The Pentagram Necklace: Symbol of Inheritance and Inescapable Identity in Black Sheep
Introduction
In Rachel Harrison's Black Sheep, the pentagram necklace is far more than a piece of jewelry. It functions as a concrete symbol of Vesper Wright's inherited identity, her inescapable connection to the Hell's Gate cult, and the family bonds she can neither fully sever nor accept. The necklace appears at key moments throughout the novel, its meaning shifting as Vesper's relationship with her past evolves. This analysis traces the necklace's literal presence, its recurrences, and how its changing significance illuminates character arcs and central themes.
Literal Description and Origin
The pentagram necklace is described as a striking piece: a pentagram encrusted with rubies, flanked by emerald-cut diamonds, on a thick glittering chain ([chapter 4 evidence]). It was gifted to Vesper on her sixth birthday, as was tradition in Hell's Gate — each child received a similar pendant and was required to wear it to mass. Vesper's necklace was more elaborate than those of other members, drawing attention that both embarrassed and pleased her. The necklace thus originates as a marker of belonging and special status within the cult, a "Satanic rosary" that ties her to the community and, by extension, to her mother Constance and the absent father who later reveals himself as Lucifer.
Recurrence and Changing Meaning
Childhood and Pride
In her early years, Vesper wore the necklace with a mixture of pride and discomfort. The evidence shows she felt it suited her, yet also experienced embarrassment at the attention it drew. This duality foreshadows her later ambivalence toward her family and faith. The necklace appears alongside a childhood photograph of her father — only his arm visible — reinforcing that her identity is bound to a father she barely knows but deeply loves.
Rebellion and Discarding
Six years after leaving Hell's Gate, Vesper attends her cousin Rosie's wedding. She initially resists wearing the necklace but eventually puts it on to participate in the underground cathedral ceremony ([chapter 7 evidence]). After the wedding's shocking revelations — that her father is Lucifer, that she is considered the harbinger of the apocalypse — Vesper attempts to flee. On the train home, she tears the necklace off, breaking the clasp, and throws it into a trash can at Penn Station, declaring it "laid to rest where it belonged — in hell" ([chapter 9 evidence]). This act symbolizes her desire to reject her past and sever all ties to the cult.
Inescapable Return
Despite discarding the necklace, Vesper finds it again in her apartment nightstand after returning home from the wedding. Later, when she brings home George from Shortee's, he discovers the necklace in her nightstand drawer, holding it up and asking about its origin ([chapter 10 evidence]). Vesper's inability to get rid of the necklace — it reappears no matter how many times she throws it away — underscores the theme that she cannot escape her inheritance. The necklace becomes a physical manifestation of her family's hold over her. When Lucifer later tells her she no longer needs the necklace because it "will only get in the way" ([chapter 15 evidence]), the object's role shifts from a symbol of belonging to a tool that has served its purpose — she is now the sacrifice, the "Lamb."
Final Rejection in Epilogue
In the epilogue, years after the cult's destruction, Vesper returns to the former Wright Farm, now a museum. She deliberately leaves behind her pentagram necklace, the childhood photo, and the skull hairpin received from her mother, then incinerates the photo with her powers. This final act of leaving the necklace represents a conscious, lasting rejection of her past — not a desperate discard, but a choice to walk away without looking back.
Character Connections
The necklace ties together several key characters:
- Vesper Wright: The necklace is both a marker of her chosen status and a noose she cannot untangle. Her struggle with it mirrors her struggle with her identity as the "black sheep" of the family.
- Constance Wright: Vesper's mother gave her the necklace as a child, reinforcing Constance's cold adherence to cult traditions. Constance's silence during the final sacrifice shows she values the cult over her daughter.
- Lucifer (Vesper's Father): He appears wearing a silver chain with a baby tooth (Vesper's) around his neck. The parallel between his necklace and Vesper's pentagram necklace highlights the twisted family legacy — both are marked by each other's physical tokens.
- George: His discovery of the necklace leads to Vesper revealing her Satanic upbringing. The necklace thus acts as a catalyst for her first honest confession to an outsider.
Thematic Connections
The pentagram necklace serves several major themes:
- Family estrangement and betrayal: The necklace is a gift from a family that later tries to sacrifice Vesper. It represents the betrayal of familial love.
- Identity and self-worth: Vesper's relationship with the necklace — pride, shame, rejection, helpless return — mirrors her struggle to define herself outside of her cult upbringing.
- Power and manipulation: The necklace is a tool used by the cult to mark Vesper as special, controlling her through a sense of belonging and obligation.
- Sacrifice and redemption: The necklace ultimately becomes a relic Vesper must abandon to achieve her redemption. Leaving it behind in the epilogue is a symbolic act of self-reclamation.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Vesper throw the pentagram necklace away after the wedding, and what does this action reveal about her state of mind?
Answer: Vesper discards the necklace in a trash can at Penn Station immediately after learning her father is Lucifer and that she is prophesied as the Antichrist. The action reveals her desperate attempt to reject her family's identity and escape the fate they have planned for her. It shows her overwhelming desire to disconnect from Hell's Gate physically and symbolically.
2. What does the necklace's reappearance in Vesper's nightstand in Chapter 10 suggest about her relationship with her past?
Answer: The necklace's return indicates that Vesper cannot simply discard her past by throwing it away. It suggests her family — particularly her father — is actively maintaining a connection, possibly stalking her. More deeply, it shows that her inherited identity is not something she can shed through a single act of rejection; it continues to surface in her life.
3. Compare the significance of the pentagram necklace in Chapter 4 (childhood) and the epilogue. How does its meaning evolve?
Answer: In Chapter 4, the necklace is a cherished but complicated gift — a mark of belonging and beauty, yet also a source of embarrassment and obligation. By the epilogue, Vesper leaves it behind deliberately, alongside other tokens of her past, indicating a final acceptance that she can move on without carrying these symbols. The meaning shifts from a marker of cult membership to a relic of a self she has outgrown.
4. How does the necklace connect to the theme of identity and self-worth in the novel?
Answer: Vesper's fluctuating feelings toward the necklace — pride, shame, desperation to remove it, inability to be rid of it — mirror her struggle to define her own worth outside of Hell's Gate's narrative. The necklace represents the "specialness" the cult imposed on her, which she later recognizes as a form of manipulation. Her final abandonment of the necklace signifies her reclaiming of self-worth on her own terms.
Conclusion
The pentagram necklace in Black Sheep is a layered symbol that evolves alongside Vesper Wright's journey. From a childhood token of belonging to a hated emblem of manipulation, and finally to a relic consciously left behind, the necklace encapsulates the novel's exploration of inheritance, identity, and the possibility of forging a new self. Its recurrence at critical moments — thrown away yet returning, discovered by George, dismissed by Lucifer — makes it one of the most potent objects in the story, a physical anchor for Vesper's emotional and spiritual arc.