Fablehaven

Confinement and imprisonment are prevalent in Fablehaven. Mull explores this motif through the imprisonment of Bahumat, the imprisonment of Muriel, and the confinement of the other magical creatures on the preserve.

Bahumat is an ancient demon that is as close to evil as any of the magical creatures are shown to be. As Grandma Sorenson tells Seth and Kendra, he was imprisoned by European settlers in exchange for the Native-owned land that he terrorized. In this example, Bahumat is imprisoned for the good of others. Without his fearful presence looming over the land, the European settlers were able to colonize it and live there for centuries.

Muriel, the witchwhoSeth meets at the beginning of the novel, is also imprisoned. Grandpa Sorenson tells Kendra and Seth that “the shack is not her home. It is her prison. She personifies the reasons why exploring the woods is unwise” (83). Muriel was once an ordinary mortal woman, but she encountered the evil forces in the woods and was corrupted by them, becoming an agent of the dark creatures that lurk on the preserve. Muriel is imprisoned both for her own good and for the good of others. If free, she would continue to be used by the dark powers that she fell victim to and use those powers to harm others at the same time.

Finally, all the creatures that live in Fablehaven exist in some sort of confinement. They cannot leave the grounds of their own accord, and though the creatures of the light seem unbothered by this, it is a confinement, nonetheless. The confinement of the fairies and other relatively harmless magical creatures is fully for their own good. As human society continues to expand, they will continue to be pushed out of their native habitats and into places where they do not belong. Though they are confined in Fablehaven, it still provides them with a place of belonging.