Content Warning: The novel displays severe fatphobia.

Fire represents power and its pursuit. The Shop is trying to harness power and to develop Charlie’s ability into a weapon. Charlie is deemed significant for her capacity to direct an otherwise uncontrollable force.

The Shop’s efforts result in death. This suggests another aspect of fire: its inherent destructiveness. At the beginning of the novel, Charlie’s ability makes her feel guilty and weighs heavily on her psyche

Fire is chaotic, neutral power that cannot be harnessed. Even Charlie, after her massacre at the Shop, realizes that she contains a power she cannot fully control. Recognizing this reflects her awareness and how she has come of age as she recognizes the uncontrollability of fire, whereas the adults in her life believed they could fully control fire through her.

The symbol of the black horse has two different functions. Black horses, traditionally viewed as bearers of nightmares, are common symbols in Gothic horror. They often signify the unconscious mind and the power that it contains. Initially, the black horse is a malignant agent that brings on Andy’s brain hemorrhaging and subsequent incapacitation. The thumping of his head is compared to the galloping of hooves.

Necromancer is another black horse, one that Charlie is allowed to grow close to through Rainbird’s intervention.