The Allegorical Cryptonyms of The Hallmarked Man, Part One

Ten Cratylic Character Names and their Embedded Meanings

Joanne Rowling Murray, in her incarnations as ‘J. K. Rowling’ and ‘Robert Galbraith,’ has a thing about names, one that extends well beyond playfulness to the heart of her artistry and meaning. Interpreting the names she gives her characters has been a constant of Rowling Studies across four generations of scholarship because it has been a signature quality in her writing from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to The Hallmarked Man. If you aren’t taking the time to find out what Rowling is communicating with her character’s names, you’re missing out on a lot of fun and a lot of depth. See the chapter in my How Harry Cast His Spell on Wizarding World names and ‘Lethal White: The Cratylic Names’ for an example of Galbraith’s nomen-klature efforts in the Strike series.

I’ve been promising a long look at The Hallmarked Man nams since its publication last September. Frankly, the immensity of the task has been a large part of what kept me from it. As I noted in my first post about the book, there are over 130 new names in Strike8, cf. ‘Hallmarked Man’s Flood of Characters, Names, and Plots.’ I have decided at last to stop trying to decipher them all at once, all-or-nothing being a trap I regularly fall into, but to write as many as the Substack platform allows for a single post.

Today, that came to ten names, the ones at the top of my names list in the first post I wrote on the subject. In my next effort, I hope to share why I think this element in Rowling-Galbraith’s writing repertoire is not a ‘bug’ or a cute aspect but a central feature of what she is about as an intentional writer of allegorical texts with anagogical freight. As with the crates being delivered to Ramsay Silver Vault, there’s a lot of thought being put into how her dynamic transformative experience is packaged and the remarkable living surprise inside will change your understanding and your life.

But that will have to wait. Let’s start with the man the Agency is hired to find or just to confirm his death, Rupert’ Five Names’ Fleetwood.

Rupert Peter Bernard Christian Fleetwood

• Patricia Fleetwood was Jasper Chiswell’s first wife and her name, as explained in ‘Lethal White: The Cratylic Names,’ was a cryptonym meaning “upper-class woman.”

Fleetwood means “woods with a stream.” The town in Lancashire was named for its founder rather than for woods or stream. The town in Pennsylvania built the luxury cars for Cadillac that have given the name its upscale cache.

• ‘Rupert,’ per Wikipedia, is an archaic and hence pretentious to a degree version of ‘Robert.’

Rupert or Ruppert is an English truncation of Latin Rupertus, which derives from Old High German Hruodoperht/Hruodoberht which are also the source of the name Robert. Thus, "Rupert" and "Robert" are different modern forms of the same name. The Old High German form of the name evolved from Germanic Hrothi, "fame, glory, renown, honour, godlike"+ Berht, "bright"; thus, Rupert and Robert mean "fame bright".

• Rowling Readers will think inevitably of ‘Rupert Grint,’ the English actor who, when a child played Ron Weasley in the Warner Brothers adaptations of the Harry Potter novels. Given the fall out of the author with the three child stars of that film franchise during the Trans Wars, her ‘It’s not Paranoia to Think I Hate You’) and the caddish behavior of Mr Fleetwood to Decima, I think it’s a safe bet that Rowling is happy with the linkage.

• And ‘Peter’? That’s Rowling’s Go-To touchstone villain name. See the Peter-John Rule as explained in Christmas Pig 1: Jack Jones, Peter, John (with Exceptions to the Rule). That Peter Fleetwood is Rupert’s supposed father is a double blow, though perhaps that shading is muted because Peter was cuckolded by his wife and his Eton classmate, Dino Longcaster…

• I’m going to assume that ‘Rupert Peter’ as something of a patronymic was this character’s name at birth, that ‘Bernard’ was the name he was given at baptism and ‘Christian’ the one he was given at confirmation. Five names, though, however you look at or explain it, is a dead give-away of social status (or the desire to appear to be at least minor gentry).

• ‘Bernard’ derives from the Old German bern and hart, meaning “hardy bear.” Decima’s pet name for Rupert Fleetwood was ‘Bear’ and now you know why.

• Or do you? One of the meanings of ‘Dino,’ Rupert’s biological father’s name, is “little bear.” Did Rupert’s mother, who must have been party to the decision to make Dino her lover the child’s god-father, decide to slip in something of a second patronymic in ‘Bernard,’ as a joke or hat-tip to the boy’s two fathers?

• I’d read Fleetwood’s name as an a-b-c-b’-a’ chiasmus with the true man being in the middle, the exoteric religious names being in parallel, and the pretentious markers coming first and last. As we learn in the story, he is a bear who looks out for himself and goes into hibernatory retreat when things get rough, mother and child be damned.

• I’m obliged to note that Bernard of Clairvaux is in Paradiso Dante’s final guide in the heavenly spheres. Rowling has been known to drop important scenes straight out of the Divine Comedy (cf., the death of Severus Snape) so, if we see Rupert again in the last two Strike novels — and I think that is a good bet — don’t be surprised if he is a very good man, indeed.

Decima Longcaster Mullins

• Decima, because it looks like a typo for ‘decimal,’ is usually understood as meaning ‘tenth’ per the Latin word decimus. But in Rowling World, you’d be better off thinking of Classical mythology:

The name "Decima" is of Latin origin and has multiple meanings. It can be derived from the Latin word "decimus," meaning "tenth," suggesting a connection to the number ten. In Roman mythology, Decima is one of the three Fates, also known as the Parcae, who were responsible for determining the destiny of individuals. Decima specifically represents the present, while her sisters Clotho and Lachesis symbolize the past and future, respectively. As a name, Decima can signify a sense of fate, the present moment, or the significance of the number ten.

• See ‘The Three Fates Meet the Weird Sisters’ for a history of Rowling’s play with this trope and, for an understanding of Jaspar Chiswell’s citing Lachesis in Lethal White, see Evan Willis’ ‘The Mythic Meaning and Hermetic Context of Cormoran Strike.’

• Per Wikipedia, the Decima of Mythology is the Roman equivalent of Lachesis:

Decima was one of the three Parcae (known in English as the Fates) in Roman mythology. The Parcae goddess Nona was responsible for pregnancy; Decima was responsible for measuring a person's lifespan; and Morta was charged with overseeing death. They distributed to mankind all the good and bad things in life, and according to some classical writings even Jupiter had to bend to their will. Decima measured the thread of life with her rod, like her Greek equivalent Lachesis. In some accounts, her mother was Nox the goddess of night and her father was Erebus, the god of darkness; while in other accounts, her parents were Jupiter and Themis.

• I’m not seeing much of the measuring-of-lifespans aspect of Decima in The Hallmarked Man character except for her otherworldly dress and carriage. Unless it is in her conviction that the father of her child must be dead, her refusal to believe he is alive. That’s a match.

• The big catch, though, is in the Fate Decima’s parents, Nox and Erebus, both divinities of darkness. Decima Mullins, especially in her first meeting with Strike, is archetypal noir, a Gothic goddess at home in the shadows. But the real catch is in her father, Erebus.

• Erebus per Wikipedia is a mythological equivalent of Hell, even Satan:

In Greek mythology, Erebus (/ˈɛrəbəs/; Ancient Greek: Ἔρεβος, romanized: Érebos, lit. ‘darkness, gloom’), or Erebos, is the personification of darkness. In Hesiod‘s Theogony, he is the offspring of Chaos, and the father of Aether and Hemera (Day) by Nyx (Night); in other Greek cosmogonies, he is the father of Aether, Eros, and Metis, or the first ruler of the gods. In genealogies given by Roman authors, he begets a large progeny of personifications upon Nox (the Roman equivalent of Nyx), while in an Orphic theogony, he is the offspring of Chronos (Time). The name “Erebus” is also used to refer either to the darkness of the underworld, the underworld itself, or the region through which souls pass to reach the underworld, and can sometimes be used as a synonym for Tartarus or Hades.

Erebus is not only father to the Fates, then, but to many of the primordial gods, most notably for Serious Strikers, Eros the god of love. So what?

Decima’s father, the dark-side evil Dino Longcaster, is also the father of Valentine Longcaster, whose name, as I explained in 2022, is a transparency for Eros or the ‘False Cupid,’ god of carnal desire and sexual passion.

Valentine Longcaster is a hilarious cryptonym for Cupid, for whom Valentine is a second name (see the post on Valentine’s Day in the Psyche and Eros post) and ‘Longcaster’ is a reference to his weapon of choice, the bow and arrow of the god of love. He pricks Strike at the direction of Venus-Charlotte [in Ink Black Heart], in some myths his mother, in others a lover and cousin or brother (murky waters!), and sets in motion the long-range plan of the envious ex to destroy Robin and Cormoran’s budding relationship.

We have it on good authority (or a tweeted suggestion made by the very best authority in these subjects) that Sleep Tight, Evangeline will involve aspects of the Cupid and Psyche myth. The revelation via the Fate Decima’s parentage that Dino Longcaster is the father of Cupid-Valentine, in my mind at least, all but guarantees that Hallmarked Man is the first book in a trilogy featuring the Longcaster-Campbell-Legard families in which we will learn Charlotte’s long-range strategy for revenge, perhaps even that she was murdered.

• Decima in addition to being a Longcaster by birth and the mother if not common-law wife of a Fleetwood is also a Mullins by marriage. That surname per Reaney and Wilson (316) means ‘Dweller at the Mills,’ which is to say, a mill-worker, someone working with threads. Cue the Fate who measures out the length of every person’s thread of life…

Tara Claremont Campbell Longcaster Legard Jensen

• ‘Tara’ as a girl’s given name means “queen or princess” in Gaelic, “star” in Sanskrit, or “fish” in Japanese. I’m going to guess the Claremonts meant it to reflect a royal status; it certainly seems to be how the Rowling character carries herself. Carroll’s Red Queen has nothing on Galbraith’s Lady Jensen.

• ‘Claremont’ means “clear mountain” or “bright hill.”

• Beatrice Groves noted in her ‘Rowling Family Mottos’ that the author’s great-grandfather was a Campbell — a medical missionary to Hawaii named Dugald! (think ‘Demiguise’?)—and that this clan prides itself on never letting an injury by outsiders to go unavenged: “The Campbells have, shall we say, a chequered history in relation to some other Clans and their motto is a proud reference to this history: ‘Ne Obliviscaris’ (‘Do not forget’). “ Good to keep in mind with respect to Tara and Charlotte.

• ‘Longcaster’ as noted above, is an archery reference which in Strike World is a reference to the False Cupid, a bullseye for Tara and Dino.

• ‘Legard’ per Reaney and Wilson (276) derives from the Old German Leudgard or “people protection.” Another source says it is simply French, Le gard, or “the farm or estate.” The Surname Database prefers the German and highlights, as with the Campbell clan’s motto, a desire to defend its members from outside attack:

It derives from the personal name "Liudgard" composed of the elements "liut", meaning people or tribe, and "gard", meaning protection or perhaps defence. As Legeard it was a personal name born by the Norman invaders of England in 1066

• ‘Jensen’ is conventionally considered a Danish and Norwegian equivalent to ‘Johnson,’ the “son of John:”

This Danish and Norwegian name is derived from Jan’s or Johan’s son and in many cases is the equivalent of Johnson. The Jensen variant is the second most common surname in Denmark. All these names are derived from the Hebrew name Yochanan, which literally means “Jehovah has favored,” which was Latinized as Johannes, gained tremendous popularity during the medieval era. This is due to the exploits of St. John the Baptist, St. John the Evangelist, and nearly one thousand other saints of the same name. The suffix -son and its variants are translatable as ‘son of.’

• Per the Peter-John Rule mentioned above, “John” is in Rowling’s nomen-clature almost always the mark of a “good guy.” Jack Jones, the hero of Christmas Pig, was given a name with two Johns in it. I’m guessing, though, that the author chose the ‘Jensen’ variant to highlight, as with ‘Campbell’ and ‘Legard,’ Tara’s fierce clannishness. ‘Gens’ is the Latin word for ‘tribe’ and in Roman civilization was the mark of one’s social status and access to power; the Italian mafia’s idea of “family” and of belonging derives from the Roman gens. Lady Jensen is a woman, if I’m reading that surname correctly, who is a long way from any concerns about the favor of Jehovah.

• Yes, I know the Latin word gens is pronounced with a hard ‘g.’ The English words that derive from it, though, are pronounced as a ‘j,’ e.g., ‘gentry,’ ‘gentility.’

Sasha (Alexander Simon) Legard

• In 2023, I made the argument that Sasha Legard murdered Charlotte Campbell in ‘The Charlotte Campbell Murder Mystery.’ The two points in that speculative Hail Mary were his public quotation from Romeo and Juliet after Charlotte’s seeming suicide and his name:

The clue that Sacha is the man responsible for Charlotte’s seeming suicide — let’s go ahead and call him her actual murderer — is, besides his being a step-sibling a la John Bristow and Raff Seraphin-Chiswell, to be found in his name.

‘Sacha’ and it’s more common form ‘Sasha’ is the Russian and affectionate diminutive for ‘Alexander,’ the ‘Help or Defender of Man’ in Greek, often used as ‘Savior,’ even ‘Messiah.’ ‘Legard,’ according to The Dictionary of English Surnames that Rowling uses (Reaney & Wilson, Oxford), means “people-protection” (276), and, more specifically, a “people-protective enclosure yard,” a walled garden or protected enclosure. That same link-source explains that it can just mean “gardener.”

No, neither of those names point to a Rowling villain in disguise. I’d guess ‘Savior Garden’ would be rather a nice guy, someone you’d have a nice conversation with while working the church grounds after services. It’s Sacha’s hidden or alternative name that outs him as a Black Hat. When Robin’s roommate mentions Legard in Troubled Blood, Max Priestwood — ‘Biggest Cross,’ a synonym, I think, for ‘truth-teller’ -- doesn’t call him ‘Sacha:’

“Yeah, I was in a play years ago with her half-brother. Simon Legard? He starred in that mini-series about the financial crash, what was it called? She came to watch our play and took us all out for dinner afterward. I liked her, actually, she was a real laugh. Some of those posh girls are a lot funnier than you’d think.” Troubled Blood, 673

Oh, my. If Charlotte’s half-brother’s name is ‘Simon’ or if Rowling ever thought of him as a ‘Simon,’ that has to put him at the top of the list of murder suspects. The very top.

As I explained at great length in ‘Troubled Blood: Rowling Father Echoes’ and in my first Christmas Pig post, the one on ‘Jack Jones, Peter, and John,’ Rowling’s defining ‘Family Romance’ issues are the death of her mother and her very bad relationship with her father. Dad’s name is Peter John Rowling. He was all but forced into marriage with Anne Volant due to her pregnancy with the child that became Jo Rowling — and, besides perhaps resenting her existence on that score, he had really wanted her at least to be a boy. Rowling in the most painful interview she did for the BBC’s Day in the Life program said he told her that she was supposed to have been a boy and his near names-sake: ‘Simon John.’ [‘Simon’ and ‘Peter’ are effectively synonyms because the Apostle Peter’s birth name was Simon bar Jonah.]

Dino Longcaster

• See the entries for ‘Rupert Fleetwood’ and ‘Decima Longcaster Mullins’ above.

Albie Simpson-White

• ‘Albie’ as with ‘Albus’ means “white” or “glorious.” With the ‘White’ surname, the parents were either cursed with an absence of imagination or color blind.

• ‘Simpson’ per Reaney and Wilson (411) means “Son of Simm (Simon). Once again, ‘Simon’ is synonymous with ‘Peter’ which is Rowling’s reflex name for a bad guy. The Man in White — surprise! — who could have put Decima’s mind at ease (sort of) by explaining to her why Rupert Peter fled turns out to be a Black Hat or blackguard.

Tyler Powell

• Per wikipedia, ‘Tyler’ as a given name has two ties to masonry. It means ‘brick-layer’ or ‘mason’ for one thing but came to mean something else because of its use among freemasons in their rituals:

It is an Old English name derived from the Old French tieuleor, tieulier (tiler, tile maker) and the Middle English tyler, tylere. The name was originally an occupational name for a housebuilder, one who lays tiles or bricks. It also holds the meaning of "doorkeeper of an inn" or "owner of a tavern", derived from its use in freemasonry as the name of the office of the outer guard.

• Rowling perhaps is having a little laugh here in having the Agency for much of Hallmarked Man search every Silver bar in the UK in pursuit of the missing Tyler; his name via its meaning among freemasons came to be used for bar-keeps:

Tyler (also spelled Tiler) is the name of the office of outer guard of a Masonic Lodge. Masonic lodges may meet in rooms in taverns and other public meeting places, and all Lodges appoint a Tyler to guard the door from the outside against ineligible masons or malicious or curious people, to check the eligibility of latecomers, and to ensure that candidates for ceremonies in the Lodge are properly prepared. Although a junior Officer of the Lodge and often a highly experienced Past Master, he may often be considered akin to a sergeant: in some cases the Tyler may not be an unpaid member of the lodge, but a mason from another lodge employed for the purpose. Other duties often involve preparing the room for meetings, supplying regalia and equipment, serving as bar steward or acting as permanent, and sometimes resident, caretaker of the furniture and premises.

• “Powell” is a Welsh name and one that is a commonplace in West England where Rowling grew up. It means “son of Howell” from the Welsh, ap Hywel, in which ‘Howell’ means “eminent, prominent,” literally “well-seen.” Howell, though, derives from the name of a Welsh king and has the tint of royalty in it, whence ‘Powell’ as the ‘son of the king’ refers to a prince of the realm.

• I’ve discussed Tyler Powell’s role in the book as a Christ figure; his ‘hallmark’ is the three barred cross cut out of his flesh, a literal meaning of ‘crucifixion,’ besides ‘being fixed on to a cross’ is ‘being made into a cross,’ wounds he suffers because of his sacrificial love for Chloe/Jolanda. If I’m right in this, perhaps ‘Son of the King’ is cryptonym language for ‘Son of God.’

Faber Whitehead

• Faber Whitehead, father of Hugo, is described in Hallmarked Man as a “beluga whale with glasses.” He is a successful architect and appropriately enough his given name means “artisan” or “craftsman.”

• FABER, though, is also a acronym (‘Flexion, Abduction, and External Rotation’) for a specific medical test:

The FABER test, also known as Patrick's test, is a commonly used orthopedic examination maneuver to assess for dysfunction in the hip joint, sacroiliac (SI) joint, or surrounding structures. A "positive" Faber test means that the maneuver elicits pain in the patient. The test involves placing the patient in a supine (lying on their back) position and then flexing, abducting, and externally rotating the hip of the affected leg, placing the ankle of that leg on the opposite knee, creating a "figure-4" position. Pressure is then gently applied to the knee of the flexed leg while stabilizing the opposite hip. If this maneuver reproduces the patient's pain, the test is considered positive.

• The Faber character in Hallmarked Man is well-intentioned but falls victim to the misdirection genius of Ian Griffiths. The FABER Test that Robin takes in her interview is whether she accept his misunderstanding as truth. She gets a “positive” result to her test when Ian Griffiths sets Wade King on to Robin after she texts ‘Chloe’ because of what Whitehead has told her.

• ‘Whitehead’ is not a dermatology term for acne pus or a racial epithet. Per Reaney and Wilson (487), it just means “white-haired” or “fair haired.” I suspect that, like Albie Simpson White, Rowling is teasing the white-guy aspect of the name.

Ian Griffiths

• ‘Griffiths’ like ‘Powell’ is a name of Welsh princes. The coat of arms? Either a red lion rampant or three silver lions. It derives from the name ‘Gruffydd,’ not from ‘Griffin,’ the mythical beast that is half-lion, half-eagle and a symbol of Christ (King of Heaven and Earth, the God-Man simultaneously of two natures).

• ‘Ian’ is Scotch-Gaelic rather than Welsh:

Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, which is derived from the Hebrew given name יוֹחָנָן‎ (Yohanan, Yôḥānān) and corresponds to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename Iain. This name is a popular name in Scotland, where it originated, as well as in other English-speaking countries…. The Welsh equivalent is Ioan…

• Ironbridge, just north and west of Birmingham, is an English town much closer to Wales than to Scotland. I defer to UK readers on the subject of whether a man having a Welsh and Scottish name in West England is worthy of note.

• I will testify that I thought that Ian Griffiths, on the basis of his name as much as his behaviors during his first meeting with the Agency partners, must be a good guy. As noted repeatedly, ‘John’ in books by a woman whose name “is derived from the Hebrew Yohanan” is almost without exception the marker of the white hat. I also thought that ‘Griffiths’ was from ‘griffin.’ “He’s got to be a hero with that name…”

• Was it a misdirection piece aimed deliberately at readers like myself, even at me specifically? Because the character’s primary physical attribute is that he is short and that his given name is a ‘John’ synonym and surname begins ‘Gr,’ my own stature (64”) and name gives me pause. The only other ‘John’ exception of note was John Bristow, the murderer in Cuckoo’s Calling.

• It requires the self-important assumption that Rowling is aware of Hogwarts Professor and the work we do here to assert that she is teasing us by using my ideas — my name! — as misdirection tools, but I’m obliged to note the possibility. Is that depiction flattering, insulting, or ridiculously implausible?

Chloe Griffiths/Jolanda Lindvall

• ‘Griffiths’ as explained above is a Welsh signifier of royalty, specifically of princes, not of griffins.

• ‘Chloe’ is a color, believe it or not, and one with a relevant mythological tint:

Meaning:Young green shoot; Blooming; Verdant; Greenish-yellow color

Chloe is a feminine name of Greek origin, meaning “young green shoot,” “blooming,” or “fertility.” It is derived from the Greek name Khlóros which translates to “greenish-yellow color”—referring to the shade of springtime shoots. It is a name rooted in Greek mythology, with Chloe often being used as an alternative moniker for the Demeter, the Greek goddess of fertility and agriculture. Chloe is a name symbolic of new life and growth, befitting for baby if they’re born in spring!

• Before jumping in to the Demeter-Persephone-Cupid-and-Psyche connections, forgive me this rabbit trail. Years ago I was told by an Orthodox monastic (and a Princeton PhD in psychology, polyglot, and native Greek speaker as well) that Matthew 3:4, in which John the Baptist is described as subsisting on locusts, was a laughable mistranslation of the Greek word for ‘young green shoots,’ the sort of ‘springtime shoots’ that chloe describes. I checked this morning and all English translations — every single one — has “locusts” as John the Baptist’s preferred meal in the desert and there are a host of web pages explaining why this is more than plausible. FWIW. Personally, I’m sticking with the monastic’s view.

• I’m obliged to note, too, that Chloe is mentioned in St Paul’s first letter to the Christians in Corinth (cf., 1 Corinthians 1:11). Her letter to the Apostle about the divisions in the Church there is what prompts him to write as he does.

• Back to the mythology. ‘Chloe’ is used as an epithet or nickname for Demeter, the goddess of husbandry or agriculture (the Roman equivalent name for this goddess is ‘Ceres’). Demeter is relevant for Strike fans on two counts because of the importance of the myth of Cupid and Psyche in understanding the Strike-Ellacott psychomachian allegory underpinning the series.

• First, Demeter is the mother of Persephone, the beautiful goddess abducted by Hades who by decree of Zeus must live in hell with her husband six months of every year because she ate six pomegranate seeds on her first sojourn there (the Greeks felt that if a captive eats anything given by his or her captor, the prisoner is bound to that place, hence Hades’ trick — and the importance of Psyche not eating a proper meal in hell). Demeter grieves for her daughter during those six months of the year whence fall and winter; the joy of spring, those chloe green shoots, are Demeter’s delight at Persephone’s return to the surface world. Read the whole myth of Ceres and Persephone here.

• In the myth of Cupid and Psyche, Aphrodite’s last task for the distraught young woman is to journey into hell to get a gift box of beauty-balm from Persephone. Who Persephone is, why she is in hell, and the instructions given by the Tower to Psyche for her to survive this trial are all wrapped up in the original myth of the abduction and return of Persephone. Rowling-Galbraith highlights this connection in Hallmarked Man by making the mysteriously absent Chloe the principal victim of Ian Griffiths that the Christ-like Tyler Powell tried to save.

• I’ll note here, too, that the Ceres/Persephone story makes Ian the Hades figure, especially as he separated Jolanda/Chloe from her mother Reata by abduction (and murder) and kept the young girl underground, literally in the basement, metaphorically in her hidden status and pseudonym, and ultimately in her grave.

• Second, when Psyche follows her sister’s direction and confronts Cupid/Eros with a lamp and knife, she inadvertently wounds him with lamp oil and he flees. She pursues him but cannot find him. On that hunt for her lost Love, she asks Demeter for help. Per Wikipedia:

In the course of her wanderings, Psyche comes upon a temple of Ceres, and inside finds a disorder of grain offerings, garlands, and agricultural implements. Recognizing that the proper cultivation of the gods should not be neglected, she puts everything in good order, prompting a theophany of Ceres herself. Although Psyche prays for her aid, and Ceres acknowledges that she deserves it, the goddess is prohibited from helping her against a fellow goddess. A similar incident occurs at a temple of Juno. Psyche realizes that she must serve Venus herself.

• On this score, Chloe/Demeter is pursued by Robin/Psyche in Hallmarked Man during her mad search for the mental stability she can only have in an Anterotic relationship. But Chloe/Demeter has been killed by the False Cupid sex trafficker, rapist, and murderer of women, Ian Griffiths/Hades, who assumes Ceres’ voice and gives Robin/Psyche false messages that distract her from her search.

• Which, I agree, is a pathetic attempt to make sense of a Demeter reference in the name of a murder victim. Please share your interpretation in the comment boxes!

• Chloe, however, is not the young woman’s real name; that is ‘Jolanda Lindvall,’ the meaning of which Robin discovers in Part Nine, chapter 116, an epiphany that leads her to the solution of the Ramsay Silver Vault murder mystery. What do those names mean? Let’s start with ‘Jolanda,’ the flowery meaning of which caused the charm bracelet gift from Tyler that catalyzed the reactions ending in everyone’s death:

Jolanda is a feminine name of Hungarian and Slavic origin, derived from the Greek name Iolanthe, meaning “violet flower” or “purple flower.” Its etymology traces back to Greek io (violet) and anthos (flower). The name gained popularity in various European countries, particularly Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands, often associated with beauty and nature. It is a cognate of Yolanda and Yolande, and shares roots with Iolanthe and Iolanda…. Jolanda is most popular in the following countries: Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, South Africa, Belgium.

• You already knew that, of course. But did you know that violets have a mythological backdrop, one relevant on several levels to the Strike series? First, there is a connection with Artemis, the divine defender of women and children associated with Robin Ellacott (hence her infertlity). Per PetalRepublic.com:

Violet flowers have deep roots in Greek Mythology. As the story goes, violets were the creation of Artemis, who transformed one of his virginal nymphs into a delicate flower to protect her from the approaches of her twin brother Apollo. This is why violet flowers became a symbol of modesty and restraint.

• I think the greater link to the Strike series is in the “modesty” even “chastity” aspect of violet symbolism. From the same source:

In Christian writings, the violet flower is often seen as a symbolic emblem of humility. Because of its three leaves, medieval monks called violets “the herbs of Trinity” or “flowers of Trinity”. It is also said that violets symbolize the Virgin Mary’s humility and purity. These blossomed when the angel Gabriel told Mary that Jesus would be her baby.

In the world of religious art, the violet flower is often portrayed as a symbol of modesty and humility. For instance, in many Renaissance-era paintings, the Virgin Mary is often depicted holding the baby Jesus and wearing purple flowers, symbolic of her modesty….

To the Victorians, the violet flower has several meanings, depending on the context:

Violet in General: Violets symbolize modesty, faith, affection, intuition, and spiritual wisdom. They are often associated with modest, humble sentiments of love.

Blue Violet: Blue violets often mean devotion or “I’ll always be true.” They are indicative of trust and commitment.

White Violet: White violets symbolize purity and innocence. They can also represent a promise or an invitation for a new beginning.

• HogPro readers are familiar with the Eros/Anteros, False Cupid/Cupid theme that is the heart of the Strike-Ellacott series, the central antagonism that separates them, the distinction they must both understand to come together. In the Tyler-Jolanda relationship, his gift to her of a bracelet of violets, jewelry Strike’s own gift to Robin is explained as the most meaningful token of love, speaks to his promise to her of a different kind of love than she has known — a pure and selfless love that embraces her entirely and unconditionally (most notably, to include her ill-conceived child with Ian).

• Griffiths murders Hugo and Ann-Marie because they teased Chloe-Jolanda about the bracelet and he kills his ‘daughter’ and Tyler as well. I think he does this not only because he rightly feared his exposure if her real name and prisoner status were revealed but also because, as something of a Satanic eros figure, he despises the purity and modesty of Powell’s Christ-like sacrificial love for Jolanda. Hence his bestial butchery underground in the vault.

• ‘Lindvall,’ meaning ‘vale of the Linden tree,’ has a similar resonance. Mythologically, it is “the sacred tree of Aphrodite, symbolizing love and tenderness,” which is to say, not passionate desire and carnal abuse.

Similarly, in European folklore, the linden tree was associated with friendship and fidelity, signifying strong and loyal bonds between individuals. The tree’s significance extended to justice and peace in Germany, where it was planted in town centers, becoming a symbol of fairness and harmony.

Moreover, linden trees were seen as symbols of healing and protection in popular traditions, believed to ward off diseases and evil spirits. Their sacredness was evident in various mythologies and religions, with associations to deities such as Freya, Odin, Arianrhod, and Aphrodite. In Slavic countries, the linden tree was considered a link between life and death, further emphasizing its spiritual significance.

I will close off this first ten Hallmarked Man name exegesis on that note. Coming up next, ten more names to include Danny DeLeon and Oliver Branfoot. Stay tuned!