Upon reading the Wikipedia synopsis for the 1997 Don Bluth Anastasia film, and then subsequently the Wiki page for the historical grand duchess Anastasia, I have learnt that the name āAnastasiaā is apparently derived from a Greek name meaning āof the resurrectionā. And as I know you are a big TLT fan Iām coming to you askingā¦ is this anything? What are the implications? Obviously everyone in the empire is āof the resurrectionā, but why is Anastasia specifically given this meaningful name?
Fantastic question, and one Iāve been mulling over myself. I think there are two main pieces here, and there are undoubtedly people on here better suited to expounding upon both of them than myself, as both of these topics are beyond the scope of what I can give a super nuanced explanation of, but Iām out here doing my best!
The first is, as you said, in relation to āthe resurrectionā with roots in āanastasis.ā Within the context of Christianity, this is almost always in reference to the Resurrection, that of Jesus. Gideon is the obvious Christ figure of the series, but in NtN, most of our main characters get a little sprinkle of Christ figure imagery at the very least. However, I actually think that the more salient thing here is that within Christian art, the Anastasis specifically refers to depictions of the Harrowing of Hell. Eagle-eyed readers may recall that Harrow herself is named specifically for the Harrowing of Hell. The Harrowing of Hell, in turn, refers to the period of time between Christās crucifixion and his Resurrection on the third day. During this period, he descended into Hell and brought salvation to the righteous souls there, leading them out of Hell. Iāll throw in here that the stoma is said by John to be the mouth to Hell. Make of that what you will.
Additionally, Iāll point out that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is also known as the Church of the Anastasis. This is significant to our Anastasia because the Church of the Holy Sepulchre/Church of the Anastasis includes the site of Jesusās crucifixionā¦ and his tomb. Which sounds more than a little familiar, no?
So the second big thing is that within biology, āanastasisā has a similar but distinct meaning. Take a look at this quote which Iāve pulled from a journal article not really because of anything about the article itself but because the wording makes the comparison super easy:Ā
Anastasis is a natural cell recovery phenomenon that rescues cells from the brink of death. Programmed cell death such as apoptosis has been traditionally assumed to be an intrinsically irreversible cascade that commits cells to a rapid and massive demolition. Interestingly, recent studies have demonstrated recovery of dying cells even at the late stages generally considered immutable.
Was anyone else immediately reminded of this conversation, in which John asks Harrow to explain apopneumatism (which appears to be a play on apoptosis itself)?
āThalergetic decay causes cellular death,ā you said carefully, pressing the nail in harder, āwhich emits thanergy. The massive cell death that follows apopneumatism causes a thanergetic cascade, though the first bloom fades and the thanergy stabilises within thirty to sixty seconds.ā
Because I sure was.
In this same conversation, they talk about the life force and communal soul of a planet, arising from āthe accumulation of microbial lifeā and what happens when you kill a planet all at once: Resurrection Beasts. Alecto.
Taken together, I think weāre looking at some very significant imagery regarding not just Anastasia, but her relationships to Harrow and Alecto as well. We have a guardian of the Locked Tomb, in which lies the soul of a murdered planet and the ostensible source of necromancy. Given where we saw her last, Anastasia seems to have set some plans in motion to not only halt this death but bring her back. A resurrection, and perhaps salvation for those who have been trapped within the stoma, which is to say: Hell.
