Characters A Resistance of Witches Morgan Ryan

Lydia Polk: Stubborn Honesty and Resistance

Overview

Lydia Polk is an apprentice witch and projectionist at the Royal Academy of Witches. She is introduced in November 1940 as Isadora Goode's apprentice and serves as the protagonist of Morgan Ryan's A Resistance of Witches. Her defining qualities— obstinate honesty, a deep survivor's guilt from the Blitz, and a refusal to accept cowardice in leadership—drive the plot from London to Nazi-occupied France. Through her eyes, the story explores betrayal, sacrifice, and the moral cost of wielding dark magic. The novel follows her pursuit of the Grimorium Bellum, a dangerous grimoire, and her struggle against a traitor within her own ranks.

Plot Role

Lydia is the central point-of-view character. She accompanies Isadora to 10 Downing Street in 1940 (Chapter One), later takes over the hunt for the Grimorium Bellum after Isadora's murder (Chapter Three), and ultimately defies both the academy and the Nazi coven to destroy the book. Her refusal to be a figurehead grand mistress leads her to abandon the academy and travel alone to France, where she forms alliances with the French Resistance fighter Rebecca and the American curator Henry Boudreaux. The ending explained reveals that her final act—using the Grimorium Bellum's own Unmaking spell—succeeds, but at the cost of her mother Evelyn's life and her own magical powers.

Motivations and Traits

Lydia's most consistent trait is stubborn honesty. Isadora explicitly chose her "not for diplomatic skill but for her stubborn honesty" (Chapter One). This manifests as a refusal to participate in political cover-ups—she denounces the high council as cowards after Isadora's death (Chapter Four) and rejects Vivian's offer to withdraw from the war (Chapter Six). Her survivor's guilt from the Blitz motivates her to help Britain, as she feels "guilty over surviving while others died" (Chapter Outline, Chapter One). This guilt evolves into a personal mission to stop the Nazis from obtaining the grimoire. She is also deeply loyal but learns the pain of misplaced trust when Sybil, her close ally, is revealed as the traitor (Chapter Twenty-Five).

Chronological Arc

Lydia's arc spans from November 1940 to VE Day, May 1945. She begins as an apprentice shadowing Isadora, then becomes the reluctant candidate for grand mistress after the assassination. When she discovers the assassin bypassed the academy wards (Chapter Seven), she suspects an inside job and uncovers a tear marked with the rune Othala. Her arc takes her to France, where she tracks the grimoire to Château de Laurier. Captured by Sybil's coven, she feigns allegiance to learn her mother's location (Chapter Thirty-Three). The solstice confrontation sees her use the Unmaking spell with her mother and Fiona McGann as her "sisterhood" (Chapter Twenty-Seven). After Evelyn's death, Lydia returns to London, weakened and bound, but continues hunting remnants of the Nazi coven. The final chapter shows her walking through Trafalgar Square, disappearing "as if by magic" (Chapter Forty-Two).

Relationships

  • Isadora Goode: Mentor and grand mistress. Isadora chose Lydia for her honesty, and her murder sets Lydia on her quest. Lydia grieves deeply and seeks justice.
  • Kitty Fraser: Best friend and skilled Glamourer. Her death at the hands of the assassin galvanizes Lydia's resolve. Lydia uses a memory of Kitty's touch to try to track the grimoire (Chapter Three).
  • Sybil Winter: Initially a supportive elder witch who encourages Lydia to become grand mistress. Sybil is later revealed as the leader of the Witches of the Third Reich (Chapter Twenty-Five). Lydia's trust is shattered, and she must deceive Sybil to survive.
  • Evelyn Polk: Lydia's mother, a Force witch and hedge witch. Their relationship is strained by Lydia's academy secrets. Evelyn ultimately helps Lydia perform the Unmaking spell and sacrifices herself so Lydia can destroy the book.
  • Rebecca Girard: French Resistance fighter who drives Lydia to Château de Laurier. Their clash over dark magic (Chapter Ten) evolves into mutual respect. Rebecca stays in France after the war, hunting Nazis.
  • Henry Boudreaux: American curator hiding Louvre treasures. Initially adversarial, they form a fragile alliance (Chapter Twelve). Henry's ability to communicate with the dead helps them escape Sybil's castle.

Key Decisions and Consequences

  • Refusing the grand mistress position (Chapter Eight): Lydia chooses to leave the academy and hunt the grimoire herself. This isolates her from institutional support but allows her to act swiftly.
  • Confronting Henry and projecting to intimidate him (Chapter Eleven): She reveals her nature but also damages trust, forcing Henry to later confess his cleansing spell diluted the book's trace.
  • Faking allegiance to Sybil (Chapter Thirty): Lydia joins the Nazi coven to locate her mother. This deception is emotionally brutal—she must disown Evelyn in a staged confrontation (Chapter Thirty-Three)—but gives her access to the book.
  • Binding the Grimorium Bellum to herself (Chapter Twenty-Eight): She uses a grimoire-protection spell so that if she dies, the book turns to ash. This ensures the book cannot be used by others but leaves her vulnerable.
  • Using Unmaking with her mother and Fiona (Chapter Twenty-Seven): She reinterprets "sisterhood" as family rather than coven, enabling the spell. The consequence is Evelyn's death and Lydia's permanent loss of magic.

Theme and Symbol Connections

Lydia embodies the theme of resistance and resilience—she refuses to surrender even when bound and powerless. Her stubborn honesty contrasts with the political maneuvering of the high council, linking to power and corruption. The Grimorium Bellum itself symbolizes magic vs. morality: Lydia must decide whether to use its dark power to end the war. Her mother Evelyn's shield stone pendant represents protection and family legacy. The rune Othala ("homeland") found at the torn warding (Chapter Seven) symbolizes the betrayal from within one's own community—a key betrayal theme.

Questions and Answers

  1. Why does Isadora choose Lydia as her apprentice?
    Isadora tells Lydia she was chosen not for diplomatic skill but for her stubborn honesty, because that is what will be required for the coming conflict (Chapter One). This is stated clearly in the text.

  2. What is the Othala rune, and what does it reveal?
    In Chapter Seven, Lydia discovers a tear in the academy warding marked with the rune Othala (meaning "homeland"). This suggests the attack was an inside job, implicating someone within the academy or high council.

  3. How does Lydia plan to destroy the Grimorium Bellum?
    She intends to use the book's own most powerful spell, The Unmaking, against itself (Chapter Twenty-Seven). Evelyn reinterprets the spell's requirement for a "sisterhood" to mean family, allowing Lydia, Evelyn, and Fiona to cast it.

  4. Why does Lydia falsely disown her mother in Chapter Thirty-Three?
    Lydia performs the confrontation as a deception to gain information about Evelyn's location from Sybil. She hopes Evelyn understands the charade, but the scene leaves that uncertain.

  5. What happens to Lydia's magic after the solstice?
    The Unmaking spell and the binding of the Grimorium Bellum leave Lydia permanently weakened and empty. Henry confirms Evelyn's spirit is gone by Chapter Forty. Lydia's powers are bound by the spell's aftermath, as seen in her inability to perform magic during recovery.

For further questions about the plot, see the Questions and Answers page.