivers referenced change from small mountain streams to the tidally dangerous Thames, the most significant river in the socio-economic life of Elizabethan England. Peter’s adventure on the river to retrieve Shakespeare’s script elevates his adventures to a new level of jeopardy when he learns that the whole country is a risk. Trease uses the growing scale of rivers Peter encounters to reflect the growing stakes and the changing imagery as the book progresses indicates the steps of Peter’s journey into adulthood.
Clothes
Trease use clothes throughout the book as a motif to develops his characters’ identities, create clues, and underpin the theme of The Impact of Social Structure on Individuals.
The conspirators are associated with their brightly colored clothing: Peter notices Sir Philip’s “crimson velvet doublet” (119) and refers to Vicars as “the Yellow Gentleman” due to “his yellow doublet, all slashed very fashionably, in some material that must have cost a fortune” (136). Their clothes stand out to Peter because they are indicative of social status. In a regimented society, brightly colored clothing was expensive with certain styles and dyes reserved for the upper classes. The prominence of their clothes in Peter’s narration offers a visual reminder of the power imbalance between him and his adversaries and, by extension, the inequity of society as a whole. Trease also uses descriptions of clothing to raise metaphorical associations for his characters. When Peter describes his pursuer in Chapter 18, he notes that his “scarlet doublet […] stood out like a blood-slash on the shoulder of the land” (241). This color suggests the violence and danger of the conspirators’ plot generally, but also of this man’s intentions toward Peter.
Peter’s description of Queen Elizabeth similarly highlights her clothing, which forms a part of the awesome impression of meeting royalty “her immense hooped skirt […] her stiff ruff framing her face, her whole body bright with jewels” (331). Her extravagant garments dominate the space and draw attention, conveying wealth and power, and show how Elizabeth used clothing as part of her theatrical persona to cement her power. By drawing on these well-recognized images of Elizabeth, which recall her famous portraits, Trease emphasizes the fun and excitement of the queen’s presence for her young reader.
Throughout the book, clothing is referenced as means for disguise, both on and off the stage. This is particularly true of Kits as she rejects the restrictive female clothing that literally and metaphorically limits her in favor of boy’s clothes. This is not only a personal disguise but also an essential means for protection and freedom, giving her male status and shielding her from unwanted sexual advances. Her clothes parallel the gendered danger she is escaping: forced marriage. It is part of the book’s playfulness and literary referencing that playing women’s roles gives her a theater career and helps her trick Vicars in Chapter 12. Many of Shakespeare’s comedies involve cross-dressing, especially stories of female characters dressing as men for safety and freedom. These plays drew on the use of boy actors for female characters to create an additional layer of humor and dramatic irony, as in Cue for Treason. Trease’s use of gendered clothing shows that Kit’s ingenuity enables her to use the determinative nature of gender in Elizabethan England for her own purposes. Peter’s awareness of Kit’s clothes in the final chapter foreshadows the sexual maturity and re-establishment of traditional gender roles in the final framing narrative, in which they are married Although he has long known her to be a girl, Peter is shocked to see that “the young beauty in the flame colored dress” (337) is Kit, the clothes triggering a response to her femininity for the first time. Her “flame” garments suggest his attraction, but also reflect her fiery independence. Kit’s embodiment of both female and male characteristics is reflected in Peter’s observation that “her cropped head showed funnily against the snow-white cambric of her ruff” (339).
