The School For Good and Evil

Agatha and Sophie’s friendship and its evolution in the story are the core of The School for Good and Evil. They endure numerous trials, going from friendship in Gavaldon to being placed in different schools to fighting over a guy and becoming nemeses to one friend’s dying for the other. The strength of their friendship is the true love that brings Sophie back to life and takes them back home. The question the book asks is whether a princess and a witch can be friends. The answer is a resounding yes.

Agatha and Sophie are shown from the beginning as opposites. Sophie is vain, snobby, has great ambition, is classically beautiful, and loves pink. In contrast, Agatha cares nothing for her looks, loves black, lives in a cemetery, and craves being ordinary. They are complete opposites, yet their friendship works because they understand each other. When Agatha accuses Sophie of being her friend only as a good deed, Sophie says, “You see who I am. That’s why I kept coming back. You’re not my good deed anymore, Agatha. [….] You’re my friend” (15). Sophie feels truly seen, understood, and loved by Agatha. Agatha loves Sophie because she is the first person who truly tried to be her friend and makes her feel like she belongs: “Because you make me feel ordinary [.