A Discovery of Witches

“More important, my life was now my own.” 

By denying her heritage and repressing her magic, Diana feels that she has built the life and identity that she wanted: she is a successful, tenured professor at Yale, and an esteemed historian and author. In living like a human, however, Diana gives in to her fear of her magic and her fear of being discovered and killed like her parents.

“Rowing was a religion for me, composed of a set of rituals and movements repeated until they became a meditation. The rituals began the moment I touched the equipment, but its real magic came from the combination of precision, rhythm, and strength that rowing required.” 

Exercise helps Diana cope with her panic attacks—built into her binding spell by her mother Rebecca—but also reveals how she can access her magic. Diana’s magic emerges when she cuts off conscious thought: letting her body take over in physical exercise, or letting powerful emotion take control. That Diana calls rowing a “religion” involving “magic” shows that she has substituted a human activity for her Wiccan practice. 

“For someone so smart, you really are clueless.” 

Diana’s colleague Chris points out Diana’s lack of awareness of her physical beauty and appeal when he bets that Matthew will ask Diana on a date. The statement also applies to Diana’s approach to life: She has book learning but lacks self-knowledge and awareness of others.