Growing Up Oblivious and Magic [closed]

Question

I don't think that I've ever read a book about a character was sat down and explained to them that they are magic, supernatural, etc. Every time I've read a book, they only discover they are magic, supernatural, etc. by "a certain age." This is due to the guardian, either knowledgable or caring, is absent. So what would be some (non-meta) excuses in a guardian not informing their ward about their nature.

Answer 1

I think the main reason would be protection of the child.

Most magic seems to appear with puberty or there abouts. Unless the child grows up with magic, which in that case, they will hardly need someone to tell them they are magic.

Unless the guardian themselves don't know, they could be trying to protect the child from:

• outside evil forces
  • magical/demonic or even mundane
• accidentally spilling the secret to opposing forces that they are magical (kids can't keep secrets easily).
• pushing the boundaries
  • testing their magical limitations too early
  • being too rash in their physical experiments (jumping off roofs)
  • straying too far from home and encountering opposing forces that they were hidden from (this could also technically be an argument to tell the child)
• developing a huge ego, god-complex
• raising their hopes just incase they are not infact magical
  • finding out that you are in fact a squib after thinking you were going to be magical would make anyone bitter (eg Argus Filch in Harry Potter).

It is easier to teach someone from scratch than to try undo misapprehensions about their magic techniques. It is also easier to grow up without the constant pressure of wondering when and IF their magical abilities will show up. (See squips in Harry Potter or even the main protagonist in Sky High).

Let the child be a child. At the right time when the child's magical abilities should be developing, let the experienced knowledgeable Gaurdian keep an eye out for symptoms and then sit the child down and inform them.

Answer 2

One reason that it's appealing to have the protagonist child not know about their magic, is because as we enter adolescence we frequently find problems (and abilities) that our parents didn't prepare us for. It may not be magic in the real world, but the confusion and panic and excitement is all resonant with that protagonist discovering some new ability. Even when parents think they are preparing their kids for something big, like sex, the kids feel like their parents were absolutely clueless. I think a story where the parents prepare a child adequately for what is going to be the biggest thing in their life will feel wrong.

So, yeah, what are the reasons that a guardian wouldn't tell a child? Here's a few ideas ...

1. Guardian doesn't know.
2. Child knowing would put them at risk.
3. There is some external rule against it.
4. Guardian has ulterior motive/other loyalty.
5. Magic is negatively impacted if child knows.
6. There is some reason that can't afford the child being magical.

Answer 3

+1 to DPT and EBH, this is the only point I can think of to add to theirs. As the OP's link alludes, Magic appearing is typically (not always) a metaphor for puberty and the appearance of sexual desire, a mysterious life change for nearly all of us (even if we were warned).

Considering sexual desire, there are two social ways of dealing with it; one is to deal with it openly (by parents or school), with sex education and a more explicit detailing of the problems and dangers, ways to prevent them.

The other is more closed, to not detail anything at all, demand abstinence, deny the feelings are "real" (e.g. diminish them as puppy love, infatuation, hormonal imbalances), treat them as an "illness" or inflicted evil (e.g. supernatural temptation) that must be cured, and employ various kinds of threats to enforce chastity and abstinence (religious and secular threats) until sexual engagement is socially approved (eg marriage).

But then consider homosexual desire: Rather few will have it (perhaps 15% of persons), and IRL a smaller percent of self-identified homosexuals have expressed they felt lifelong and pre-pubescent homosexuality.

Without certainty on whether or not a child is homosexual, do we educate them on how homosexuals have sex and how to do that safely, or do we wait until we have certainty?

That might be the better metaphor for Magic: If only a small percentage of children exhibit ability before puberty, then perhaps guardians leave an uncomfortable (to them) conversation for if and when it becomes necessary.

This could be due to their own discomfort in talking about it (and lack of answers), or due to the culture in general having a magic-phobia, a dislike of magical people, or even laws against the use of magic (e.g. as in the TV Series Merlin).

If the culture prefers its magicians "in the closet" or actively prohibits and persecutes magicians (or even treats them as criminals to be jailed or put to death), guardians would likely not mention to their ward any possibility of the ward being magic. If the guardian also shares that phobia, they might even be disappointed (or horrified) to learn their child is magic, and try to deny it or force them to suppress their magical ability.

Presuming pubescent children are not entirely stupid, in that situation the child might also hide their ability, and develop a feel of magic to help them seek out the small percentage of other children that have it, until they find the wider underground community of magicians.

Answer 4

As a counterexample, try reading Patricia Wrede's Daughter of Witches -- the protagonist knew her parents had been burned as witches, but had never considered the possibility she might be one as well -- until she met the mysterious travelers who contrived to illegally stay in the city through the Winter Festival. At one point, the travelers actually explain to the protagonist what it means to have magic of her own -- but then she still has to overcome her own internal inhibitions against using it.