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library-child · 1 year

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The Midnight Sun's Cycle of Abuse

One thing about Pseudonymous Bosch’s “The Secret Series” and “The Bad Books” blows my mind: the chilling and all too real way the Midnight Sun recruits generation after generation of loyal followers. While never directly explained, their tactics are shown all across the books, and once you put the pieces together, you see a nightmare far worse than the characters who are caught in it seem to comprehend.

So how exactly does their system of abuse work? What are the victims’ chances of escaping, and why does the Midnight Sun need to rely on an abuse cycle in the first place?

The Need for Followers

‘All of you here – all of you brave souls – you are all testimony to our success. Every year our elixirs grow stronger, and our lives grow longer. And yet—’ Ms Mauvais’ tone turned sombre. ‘And yet – we must face it – the ultimate triumph has eluded us. We call ourselves the Masters of the Midnight Sun – but still we chase the sun!’

(The Name of This Book Is Secret)

Promising longevity, power, and possibly immortality, the Midnight Sun probably never had challenges attracting new members. The problem they must have faced was binding their members to the organization for life. Under the glamorous facade, Midnight Sun members live on the edge of existence. Once they've reached a certain age, it's a constant struggle to make it yet another year and another, never knowing how much longer the elixirs will keep them alive. The servants just seem to slave away without benefitting from the luxury. The Masters seem to enjoy a pretty relaxed life unless the leader sends them on a mission. As for the leader, they are apparently responsible for everything: Supplying everyone with elixirs, bringing in money, bringing in new recruits, and chasing the secret of immortality. They literally carry the weight of the entire society on their shoulders, keeping everyone alive.

So how exactly do you convince people to dedicate their lives to your cause, all in the hope of uncovering a secret of which existence they can't even be certain? You make your organization a cult. You create a group identity of brave adventurers who push the boundaries of humanity. And you focus on recruits you can easily mold into your faithful followers: vulnerable children.

Attracting Children

‘Are you...a queen?’ Amber asked, trembling.

‘Ha! No, not...at the moment.’ Ms Mauvais made a chilly, tinkling sound that might have been a laugh. ‘But you are very shrewd – something tells me you’ll go far.’

She stepped forward and stroked Amber’s bowed head as if she were rewarding a little lap-dog.

(If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late)

We see the Midnight Sun directly targeting children who have a certain quality they want and/or are in a vulnerable position.

Ms. Mauvais had been orphaned by the time she was ten years old and left with her horse as her only emotional connection. Itamar perceived her as “heartless,” by which he, given the context, probably meant emotionally numb. This implies she was traumatized and dissociating, her brain protecting itself from the pain. She must have felt utterly lost and helpless in a world that could collapse at anytime.

Young Luciano was in a precarious situation as well. Pietro and he had to leave behind their home and their family. Alone in a foreign country, they were forced to fend for themselves while constantly fearing for their parents’ safety. They were at the mercy of a callous ringmaster who viewed them as mere assets for profit.

While Amber does have a very sheltered life, by comparison, she is tormented by her insecurities. She’s always anxious about being popular and pretty. When she’s not surrounded by people who admire her, she feels lost and insignificant. We see her struggling with her social status and the physical changes of growing up. By the time of “You Have to Stop This,” she’s most likely terrified of going to high school and having to prove herself from scratch.

This is where Itamar/Ms. Mauvais step in. They appear as stunning, charismatic saviors who promise to fulfill these kids’ needs: to be accepted, safe, cared for, and loved. They provide them with a community and a role model, offering them a sense of control over their lives and a new identity. They make them feel special and worthy of being chosen for a superhuman life.

Once they’ve wrapped the children around their fingers, they isolate them from their surroundings and keep them around at all times. Now they got them right where they want them: depending on them alone.

Systematic Abuse

Itamar pointed his cane at Ms Mauvais. ‘I hope you’re not getting sentimental, Antoinette. We chose you long ago for your heartlessness. That is what the Midnight Sun needs. Not maudlin concerns about my health.’

(This Book Isn’t Good For You)

The goal of the Midnight Sun is to break these kids, molding them into efficient, unfeeling machines who will stop at nothing to advance the organization’s goals. The “mentors” use their power over their “students” to control their thoughts, feelings, and behavior. They punish them emotionally and physically abusing them when they don’t fully meet their expectations.

What we see is mostly a combination of invalidation and shaming. Itamar dismisses Ms. Mauvais’s fear of losing him, making her feel guilty and worthless for having natural human emotions. Later, Ms. Mauvais does the same to Amber when she’s panicking because of the fire. She also publicly humiliates her for failing to capture the dragon and infantilizes her by calling her “girl” even when she’s an adult.

Both Itamar and Ms. Mauvais make a point of never fully appreciating their wards’ accomplishments. No matter how hard they try, they’re never good enough. Itamar’s last words to Ms. Mauvais are literally him telling her to do better recruiting new members.

The victims are made to feel small and worthless, losing any self-esteem and sense of agency. They’re no longer valued as people. Instead, their only worth and the chance of achieving anything come from behaving exactly like the abusers want them to. The abusers put themselves on a pedestal, always pretending to know best. Ms. Mauvais still displays that attitude toward Luciano by snapping at him whenever he questions her decisions.

The abusers make themselves the center of their victims’ lives, whose only goal is to please them and to win their affection. Ultimately, this results in destroying the victims’ sense of personhood. Instead, they absorb their role as a Midnight Sun agent as the only thing that defines them and gives them a purpose.

Internalizing Abuse

The French were cruelly snobbish, very strict about their manners and customs, none more so than the grande madame Antoinette Mauvais; and there had been many times over the last ten years when Amber had regretted making herself Antoinette’s ward. She knew she could never fully please the ancient French woman.

(Bad Luck)

As they grow up, the victims deny and justify the abuse as a coping mechanism. They buy into the lies their abusers feed them to protect themselves from the horrible truth: That the one person they’ve latched onto is a violent monster who has never viewed them as anything but a tool to further their agenda, and there is nothing they can do about it.

We see them glorifying their abusers, blaming themselves when they are being hit or humiliated. This thinking is hinted at when Ms. Mauvais calls Mr. Cabbage Face a “miserable and ungrateful creature” for killing Lord Pharao. She’s probably unable to comprehend why he would rise against his creator, who tortured him. She seems to have internalized the idea that your master is your savior, your master knows best, and if they mistreat you, you deserve it. Instead of complaining or rebelling, you should embrace the role they have chosen for you.

There is even some logic to this: The Midnight Sun “saved” the children from a short life span and dire circumstances, so they should be grateful. They are offered money, power, beauty, long life, and perhaps even immortality. Once they’ve tasted this, they quickly become corrupted, wanting more. It’s so seductive, for instance, to forget you’re just one step away from being crushed when you get to control an entire cruise ship and bring a millionaire to his knees with your charms. Or when you run a school full of brain-washed children or command servants with a snap of your fingers.

They start viewing themselves as powerful leaders who stand above common mortals. They convince themselves everything done to them was necessary to prepare them for the exceptional task of attaining immortality. Of course, they repeat this pattern, for this is how you set up a kid for greatness. They create an illusion of control: If they are only determined and ruthless enough, nothing will ever be able to harm them again.

But none of this will ever heal the wounds inflicted on them or even those that made them prone to their abusers’ influence in the first place. And at some point, they either need to admit this or sink deeper into their delusions.

Awareness

‘Itamar made you what you are, didn’t he? Just as you made me,’ Dr L reflected. ‘I wonder what I will feel when you die...’

(This Book Isn’t Good For You)

At Itamar’s deathbed, Luciano seems to realize how wrong he has been. We have seen him struggling internally before when facing his brother. He witnesses the Midnight Sun’s failure and Ms. Mauvais’ mourning, both of which shouldn’t be possible, according to his indoctrination. He probably understands that their chances of actually achieving immortality are minimal. Ms. Mauvais never acted the way she did because she knew best but because she never knew better. They are trapped in machinery set up by people who never cared about any individual.

Though she never admits it to herself, Ms. Mauvais seems to know this too. This becomes clear when Cass confronts her about being unable to triumph because she will never be loved. She’s given her whole life to Midnight Sun, yet she’ll still be lost. Eternal life would be eternal suffering to her.

Amber doesn’t seem to realize she’s being abused at all. She’s unhappy with her situation, but she is convinced she needs to side with a strong team, so the Midnight Sun is the best option. She can’t imagine being her own person.

Escape?

'After you two saw him, my brother, he stopped taking those evil elixirs,’ explained Pietro. ‘I think he wanted to prove to me he was true - he was done with the Midnight Sun. He came for a last visit and looked very old, very old. He could hardly speak. And then this morning - he is no more.’

(You Have to Stop This)

So how can you break the cycle? It gets harder the longer you stay in, especially after you’ve reached the end of your natural lifespan. At this point, the people and the world you knew are gone forever. Besides, you’ve given your entire identity and humanity away. There truly is no place for you anywhere but in the Midnight Sun.

Luciano manages to turn his back on them because of two things: First, he has the strength of character to face the painful truth and act upon it. And second, he still has his brother Pietro, who never gave up on him. Pietro’s willingness to forgive him is likely what Luciano needs to make his final decision. He chooses to die, being reunited with the one person who has always loved him, over living for an eternity of emptiness and self-deception.

As for Ms. Mauvais, her only way of getting out is literally death. When Clay offers to take her along as a prisoner to save her from the dragons, he unknowingly builds her an easy exit. There is no way she could live with only herself, being stripped of her power and identity as the leader of the Midnight Sun. Finally, she can choose to leave it all behind without having to face any of it. Perhaps she even believes she’s dying a hero’s death, proving how great a leader she is by making the ultimate sacrifice.

It’s a real pity we never see the closure of Amber’s arc because she has the best chance to make it out alive, heal, grow, and lead a normal life again. She is still very young, still has a family, and, as far as we know, there is no blood on her hands yet.

Conclusion

The real villain of the series is the Midnight Sun as a system. It’s far more powerful and terrifying than any of the individual members. It weaponizes victims and makes them continue the cycle, causing suffering and destruction to everyone around them and themselves.

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