Incarceron

In Incarceron, imprisonment and freedom are such complex concepts that the distinction between them is almost impossible for the characters to parse. In conventional thought, imprisonment and freedom are opposites; imprisonment means being confined in a restrictive space with limited rights and privileges, whereas freedom means having the power to move around at will and exercise personal rights and choices. Catherine Fisher complicates both concepts and raises the question of whether any character is truly “free,” regardless of whether they are inside or outside the prison. The author also illustrates the many different forms that imprisonment can take, for while Finn and his companions suffer physical confinement, Claudia finds herself confined by intangible injustices and limitations such as the potentially lifelong “prison” of an arranged marriage.

Although it technically fits the conventional definition of a prison, Incarceron is unique, for although some inmates are initially placed in cells, they can escape and move around relatively freely within the prison. Additionally, the prison itself is so extensive and varied that the inmates think of it as a “world.” Although inmate activities are constantly monitored by the prison and, to some extent, by the Warden, no official human guards work at the prison, and Incarceron seldom interferes with inmate activities.