Throughout Margot Livesey's "The Flight of Gemma Hardy," the figure of Sulis is evoked repeatedly. In the first instance, Gemma is reflecting on the stories her uncle used to tell her. One such story involved the goddess Sulis, whose followers "used to throw lead tablets into the water inscribed with requests for children or good harvests, or sometimes curses" (Livesey 27). Afterwards, the young Gemma admits that the "idea that just by saying certain words you could harm someone fascinated [her]" (Livesey 28). The next time Sulis appears is on page 91, during one of Mr. Waugh's sermons, and then again on page 147, just after Gemma coldly responds to the cruel Mr. Milne: "My mouth burned as if each word I'd spoken had been a fiery nugget. My curse wasn't written on a lead tablet and offered to Sulis, but I hoped it would nonetheless prove effective" (Livesey). These frequent allusions to the goddess prompted me to do some research on her mythology to understand why Sulis appears so often in conjunction to Gemma.

There is an immediate link between Sulis and Gemma from an origins standpoint; Sulis, originally a Celtic goddess, was assimilated into Roman culture, from which she attained the name "Sulis Minerva." Similarly, Gemma was born in Iceland but now finds herself "trapped" in Scotland with no real friends or family. The many traits of the goddess also speak to major themes within Livesey's novel: Sulis was known as a virgin warrior who fought for women's liberation. It is important to note that, before modern patriarchy reformed our understanding of "virgin," the word indicated an unmarried woman who was "whole" onto herself. In addition, Sulis was a complex, dual-natured deity whose domains ranged from the all-seeing sun, to healing waters, to the dark underworld. She was also associated with wisdom and decision-making, and her sacred animal was the owl, quite like the Greek Athena. Sulis was primarily believed to be a solar goddess, and by extension of her spring, a Lady of the sacred waters. However, she was also called a Goddess of Justice, and it is these darker traits that Gemma continously meditates on: her ability to punish wrong-doers in terribly graphic ways lended Sulis the other half of her dual nature, so she is often depicted as rising from the shadowy Underworld. 

Until very recently (and still often present today, unfortunately), women have been historically conditioned to display only a few levels of behavior; they were taught from early childhood to bury their "darker" attributes and to prioritize calmness, or stoicness, over extreme ranges of emotion. Gemma feels as though she cannot do right even when she is trying her hardest to follow these lessons; understandably, the mythos of Sulis, besides serving as a link to her dead uncle, offers Gemma an alternative fantasy in which she has the power to exact her own justice and embrace all sides of her personality. This comparison also emphasizes the idea of being relocated, or not having a "true" home, as both characters have lost major aspects of their original identities.

Heather. "[Goddess Spotlight] Sulis." Holistic Goddess, Holistic Goddess Limited, Mar. 18 2016.

Jensen, Marie-Louise. "The Goddess Sulis Minerva." The History Girls, Blogger, Jan. 15, 2015. 

Livesey, Margot. "The Flight of Gemma Hardy: a Novel." Harper Perennial, 2013.