PJO Magazine Edition #3: February 2019

Article #2: Mrs. Chase

Annabeth's Stepmother

When I first read Percy Jackson & the Olympians, one of the things I found most confusing was Annabeth's stepmother. In The Lightning Thief, she is described as a malevolent figure, along with Annabeth's father.

Frederick Chase married his wife when Annabeth was five, and they felt bitter that their daughter was constantly attracting monsters and bringing danger to their other children. "My stepmom treated me like a freak. She wouldn't let me play with her children. My dad went along with her. Whenever something dangerous happened-you know, something with monsters-they would both look at me resentfully, like, 'How dare you put our family at risk.' "

Mrs. Chase had ignored Annabeth when she had "nightmares" of spiders covering her in her sleep, reprimanding her for scaring her brothers. On the third night of spiders, Annabeth ran away from home.

It's clear that the stepmother's behaviour was the last straw for her. Typically when a kid runs from home, they come back. They realize that they need shelter, food, and money to survive, or they miss their home or their family. And in a demigod's case, they discover that there are dangerous monsters that want to eat them.

But Annabeth didn't go back for months, and I think the main reason is that she had Athena to guide her. Along with later finding Thalia and Luke, it encouraged her to keep going, assuring her that she didn't need her family to live. It also prevented her from going back and see that her stepmother wasn't the evil person she'd thought she was.

As a seven-year-old, you see things more black and white, which explains why she only saw her family as uncaring. The arrival of a stepparent is a top reason for running away from home. Adding on to that, Annabeth felt unwanted by her father. She knew she was a child he'd never planned for, and he was constantly away at work.

"But he always talked about my arrival as if it were the most inconvenient thing that had ever happened to him." "She yelled for her father, but her father was away for work. He always seemed to be away for work."

I think it's clear that the main culprit was her father, and Annabeth simply blamed the person who made his negligence worse. When Mrs. Chase ignored Annabeth's fear of spiders, I think she did it because she wanted her to get over her fear.

Remember that Mrs. Chase didn't even think the spiders were real. " 'It's only your imagination,' her stepmother said about the spiders. 'You're scaring your baby brothers.' " " 'No more talk of spiders,' her stepmother said firmly. 'You're a big girl now.' "

Still, it was definitely wrong of her not to listen. But when Mrs. Chase and her children went with Frederick to Camp Half-Blood to pick up Annabeth when she wanted to try again, I think it really showed that Mrs. Chase regretted her actions just as much as her husband.

After meeting Mrs. Chase, Percy said to Annabeth: "I didn't say you were lying. It's just... he seems okay. Your stepmom, too. Maybe they've, uh, gotten cooler since you saw them last." I believe this is a pretty accurate description as to what happened.

Annabeth only saw her parents as cruel and resentful towards her, instead of two people who were making mistakes. I think it's a great lesson to learn - sometimes, a person you may think is evil is just another human. Also, just because you were unplanned, doesn't mean you're unwanted.

By ClaireValdez