The Queen of Nothing

“No one should have the childhood we had.”

Taryn’s poignant statement to Jude shows the depth of her childhood trauma. Though the sisters minimize the trauma in different ways—Vivienne through humor and irreverence, Jude through stoicism and fighting, and Taryn through a show of compliance—it is a fact of their lives. Taryn’s comment also makes Jude review her mother’s flight from Faerie in a new light. Her mother, pregnant like Taryn, left Faerie to give her unborn child a better life. She knew a half-mortal child would have a difficult time in Faerie.

“The whole place looks straight out of a fairy tale, the kind where love is a simple thing, never the cause of pain.”

The lawns on Locke’s estate are landscaped and manicured exquisitely. They appear inviting and gorgeous, a human’s idea of a fairy tale come to life. However, Jude knows the estate’s beauty as well as the notion of a painless fairy tale are only half-truths. Locke’s estate is beautiful, but Locke ended up murdered by his wife. The happily-ever-after of fairy tales is part of the myth; in real life, love is far more complex. Jude’s ironic description of Locke’s estate shows she is wise enough now to see through the appearance of things.

“Diverting. It speaks as though it thinks it’s one of us.”

Lord Jarel dehumanizes and belittles Jude, treating her as an object. His statement shows that Jude has good reason to be defensive around faeries, who can be extraordinarily cruel to humans. Lord Jarel’s treatment of her also throws Madoc’s behavior into relief: For all his flaws, Madoc treated his adopted human children as people and defended them from the violence in Faerie the best he could.

“Plunge a heated sword into oil, and any small flaw will turn into a crack. But quenched in blood as you were, none of you broke. You were only hardened.”

In a rare intimate conversation with Jude (whom he thinks is Taryn), Madoc reflects on the childhood he provided his children. Madoc is oddly proud of the trauma he caused Jude and her sisters by killing their parents, believing it made them tough and resilient. He uses the metaphor of a sword being tempered to describe this process. Madoc’s twisted logic shows that his perception of his own actions is skewed; this is partly because, as a redcap faerie, he is governed by a different set of ethics than humans. The other reason for his self-serving view is his deep egotism.

“‘Perhaps you could just allow yourself to be rescued,’ Cardan says. ‘For once.’”

When Cardan and the Roach come to get Jude from Madoc’s encampment, Jude tells them she first needs to save the Ghost. Cardan’s wry remark is laced with affection and the acknowledgment that Jude always wants to be the hero. Cardan’s acceptance of Jude’s nature highlights the textual motif of the reversal of gender roles.

“After all, who wants to die slowly when you can die fast?

Me.”

Jude retains a wry sense of humor even when bleeding profusely from Madoc’s blow. Her bleakly funny statement shows that in a mortal crisis, all of one’s perceptions about death and dying are tested. One such perception is that everyone desires a quick death. However, when a person is actually dying, as Jude may be, all they want is to hold onto life.

“‘It’s ridiculous the way everyone acts like killing a king is going to make someone better at being one,’ Vivi says. ‘Imagine if, in the mortal world, a lawyer passed the bar by killing another lawyer.’”

Vivienne’s commentary on the proceedings in Faerie are laced with wit and irreverence. Unlike Jude, Vivienne has never been in awe of the fey and their court intrigue. Perhaps because she is half-fey, Vivienne thinks the fey world is as ridiculous as any. She often views the customs of the fey as antiquated and odd, such as the notion that the throne must be claimed through violence.

“‘Well, I am mortal. And a girl, sir. We bleed every month, just like moon swells.’ He waves me on, distaste on his face.”

Author Holly Black often critiques problematic real-world attitudes through fantasy narrative situations. When an injured Jude tries to sneak into Cardan’s palace, the guards pick up the scent of blood on her and begin questioning her. Jude knows faerie males are squeamish about female menstruation, so she refers to her menstrual period to distract them. On cue, the disgusted guard backs off, allowing her to pass. This mirrors real-world squeamishness around female anatomy and natural processes. It is also funny that faeries, who otherwise have a great tolerance for gore, are repulsed by a natural mortal body process.

“I feel like a constellation of wounds, held together with string and stubbornness.”

Jude’s statement to herself is an example of author Holly Black’s rich use of figurative language. Jude uses a simile and a metaphor to describe her current state of being. While the phrase “I feel like” introduces a simile, an explicit comparison to feeling like a collection of hurts, “constellation of wounds” functions as a metaphor, where her hurts are implicitly compared to stars. The wounds-as-stars metaphor expands into the image of a formation held together with plain resolve. Jude would fly apart if it weren’t for her stubborn will to live.

“You’re the High Queen of Elfhame. Act like it.”

The Bomb’s admonishment to Jude underscores the importance of keeping up the appearance of power. One of the text’s key motifs is that in Faerie, power is performance. In honoring Lady Asha’s request for a visit, an injured Jude may think she is merely being polite, but her action can be seen as a sign of weakness and submission. To quell any such notion, Jude must act the imperious queen. Of course, the humor in the Bomb’s comment is that she herself is ordering Jude around.

“Do you think a seed planted in goblin soil grows to be the same plant as it would have in the mortal world?”

Val Moren, the seneschal of Eldred, is a mortal like Jude. When Jude asks him why the older man didn’t teach her and her sisters how to survive in Faerie, Val Moren counters they never needed his help. He uses a metaphor from gardening to explain that Jude has grown in the soil of Faerie, making it her native earth. Val Moren was transplanted as a grown tree and therefore has no inside information to offer Jude.

“Maybe it isn’t the worst thing to want to be loved, even if you’re not. Even if it hurts. Maybe being human isn’t always being weak.”

It is in Lady Asha’s chambers after her return to the palace that Jude has this epiphany about her human nature. Schooled by Madoc, Jude has always considered emotion and vulnerability a weakness, even though she experiences both. Now she understands that feeling and wanting love can be an act of courage, since it exposes one to emotional pain. It is beings who cut themselves off from being vulnerable who are actually weak. This nuanced understanding will lead Jude to see both herself and Cardan in a new light.

“‘By oak and ash, thorn and rowan, I vow that I will serve you loyally until my death,’ she says, which seems rash.”

Author Holly Black injects humor by juxtaposing the formality of the Faerie world with the wry, irreverent gaze of humans. In this case, as Jude appoints Fand the first of her guards, the young faerie immediately launches into a solemn vow of allegiance. Jude notes with humor that the suddenness and intensity of the vow is “rash.” The trees the guard swears by are all associated with magic in Faerie, and hence a vow by them is binding.

“I think of his riddle. How do people like us take off our armor? One piece at a time.”

The armor in question is metaphorical. It refers to the defensiveness and guards that Jude and Cardan have placed around their hearts. To Jude, it once seemed impossible that she could trust another being intimately; now she knows that the riddle can be solved by allowing herself to lower her guard a little at a time.

“‘It’s you I love,’ he says. ‘I spent much of my life guarding my heart. I guarded it so well that I could behave as though I didn’t have one at all. Even now, it is a shabby, worm-eaten, and scabrous thing. But it is yours.’”

Cardan’s confession of love to Jude may be couched in the courtly language of Faerie, but its honesty is hard to miss. The adjectives he uses to describe his heart are associated with old age and decay, indicating that he has kept his heart from use or from loving someone. Now, he offers it freely to Jude. Cardan’s honesty is a mark of the change in his character arc and the intensity of his love for Jude. The confession is an important point in Jude and Cardan’s romance, something to which the series has built up.

“‘I know that in Faerie, children are rare and precious and all that, but in the mortal world, there’s such a thing as abortion,’ Vivi says. ‘And even here, there are changelings.’

“‘And adoption,’ Heather puts in. ‘It’s your decision. No one would judge you.’”

Vivienne and Heather tell Taryn she shouldn’t think of motherhood as a trap because she does have choices. She can terminate the pregnancy or eventually give up the baby for adoption. Vivienne and Heather’s assurance tells Taryn she has a support system backing her decisions. The assurance reflects real-world concerns around a woman’s right to decide the course of her pregnancy. As it turns out, Taryn does want to have the baby, but it is based on her choice and preparedness. Author Holly Black uses a fictional situation to make a pertinent point about a pressing real-world issue.

“You want another answer, but magic is seldom so convenient as to conform to our preferences.”

Jude wants a quick and painless way to reverse Cardan’s transformation, but Mother Marrow reminds her that magic too plays by its own internal system of rules. It cannot be manipulated at will. This reinforces the text’s motif about the seriousness of magic. There is only one way to end Cardan’s existence as a serpent, and that way is neither painless nor easy.

“Do you remember the servants Balekin had? The human servants? […] They’d go missing sometimes, and there were rumors that Cardan hurt them, but it wasn’t true. He’d return them to the mortal world.”

Most servants are mistreated in Faerie, but none so much as enslaved humans. Often enchanted to be servants, they live a life of misery. Nicasia, Cardan’s old friend, now reveals to Jude the surprising fact that Cardan would secretly free human servants from his sadistic brother Balekin’s household. Jude is astonished because she has never known this kind, egalitarian side of Cardan. Nicasia’s revelation adds to the text’s theme of looking beyond appearances and preconceived notions. It also shows that Cardan’s character is far more well-rounded and sympathetic than Jude had assumed. Cardan’s actions also mirror Jude’s: In The Cruel Prince, Jude tried to return the enchanted human Sophie from Balekin’s home to the mortal world. But once her spell was broken, Sophie was unable to cope with another change in reality and killed herself.

“‘Well, even if the serpent bites off your head,’ says Tatterfell, ‘the rest of you will still look good.’

‘That’s the spirit,’ I tell her.”

Tatterfell’s statement shows Holly Black’s use of humor in the text. Taryn and Vivienne have found Jude magnificent armor to wear in her battle with the serpent. Tatterfell notes that Jude will look good even if the serpent decapitates her. The straight-faced comment is filled with black humor that undercuts the tension of the occasion. It also highlights the faerie concern with appearance and attire. Jude receives the remark in good humor herself, showing that she is not as bothered with hierarchy with Folk she trusts.

“The army of Elfhame assembles and readies itself to march. Whippet-thin faerie steeds, swampy water horses, reindeer with jutting antlers, and massive toads are all being saddled. Some will even be armored.”

Jude often describes the Faerie world as strange and overwhelming for mortals to comprehend. This routine description of the faerie army shows readers exactly where Jude is coming from: The steeds being saddled (and armored) include swampy water horses and gigantic toads. The image of armored and saddled toads is magical, arresting, and weird all at once. The world of Faerie, though just abutting the mortal world, is profoundly and deeply different.

“I always supposed I would be delicious.”

Cardan’s wry statement while his courtiers feast on his former serpent body is an example of the author’s use of humor to highlight the macabre and absurd. The Faerie world can often be overwhelming in its richness, sensuality, and violence; humor helps its inhabitants cope with this reality. Cardan’s comment also shows off his youthful, benign, and playful side, one that Jude hasn’t seen often. In the past, Cardan’s humor has been cruel. Here it is self-deprecating and warm, indicating a shift in his character and in Jude’s perception of him.

“I told you once that I am what you made me, but I am not only that. You raised me to be uncompromising, yet I learned mercy.”

Jude has grown tremendously as a character over the course of the series. From once believing she was a version of Madoc, she now shows him she is much more than a daughter molded in her adoptive father’s image. She shows him unexpected mercy, even though he tried to kill her. Jude’s mercy for Madoc is proof she is growing into a great queen who will combine strategy and defense with justice and forgiveness.

“‘Good-bye, Father,’ I whisper as he is led away. I say it softly, and I do not think he hears me.”

It is touching and sad that Jude still refers to Madoc as “Father” after she has imposed her merciful punishment. Even though Jude is aware of the ways Madoc has harmed her, Jude acknowledges that he has also been a parent to her. Jude’s poignant address shows her maturity as a character: She accepts Madoc for who he is, without compromising her own boundaries.