Sparkle Valley Philosophy: Ivana
Updated: Oct 3
Control instead of Meaning
Ivana was loved. She had it all and was Emily’s favorite. But then Abigail showed up and everything changed. She got jealous, which turned into bitterness, and then resolve:
“If I’m not going to be loved, I will be feared.”
Enter “Queen of Mean.”
Then revenge. But it all stems from loss. Everything she does when she gets to Sparkle Valley, the new clothes, new names, the whole attitude. All that’s just armor. It's her way of fighting back so she doesn't have to actually feel what happened.
Because there’s a part of her that still wants more. She doesn’t feel whole anymore, but she doesn't know how to get there. So she turns to control. Fear. At least it's feeling.
In Book 2, after she has supposedly been redeemed, she can still feel the Beast pulling at her, offering something that's easier – no doubt, no pain. Just control. And a big part of her wants that.
But not all of her.
So she pulls away and hides and tries to figure things out. She’s conflicted, but unlike the Smortzle, she fights back against the Beast. But it’s not clean, and she never really trust herself. So there’s always this underlying tension with Abigail.
Even at the end of Book 3 that pride is still there. There’s always this feeling that the old Ivana might come back. And this is what makes Ivana feel so real. There’s no full redemption here, her story remains unresolved. But she’s learning to live with the parts of herself she can't erase. She's making accommodations.
And of course that’s Emily story too. Because there's a version of Emily who wants to just shut things down, stop feeling. Trade all that messiness away for control and security, It would be so much easier.
Ivana is what that path looks like.
Abigail is what pushing back looks like.
And that tension, that choice, is right at the very center of Sparkle Valley.
