Once Upon a Broken Heart

Arches and doors appear in many places throughout Once Upon a Broken Heart, and many of them represent turning points for Evangeline. The first door she encounters is the one to Jacks’s church, which leads her to find Jacks and make a deal with him, jumpstarting the main plot and conflict of the novel. The arch guarding the entry to the Magnificent North leads Evangeline to a place where her life will be forever changed, and the many doors at Nocte Neverending also represent how one step from one location to another can take us places we never expected. Evangeline opens several doors with her blood, some she’s aware of in the moment and others not. The details are not provided by the end of the book, but Evangeline is a key of some kind for all doors and arches, not just the Valory Arch.

Arches and doors also symbolize ways to keep things hidden or trapped. The arch leading into the North is rumored to be the vanguard against magic escaping to the rest of the world. It may be that the North wants magic for itself or that the North deems itself magic’s protector. Additionally, it may be that unleashing the magic would have irrevocable changes, much like how releasing the Fates from their cards changed things in Caraval.