57 pages • 1 hour read
Jim ButcherStorm Front
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2000A 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
ThreeEye
The illegal drug and magical poison known as ThreeEye functions on multiple levels in the novel. Its most pragmatic purpose is to serve as a McGuffin to galvanize the characters into action, but it also acts as a clue to the solution of the case and more broadly becomes a symbol of The Addictive Nature of Power. ThreeEye first appears as a minor detail in a conversation between Harry and Mac, and this throw-away reference belies its later importance to the plot. Its significance becomes clearer when Harry confronts a person addicted to ThreeEye and realizes that the rumors of the substance’s magical effects might be true. ThreeEye is also the motivating factor in a turf war between Marcone and the unknown “shadow man,” who is eventually revealed to be Victor Sells.
More importantly, however, ThreeEye symbolizes the seductive nature of black magic. Specifically, the rampant presence of ThreeEye in Chicago represents Victor’s obsession and greed as he became more power hungry and looked for increasingly dark and violent means of obtaining greater power. He created ThreeEye by using the same formula for magic potions that Harry uses, thus creating a magical poison that briefly grants magical sight and strength while also threatening to topple the user’s mental stability. As Victor’s wife states, he looks to ThreeEye both as a commodity that he can sell to support his magical experiments and as a source of intense emotion and energy to fuel his spells. However, no matter how much of the drug Victor makes or uses, it is never enough; Victor has become addicted to power, and his need for it is now insatiable. Since Victor’s increasingly violent actions ruined the lives of his wife and children and prompted him to commit multiple murders to support his addictions, the novel makes it clear that ill-gotten power and unethical behavior lead to nothing but widespread ruin.
Storms
With their significance advertised in the novel’s title, storms primarily represent magical power—specifically, Victor’s addiction to that power. However, Harry offers a more nuanced view when he expounds upon the nature of storms, stating that they are a good example of the magical power contained in nature. From this perspective, magic—like lightning—is intrinsically part of the natural world, and the recurring storms therefore symbolize the prevalence of magical energy. Likewise, when Victor harnesses the power of the storms to fuel his murder spells, this development represents the ways in which humans often twist natural power to serve unnatural and even evil purposes. Greedy and power hungry, Victor sees the storms’ immense energy as a way to fuel his uncontrolled addiction.
In addition to this complex interplay of ideas, the storms also signify the looming presence of death, as Victor uses the storms to kill a host of people, from Jennifer and Tommy to Linda. Later, the storms signify that impending death now looms over Harry, given that Victor is about to target him with the same murder spell as soon as the next storm rolls through. In the final chapters, he feels the storm coming and briefly succumbs to despair, fearing that his death is inevitable. However, he is also capable of harnessing the power of the storms, as his fight with Victor’s demon demonstrates. Unfortunately, this knowledge also forces Harry to wrestle with his own temptation to use dark magic and exert his will on others.
The Doom of Damocles
The Doom of Damocles, a kind of one-strike magical probation placed on Harry after he killed his mentor in self-defense, is a complicated symbol in his life and contains several layers of meaning. On the surface, it signifies an unjust threat of death for Harry, although the White Council believes this measure to be a justifiable use of force. The Doom of Damocles also serves as a reminder of the White Council’s looming presence; this organization consists of a group of wizards (primarily old, male, and traditionalist) who regulate human magic users throughout the world, maintain treaties with other supernatural factions, and dole out judgments and punishments according to their own idiosyncratic laws. Although the White Council itself does not appear in Storm Front, its presence haunts the page and Harry’s life in the intangible threat of the Doom of Damocles and its menacing avatar—Warden Morgan, the White Council’s local enforcer.
Perhaps most importantly, however, the Doom of Damocles represents the series’ ongoing examination of Good, Evil, and Moral Ambiguity, particularly given Morgan’s rigid views on right and wrong. For Harry, the Doom of Damocles signifies that no matter what the extenuating circumstances may be, he has been permanently judged to be on the side of “evil” because he took an action that contradicted the Council’s very exacting moral code. While Harry’s profession requires him to view the world in shades of gray and acknowledge the complex moral ambiguities that complicate questions of right and wrong, Morgan holds to a more uncompromising code that disregards nuance entirely. Thus, when Morgan is forced to commend Harry’s actions, causing the White Council to lift the Doom of Damocles, this is vindication and proof that Harry is indeed on the side of “good,” even when his methods require some moral flexibility.
