#Jacqueline Herondale

[faithfromanewperspective]

james/judith herondale, neurodivergence and the sticky lens of gender

Girl in a dress with black curling hair in a low ponytail. Resigned, brave, so used to the shadow world and the uncertainty and horror it brings on a regular basis, that it's just a part of everyday life. She's the James we know, yes, but the vibe seems a little different. As if the world were viewed through a different colour lens, or you woke up suddenly in a different dimension where things are similar enough to be familiar, but just feel off. Unmistakable, yet. She's a bit more blunt, and her independence hits a little different. Especially when she seems so fragile, her story narrated through a sheen of sadness. She's cold, and her hands always are, golden eyes not a symbol of warmth--maybe she reminds us a little of the midnight heir. Or nbs. But, as the reader, you want nothing more than to hug her, until whatever's got her so wound up disintegrates, and you're left with a character that's so interesting you can see why they had to be characterised twice.

Recently, I have gotten into the amazing @thevagabondexpress's genderbent tlh series (seriously, check them out, they are in some ways better than the originals and I do not say that lightly). Anyway, like any good protest song/punk album should, they got me thinking. A lot. About something I thought was mostly a social construct and relatively inconsequential until it changed the whole plot more and more as the series went on--and gave me a new way of viewing some of the characters I thought I might share.

First, we visit James (the one character I'll fight anyone for interpretations of), reconstructed as Judith Herondale.

I never thought this recharacterisation would get me so emotional! I guess it hit me how much I'm used to really well characterised male characters in tsc--and female not so much. But, as it turns out, it doesn't have to be this way. And my mind is blown. Because it's been a long time, so long I can't remember, probably back to my tween years and jacqueline wilson novels, since I've seen a female character that just stands out beyond the pages and shows me things about myself that I hadn't seen before in bold, enthralling colour. She's James, but she's not. (this is long long, you've been warned!)

The first thing I noticed was that Judith's independence and stubborn need to solve any problem or mystery that arises is a bit more noticeable--in contrast to what's expected of a woman of the era. She reminds me a little of Clary actually. But I think what stands out is that, unlike a lot of our female protagonists, she doesn't have a male character showing her the ropes or taking the lead in all the adventures she leads her friends on. And, somehow, still, it seems unusual and unsafe for a girl to be going on her own to do what she does. When she wanders around London after the breakup with Grace. It seems a little more unhinged, desperate, and a little more noticeable. And there are more occasions similar to this, I don't want to spoil it for the reader (the plot deviates from canon quite a lot especially as the series progresses). But my point is, it leaves you as the reader worried. A lot of things about Judith do, actually.

Second, James is said to be the leader of his friend group; Judith definitely is. She takes care of her little brother and his friends. She's most at home with the rest of the Revolutionary... something (aka the Merry Thieves in canon) and I love love love seeing the friendship the four of them have (or at least Judith has with the other three). Gender doesn't change that, and it's really refreshing to see those kind of intense, no-pretense, light-in-the-darkness kinds of friendships among women. Makes me miss my primary school friend group, but also, for the first time, shows me something of what we could still be, represented in our own gender. Yes, this friend group have their own problems, and they suffer as they would when Judith slowly unravels (more on that later). But for now, overall, I love how she takes care of the others, especially Christa (in comparison to canon, because James and Christopher was a friendship I didn't see explored or resolved the way it deserved, and James does sometimes treat him in a bit of a derogatory way). Still, just as James does encourage and support his friends to thrive as they are and access the things that bring them joy, Judith also does something similar in the way she leads them on adventures. I don't know if a style of leadership that isn't too bossy and more collaborative is harder to recognise as leadership at all when a man does it than a woman? Or maybe our canon James doesn't actually live up to his 'leader' role on page as much as Judith does. I'm not sure. Please comment!

Just like James, Judith seems more neurodivergent during alt-COI and after, during the enchantment and after it's off and she's making sense of what's happened to her--but then going back to alt-COG, you can kinda fill in the gaps. She's definitely (probably) autistic and reminds me of someone. Some kind of stereotypical female protagonist who solves things and is stubborn--Anne of Green Gables? Nancy Drew? Scout Finch? Seriously, guys, let me know who it might be. I don't have the best memory for books (and shows) I consumed 10-20 years ago. Unless it's Clary again. I can't remember. But, back to James, I think seeing Judith has reminded me of how he reminds me much more of a more common female protagonist who you're kinda viewing the story through their eyes and they don't have a larger-than-life personality like many of our Herondale or otherwise men do. (I find it kind of refreshing, and hey, he is Tessa's son, and not everyone can be Matthew Fairchild.) But somehow, Judith manages to be both. A bigger personality, in some ways? Or is it just James as a girl is more jarring and more memorable? Or is she slightly different? Or is it just that she's culturally more allowed to feel her feelings? (More on this later). Anyway, her personality stands out, but also not. She's kind of a shadow, quiet, going through the world not really as the centre of people's attention, not really wanting to be, liking to be on equal footing with her friends. Slow to open up, ready to escape a bit with a book or something at most times (or literally turn into shadow), most at home with a small circle of similar friends. Uncomfortable with being taken care of--whether out of preference or just not thinking of anyone ever taking care of her, we're not sure. Probably seems lost in her head quite often though she's present with those closest to her or who she's focused on to solve something. Especially when she's not under an enchantment. Feels, processes things quietly, uncomfortable with crowds but not standing up for what's right or true in front of them. On guard with a world who so often say hurtful things, but accepts and has processed things the way they are, and yet, does always seem to be weighed down by something (we discussed PDD/dysthymia, and as Thomas says, 'James's eyes were always haunted'). Shadowed. She's a lot like James, like she should be. So why does her personality seem to stand out more? Is it just because when a boy has ideas and likes to feel things alone rather than talk about it immediately, it's normal, but when a girl does she's awkward and headstrong? Or is there more to it?

I had a bit of a theory based on something I noticed about James that was taken away to--increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the plotline. So that miscommunication doesn't do more damage than actual demons. And that is this weird insecurity James has about worrying his parents. It's like he senses that they long for him to be happy and have friends and everything. You know Will and Tessa. It makes perfect sense. And James being James, he feels I think both a little suffocated by this and pressure to make them happy in return (good old slight accidental neurodivergent enmeshment, not that I think they're actually enmeshed per se, just all very sensitive to each other's emotions and slightly misapplying principles of kindness and well-wishing with blurry boundaries. or maybe that's the definition of enmeshment). Anyway, he does this as subconsciously as any form of neurodivergent masking for those of us who are also high-masking and intuitively highly attuned to others' energies: he puts on a facade, the way he communicates, to try and tell them what they want to hear. Be what they want him to be (and actually beats himself up a fair bit when he isn't, especially when he was younger). It develops into lying being his go-to response when he doesn't feel safe enough or the right kind of focused attention that adults around him can afford, to tell the truth. He's such a well-intentioned and relatable liar. Something about how the nervous system works and a lesson on how honesty is a two-way street made much more feasible by communicated safety, acceptance and lack of reactivity. I could go on. Cordelia is kind of the same, James finds it relatable, and it almost destroys their marriage about a thousand times in its first month. I can relate. Many of you can too. Take it as a lesson. Practice cultivating both honesty and the environment it thrives in. And if you want to see what happens when it's actually used, take a look at this AU.

Judith is more direct, and this, I think, comes out in both her narration and the actual plot. Because James' 'I'm-actually-okay' masking comes out even in the way he thinks/communicates. He goes through life, feeling and experiencing everything in the moment as it is, but it's as if he accepts it so as not to dwell on it and worry something. He seems like he's taking skills from therapy and taking them a little too far. Or is I-must-not-worry-or-burden-you just the only language he knows? Probably both. Judith, on the other hand, yes she feels so much she dissociates herself all the way into shadow and teleporting MUCH farther than just Chiswick at least once, but her habitual go-to isn't straight up lying, or concealing anything, really (it could have saved her getting arrested like Cordelia did for James if she was a bit more like him, or maybe not, but it is how it is). And as a result, everything is closer to the surface and you can't help but want to give her a hug. There it is. I think I mostly answered my own question. And it's great, too, to have female characters you can just feel so easily as a reader. Who don't seem to be masking in the way they communicate (narrate). Refreshing. We need more examples of this.

And that, also, I think is why as a reader it can be harder to see just how much James is going through during TLH. Combined with the fact Cordelia does view him through kind of rose-coloured glasses (which, honestly, is more what James needs in comparison to either sympathy which he hates or the bigoted disgust at his heritage that definitely has impacted his self-esteem). Whereas, I think with Judith it's a lot easier. And it's physically painful when we see her slowly losing it, or her guilt later, once she can feel things again. And yet, she's also very practical even then, able to pour herself into the task at hand. As stubborn and resilient as she is fragile. As resourceful as she is disabled, both happy to rely on others in respectful community and able to rescue herself and others as well. She bends the simple categories we put characters in based on their personalities, seeming to be multiple contradictory things. Which is both what a realistic person does, and is just like James. No one only needs rescuing, and no one is only a rescuer. Certainly not when we try to put gendered stereotypes on those things. Judith would hate being helpless, if you thought that was what a woman was supposed to be. And James would hate that too, but he would also lose the humanity, sensitivity and relatableness we love so much if he were only a hero. And Cordelia would lose her admirer. No one wants that.

I really liked Claude and Judith's relationship dynamic: it was realistic and still an abstraction of canon, even if Judith, if she has loved Claude romantically for years like James has Cordelia, she doesn't realise it yet (even once the spell is gone). They respect each other and mostly stand up for themselves too. I wish we could get more of Judith trying to figure out what she felt (just to see how it compares to canon). But maybe romance is romanticised as much as gender is normalised in the colours we're told to view the world through, and this is both more realistic and actually healthy--as healthy as you can get given the circumstances.

Overall, there's one big change (more honesty), a small one (lack of romanticising romance and unchanging childhood love) and I think the rest is pretty consistent between James and Judith, but the way I at least perceived it, are coloured by the view we have of gender (and the Big Change does exacerbate some of this, and also some of it does unfortunately have to do with physical safety less than purely constructed social norms). Of many of the things that are common and were abstracted, I could say are hard to capture and translate into a different context but still do equally.

Judith got me thinking a lot, because James is a character I relate to a lot both with how I mask my neurodivergence and personality, and what's actually underneath, and seeing a 'female version' I guess (who is also more unmasked) made me double take a fair bit and think--am I actually like that, when I'm not pretending to be what they want to see of me? And maybe, just maybe, that's actually a pretty cool thing to be.

*they/them referring to the quadrilogy, not its author (who did such a great job and got me thinking so much through the stories). This character will always remind me to eat some iron when I feel the depression setting in. Just to cover all bases. Stay tuned for more of said thinking about the other characters!

[lavenderbuckyy]

thanks for the tag @stuckydrewx !

three ships: stucky 🩷 i also love fem!stony and ty blackthorn/kit herondale from the shadowhunter chronicles

first ship: phan. LOL still adore them

last song you listened to: fame < infamy by fall out boy

last movie you watched: the wild robot (2024)

currently reading: the essential enneagram by david n daniels and virginia a price. i also recently finished reading baby love by jacqueline wilson and i cried SO hard 😭❤️

currently watching: no shows atm but a LOT of danandphilgames videos

currently eating: pretzels

currently craving: a salmon poke bowl 😋

[millarthesecond]

Jackie Herondale

[takaraphoenix]

Female character in her 50s/60s in a position of power/authority: *exists*

Me: ...weak... lesbian... too gay to function... help... 😍 😳 💕

[julianblackthvrn]

╰   ‘   ♡  tag dump  ›  characters tags. ( part 3 ) !

[ghwstwriters]

tag dump !! character tags, part 5. ♡

[slwepingbeauty]

tag dump   ›   characters tags 5 !!

[the-sound-and-the-fury]

This is my book roundup from early May, because I could not be bothered to post about them at the time.

44. Santa Olivia (Santa Olivia #1) by Jacqueline Carey

I don’t know how she does it, but every series by Jacqueline Carey manages to look/sound/feel different from the rest, without suffering in quality.  This turned out to be so much more than I was expecting. I would have liked seeing more of Santa Olivia's miracles, but the orphans were a great bunch and I was on edge the entire second half of the book while Loup sought her vengeance. And as far fetched as some of the elements were (genetically modified people and a fucking wall along the border), the events in the town unraveled in a believable and somewhat heartbreaking way. Plus the main character is a lesbian.

45. A Court of Wings and Ruin (ACOTAR #3) by Sarah J Maas

I gave this a 4.5 just because I didn't love it as much as ACOMAF, but it was still so good/better than ACOTAR. Now that I’ve had a little more time to think about it, I do feel a little more critical, but not in a bad way. I was definitely expecting more people to die, and it feels weird to say I was cheated out of a few poetic deaths because I didn't actually want them to die, but the result is that this seemed to leave more things unresolved. Especially because a lot of new things were introduced in this book, but again, not really a bad thing. I just had a lot of internal screaming going on.

46. Save the Date by Annabeth Albert and Wendy Qualls

I don’t think this was quite as good as other series by Annabeth Alberts, but it was a nice standalone.

47. Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, and Robin Wasserman

Once again, I don't know why I put this off so long when I knew I was going to like it (I was waiting to have the physical copy of the whole collection, but it’s been out for a while and I don’t know why I dragged my feet). I do kind of wish I'd read this before Lady Midnight, but whatever. I'm kind of a medium Simon fan, so this exceeded my expectations a little bit, but he was definitely worthy of his own book. I also think like with The Bane Chronicles, my favorite parts of this involved warlocks and any characters from The Last Hours (I need all the James Herondale right now, please). Plus, I was a big fan of all the Lightwoods losing their shit about the baby. My feelings got walloped a few times, but I appreciated the constant humor throughout this. And I admit that I did spend quite a bit of time looking for differences in writing styles depending on who the co-author was, but ultimately I was fine with it in this collection.

48. Dukes in Disguise by Grace Burrowes, Susanna Ives, and Emily Greenwood

Oh, a collection of interconnected short stories about a bunch of dukes hiding in a small town while one of them recovers from a gun shot wound to the ass? Sign me up!

[phantomeos]

I was tagged by @feanorrrwashere thank youu!!! 

RULES TAG 9 PEOPLE YOU WANT TO KNOW BETTER

relationship status: Single 

lipstick or chapstick: Chapstick

last song listened: Stressed out by Twenty One Pilots

top 3 show: Merlin , Doctor who, Sherlock ( oh that’s my blog’s name) xd

top 3 characters: Will Herondale , Magnus Bane , The Doctor , Rowan Whitethorn , Aelin Galathynius (crap i surpassed the 3 limit .. who cares)

top 3 ships: River&11thDoctor , Rowan&Aelin , Will&Tessa... and so many more

I tag : @pbandj-starz @jacqueline-2000 @username-on-point @thatrandomwaffle @phoenixfire-thewizardgoddess @snogmeimcrazy

@misscoo @dramionefeltson and whoever wants to do it ofc

[millarthesecond]

Family Herondale

[millarthesecond]

Jacquie Herondale

Jacqueline Paris Herondale

Birthday: June 16th

Occupation: Dancer

Home: New York City

Family: Eldest daughter of Ashley  Millar and James Herondale. Sister of Nathaniel and Marilyn.

A little bit of her history: Born in New York City, Jacque spent the first year of her life living in Australia with her mother. They both moved back to NYC soon after her first birthday. During her early years, she witnessed how the relationship of her parents grew stronger day by day. She was 3 years old when they finally got married. Years after, her siblings came along. She grew up in a loving home, she often traveled with her mother, before she was 20, she had already visited at least 35 different countries all over the globe. She was quite attached to her father, he was who first introduced her to the world of theater, she enjoyed going with his father to symphony concerts, operas, ballets, and musicals. She learned how to play the piano and guitar, and she had a great talent for dancing, and it soon became her greatest passion.

FC: Lily Bleu Bass, Sabrina Carpenter, Amber Heard

[millarthesecond]

✧New Yorĸ Cιтy, USA✧

Jacqueline’s 8th birthday.

[millarthesecond]

May Herondale

Marilyn Berlin Herondale

Birthday: September 27th

Occupation: Bussiness Women - CEO

Home: London

Family: Youngest child of Ashey Millar and James Herondale. Sister of Jacqueline and Nathaniel.

A little bit of her history: Marilyn or May, as her family calls her, is the only one of the three Herondale kids that look like her mother, sh is also, the only on that decided to take over the family business. As a child, she was very fond of ballet and gymnastics, but what she truly loved was acting, therefore, she spent a lot of time in school plays. By the time she reached high school she was the head cheerleader of the team. Since she was little, she was intrigued by the fashion world and the enterprise her mother owned. Along with her sister, she ofter traveled with her mother on her business trips around the globe. She studied business at the Wharton School of the University of Pensylvania, where she got her business degree. After her graduation, she took over the headquarters of the Enterprise of her mother in London.

FC: Silver Prendergast, Laneya Grace, Sarah Hyland

[millarthesecond]

Nate Herondale.

Nathaniel Milan Herondale.

Birthday: March 14th

Occupation: Criminal Lawyer.

Home: New York City

Family: Middle child of James Herondale and Ashley Millar. Brother of Jacqueline and Marilyn.

A little bit of his history: Nathaniel was born within 32 weeks of gestation, and since his birth, he presented health problems, however, with the time and a group of the best doctors in the city, he managed to improve hs health. It wasn’t until he was 3 years old when he was diagnosed with Dyslexia. However, thanks to the wealth of his family, Nate was tutored since an early age, and he was able to enter first grade when he was supposed to. He was tutored until his teenage years when he decided he was tired of tutors and wanted to handle his disease by himself. He got into the Faculty of Law in the Cambridge University; after his graduation, he exerted in his hometown.

FC: Milo Sanders, William F. Miller, Nick Slater.

[millarthesecond]

James Herondale

James Gabriel Herondale

Birthday: November 2nd

Occupation: Musician

Home: New Yor City

Familly: Son of Clarissa Frye and Jonathan Herondale. Brother of Louisa and half-brother of Theodore and Natalie. He married Ashley Millar and he is the father of 3 kids, Jacqueline, Nathaniel and Marilyn.

A little bit of his history: James is the second child of a couple of successful lawyers. Because of the work of his parents, he was often left with tutors and nannies through his childhood. At the age of four, he started playing the piano and the violin, some years later, he started composing his own melodies which slowly turned into symphonies. years after his parent's divorce, he met for the first time his half-brother, Theodore, who was some years older than his sister, he soon became a role model for young James. He felt for Ashley Millar in his late teenage years, and he was a young adult when he got her pregnant. He was engaged with someone else at the time and scared of what it might come, so he decided not to get involved with her and the baby; he regretted this much more soon that he thought he would. Through the time, he was able to get Ashley back and much more sooner than later, he made her his wife.

FC: Zac Efron

[millarthesecond]

Ashley Millar

Birthday: December 19th.

Occupation: Fashion Designer, Business Woman.

Home: New York City.

Family: Daughter of Marcelle Millar & Oliver Church. Twin sister of Ashton and big sister of Alexander. Ashley married James Herondale at an early age, and they are both parents of Jacqueline, Nathaniel, and Marilyn.

A little bit of her history: Ashley grew up in a troubled family, but her twin brother was always her support, some people would say that they were way to close. They lived in a big fancy house, on the East side of Manhattan and they regularly spent summer in a little town in Maine, where her father used to live; there is where she found her second home, with a second family included. Her best friend, Mya, was the eldest child of the mayor of the town, her family, after some time embraced her and later welcomed to the family; those summer trips became monthly trips. Since she was little, she was fascinated my the fashion world, it only took her few years to decide that when she grew up, she wanted to become a fashion designer, and later, create her own brand of clothing; no one at the time would have imagined that she actually would and that it would become on of the most prestigious fashion designers of the century. She was the captain of the cheerleading squad during her high school years thanks to her constant gymnastic classes as a child. During her teenage years, Ashley quickly became a regular client of pubs and bars. It wasn’t until she got pregnant at age 19 when she was forced to stop drinking. During this time, she, wanting to get away from her family and friends, moved to Perth, Australia, but not long before her daughter was born, she returned to NYC. 3 years later she married James Herondale, the father of her baby girl. Their small family grew with the time. Ashley loved her job, she was CEO of her own company: Milar & Co, where she managed to sell various brands of clothing that were also her own, this company successfully spread worldwide in less than 10 years. She loved to travel, she visited a new country at least once a year and ofter used her job as an excuse in order to re-visit her favorite countries, which were mostly, France, Italy, Australia and Germany. She continued to have a happy life in her home city, with constant visits to her family and friends.

FC: Vanessa Hudges