Lessons We Could Learn From Scarlett

I think it’s about time for another installment of our ‘Lessons we could learn…’ series. It’s been quite a while since our last one, and i absolutely adore writing these little insights in to books that others might not have thought of. I mean, i did an English degree,over analysing characters and plots until they’re ruined is what i do for fun.

If you haven’t heard of Caraval by Stephanie Garber, where have you been in the last few months? Garber’s YA debut novel has been the talk of online for the last six months. The chosen few received ARC copies of this wonderful story, and it’s been a very well received and highly recommended story between almost everyone.

The story itself is based on a game, Caraval, lead by the ringmaster, Legend. This game comes around once a year and this particular year was the turn of Scarlett and her sister Tella. After years of attempting to gain a place in this prestigious game, Scarlett is accepted a few days before her arranged marriage. Once Tella is captured by Legend and the game suddenly becomes about their family, Scarlett has to decide between finding her sister or marrying.

Scarlett is one of my favourite characters of the past few years, she’s complex, witty and generally very wonderful. She has her flawed moments and moments of absolute brilliance. Scarlett is a strong, empowered woman who strives for what is best, whilst getting caught up in matters of the heart. I think there is a lot to learn from Scarlett, and she taught me a few lessons whilst i read Caraval, here are the ones that i picked up on whilst reading.

1. Trust your instincts – at numerous points in the book, whilst Scarlett had to figure out what was real and what wasn’t, she had to trust her instincts. The magical realism aspects of this book where we really do not know what’s real and what isn’t taught me a lot about how to live with your emotions i think. I really do put a lot more on to trusting what i feel is best after reading Caraval. 
2. Family comes first – Okay, this feels like i put this for every one of these ‘lessons to learn’ posts, but it’s so present in a lot books at the moment. Scarlett has a very protective relationship over her sister, and it’s so nice to read about while being immersed in the story. She puts Tella’s safety over anything else that is happening, and i have a lot of respect for that in a character.
3. Think more – due to the amount of twists and turns in this story, and being unaware of reality against what is fake, Scarlett also taught me to think a little more in a situation. She has to stop and think about what is happening numerous times in order to understand what is truly happening. This part of Scarlett’s character in Caraval made me think about all the times i’ve seen things as black and white, and how some things should be seen in colour.
4. Stand up for yourself – Throughout the story, Scarlett finds herself in a lot of situations in which she doesn’t want to be in. The one thing that she always does is go along with it, she rarely stands up for herself or tries to change the situation. I’ve learned with this that i should stand up for myself a little more, if i’m not happy with the situation, change it.
5. Bask in all things magical – obviously this is something i cannot always do literally. However, Scarlett lives in a world in which magic is a possibility. That magic isn’t always good, but it’s important to stop and appreciate the things that are bigger than yourself. I want to stop and appreciate life a little more, not even the real magical moments, but the small ones that feel magical at the time.

There are so many more lessons that i have taken away from Scarlett, and this book in general. I absolutely adored reading this story and the magical twists and turns it took. If you’d like to read my full review of Caraval, it’s HERE.

Is there any characters that you’ve learned lessons from in the past? Let me know in the comments!