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Entrapment: marriage, sacrifices, and gilded cages in Silksong

This is a massive, fully-sourced essay encompassing all the marriage symbolism we have for Silksong and the full breadth of its connotations. This thing is a beast in five parts: mind that readmore!

Part 1: a presentation of evidence

Rather than diving right into analysis, we need to set the stage with information gathered and analyzed by the talented people of the HK tumblr community, to whom this would not be possible without.

Hornet starts the game captured in a gilded cage, carried off by small, faceless creatures in white. as pointed out by ganymeadesclock, these characters are most likely religious figures, and Lace, while not one of the cultists, is most likely associated with them... somehow.

Furthermore, marriage symbolism. I won't reiterate myself overmuch, so look here, here, and here for various pieces I've managed to collect. No matter how you slice it, Lace is absolutely drowning in marriage symbolism, right down to her name. It does feel quite notable, then, that Hornet and Lace have similar cages, don't they? Lace's quite strongly resembles a decorative birdcage, actually, and Hornet's a fishbowl; (Aside: though the latter is a bit of a stretch.) enclosures too small to support an animal's wellbeing, but perfect for displaying them. Almost like, perhaps, a trophy bride?

Part 2: marriage as a gilded cage

This was going to have a excerpt from my essay on the unicorn tapestries, but it's already long enough as is. This segment and the following cannot analyze Silksong directly due to lack of information, but we can draw throughlines from the classic and epic literature Team Cherry draws inspiration from, and the history surrounding them.

Marriage has traditionally been a transfer of property throughout much of our world, not an act of love between two consenting parties. While a married woman would have the freedom to manage her husband's property in his absence, when he was around, she belonged to him; in marrying, she transfers from her father's ownership to her husband's. Marriage has been a total sacrifice of freedom for a woman in exchange for her "safety," which, considering how difficult it is to leave domestic abuse (Aside: Even more so in the times where woman could not own property or money, and divorce was not legal), is a perfect example of gilded cage.

This is a summary, and I recommend checking out these pieces on marriage abolition and medieval marriage culture for further context. Primarily, I'm trying to convey a certain degree of dread to emphasize why Hornet may be running herself ragged in Pharloom: her freedom may be deeply at stake.

Aside: There's also a throughline of queerness and the imprisonment of heterosexual marriage, and how it may relate to Lace attempting to free her and why Lacenet could be both canon and fascinating, but I won't delve into it here.

Part 3: A foray into ancient greece: marriage as a sacrifice

If you're a Greek mythology nerd like me, you may have noticed an odd connecting thread between Persephone, Psyche, and Antigone. All three are connected by their status as young virgin brides, but also by perversion of marriage rites in their stories. Persephone is abducted to the underworld (the land of the dead) and bound forever to a man via eating pomegranate seeds: a symbolic "seeding" (read: impregnation) if you will. Psyche, when taken away to be married, has instead funeral rites conducted for her, and she spends her honeymoon afraid of the invisible monster she married. And last, Antigone, the death-bride marching towards her funeral-wedding, thigh to thigh with her brother in the grave.

Present along the same thread is imagery of distraught mothers and sisters: Persephone's mother grieves and wails and sets a blight on the earth searching for her daughter; Psyche's sisters weep to leave her on the rock; Ismene tries to share the blame of Antigone's crime, punishable by death, so she would not be without her sister, or vice-versa.

A few feminist interpretations have been offered, but the most common is that to a Grecian mother, her daughter has been taken away from her home, never to be seen again. A marriage, to a sister or mother, is a sacrifice: A young girl is taken away from the comfort of her household into a scary, unfamiliar world, where she must learn quickly about herself and her body without the guidance of people - particularly women - she knows and loves.

Don't forget, either, that rape did not initially refer strictly to sexual assault, but the act of kidnapping a girl as a marriage rite. (Aside: The bride's consent does not matter; only her father's. Why do you think the term evolved to mean sexual violence?)

Sound familiar?

And the perversion of the marriage rite doesn't end there. Churches, a notable location in Pharloom, don't just marry people; they are also where funerals are conducted. And, if you listen to the Silksong trailer, you will hear the Dies Irae - the Funeral Mass - note for note.

But the perversion of the rite does not end there. Even more disturbing is the presence of consumption as a theme. As I said here:

Oh I am THINKING about Silksong tonight... How Lace says “Poor little morsel” and “delicious,” implying not only Pharloom would consume her, Lace is on the side of what’s doing the consuming. How spiders frequently feed on their own kind, especially in massive community web systems... whatever’s up with Pharloom, it’s going to eat Hornet alive.

A sacrifice, in its most traditional sense, is to give a deity sustenance, at an expense, in exchange for the prosperity of the many.

Part 4: Lace as Κανηφόρος and her religious duties: wild speculation!

Let's revisit Lace as a religious figure - and a potentially important often. If Hornet is the sacrifice, what does that make Lace?

From wikipedia:

The Kanephoros ... was an honorific office given to unmarried young women in ancient Greece, which involved the privilege of leading the procession to sacrifice at festivals ... The role was given to a virgin selected from amongst the aristocratic or Eupatrid families of Athens whose purity and youth was thought essential to ensure a successful sacrifice. Her task was to carry a basket or kanoun (κανοῦν), which contained the offering of barley or first fruits, the sacrificial knife and fillets to decorate the bull in procession through the city up to the altar on the acropolis. ... A girl who acted as kanephoros would have advertised the central place of her family in Athenian society, and her own availability for a dynastic marriage.

Wait, up through the city? That sounds...

Hornet, princess-protector of Hallownest, finds herself alone in a vast, unfamiliar world. She must battle foes, seek out allies, and solve mysteries as she ascends on a deadly pilgrimage to the kingdom’s peak.

...Awfully familiar.

And, interestingly, whatever ritual centering around Hornet we're spiraling towards, Hornet seems to be willfully - if unknowingly - marching towards it, and Lace seems intent on stopping it in its tracks.

I suspect she will not only be the rival won over role, but the betrayer. Lace is not to be wedded, but Hornet. Lace's role is to sacrifice Hornet at the proper time and place, and her goal before then is to stop Hornet from doing so, by any means necessary.

The final battle will almost certainly involve Lace, and in the worst ending, she will most likely be the one to deal the final blow and complete the rite. We're in pure speculative territory, but we already have the visual symbolism that Lace is just as trapped as Hornet. What is a betrayal if not duty, or a desire to save her own skin, winning over compassion?

Part 5: Disclaimers, Clarifications, and Conclusions

This is not to say I think this will be a recreation of Grecian ritual. Far from it: I don't even claim that marriage and misogyny will be a theme in anything other than visual symbolism, and I strongly doubt hornet's skill and status will ever be disputed due to her womanhood. Simply not Team Cherry's style! Until Silksong comes out, this is mere extrapolation.

But through Team Cherry's strong visual storytelling, I feel confident drawing allusions. The crushing prison of gilded cages, the marriage imagery, the subtle perversion of rite in the trailer, all spells out one thing:

Hornet is to be married or sacrificed.

But then again, what's the difference?

A special thank you to the minds of @ganymedesclock, my mutual @rukafais, and @ruthlesslistener, whose analysis was crucial to piecing this massive theory/analysis together. And for my mutuals who might be interested: @voidsiblings, @halloween-cats, @imminent-danger-came, @croissantk, @electricabsolution, and @toapenguin

[bobbinbugs]

Ok mrs @guildedpin, this post has been rattling around in my head since I’ve seen it tonight and would like to take the opportunity just to make a List. (Don’t worry about who you’re married to, I just think mrs looks better than ms.)

Something something wedding bells, as you’ve said (though I’d like to mention they play the Dies Irae, which is a funeral song, but big bells, churches, etc et cetera.)

Lace’s hat- as pointed out in another post, her hat looks like a Japanese wedding garment. Given more weight by the fact her VA is Japanese. (Coincidentally(?) so is Hornet’s!)

White roses in Lace’s second arena. Enough said.

The color white in general and its association with Lace, and the wazungu connotation of white with weddings. Heck, lace itself is common in wedding gowns.

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN. Is Lace going to marry Hornet? Combining the gilded cage symbolism and her likely association with the church/higher power, is Lace a valuable member of Pharloom in an arranged marriage? Are we (tl: am I) reading too much into this entirely? WHO KNOWS.

silksong isnt a prequel because hornet doesnt have a wedding ring on

[bobbinbugs]

In preparation for an upcoming post, here's some meta on its own. Pictured on the right is a traditional shinto wataboshi, basically a bridal veil. It's sometimes mixed up with the tsunokakushi, a headdress meant to hide the "horns" (jealousy, pettiness, and cruelty) of the bride and confirm her goal to be an obedient wife, but it looks quite different:

Between this symbolism and her evident personality, if Lace is a bride, she is not a compliant one.

[bobbinbugs]

Quirrel was not suicidal

As a 3-year hollow knight fan, I see "Stag Beetles and Broken Legs" get recommended a lot. A lot a lot. Considered by many to be the definitive Hollow Knight fanfiction, it generates fanart and gushing recommendations every time it's mentioned.

But there's one glaring issue of interpretation I've gathered: It frames Quirrel at the Blue Lake as suicidal.

And I don't think that's correct at all.

Once you get down to it, everything in Hallownest is about death and avoiding it. The Pale King's eternal kingdom, the Soulmaster's shaping of soul, the Radiance's aimless reanimated vengeance... in clinging to life, they strip themselves of dignity, and cause unfathomable suffering for naught. Characters who think they will never die, like Tiso, meet their unceremonious end, unburied and unmourned. "All things must accept an end," in the words of Vespa's ghost.

A minor character reiterating one of the central themes of the game: hold that thought.

Few characters have immortality aside from gods. Even with gods, immortality is highly conditional: but that's a different essay. In otherwise "mortal" characters who lasted too long, they seem ghostlike themselves: the pale mourner evokes the classic white lady archetype, and dissipates into thin air once her business is finished. The seer appears to have a conditional immortality as well: once the maximum essence is collected, she, too, dissipates, having finally assured a new Wielder has come.

Quirrel seems to operate on this conditional immortality as well. Considering he left long enough ago for the plan to be put into action, the fail of it, and for the fallen kingdom of Hallownest to become "ancient". Like the Mourner and Seer, he probably should have reached the end of his natural lifespan long, long ago: and, as we see Monomon's mask protect him from killing blows in the prequel comic, it's fairly logical to conclude it's also extending his lifespan. No point in creating a back-up plan if the back-up isn't protected, right?

And what happens if you remove the lifesource?

Well... let's put it this way. "I begin to feel my age" takes on more weight than a quip about how much time has passed, or the burden of memory. Without Monomon's protection, his statement metamorphoses into an admission: Quirrel is starting to feel, body and mind, that his artificially-extended lifespan is catching up with him.

So that's the first half: accepting death. The second half is fulfilling your purpose for living: Let's talk about the Nailsmith.

The Nailsmith is a character who lives to forge nails. That's his art and purpose: to forge a Pure Nail. Once his purpose is completed, he loses his will to live: after all, it's completed. The way the ghosts pass on, and how Ghost too disappears when their purpose (defeat the radiance) is completed, the Nailsmith asks the player to kill him. Even his thoughts revolve around his worthlessness. His dream nail dialogue reads "My life's work achieved… What more is left…?" To the Nailsmith - and the oligarchs of the game - completing your purpose means you have outlived your usefulness. But there is a key difference between the Nailsmith's final* thoughts and Quirrel's final thoughts. For comparison:

"All tragedy erased. I see only wonders..."

This is not the dialogue of a suicidal person. Quirrel is not self loathing. He doesn't feel worthless. He's grateful for the long life he's lived, and the blessing that he gets to experience it twice over. And this is his dream nail dialogue: it's objective truth he's not putting on a brave face but harboring darker thoughts. Genuinely, I would not call these the thoughts of someone who wants to die: this is the thought process of someone who wants to live. You may extrapolate or choose to ignore, but I don't think it's founded to interpret Quirrel as suicidal.

And that establishes difference between the Nailsmith and Quirrel: Quirrel doesn't seem burdened by his lack of purpose. In fact, I don't even think he considered Monomon his purpose to begin with. We know from the Nailsmith that fulfilling your purpose means you've outlived your usefulness; you die, or you find a new purpose. But the Nailsmith's purpose was smithing nails, and he devoted himself to it. Quirrel is called back to Hallownest, but spends 90% of his time in it just... fucking about, to put it crassly. He does want to solve the mystery of his being called, but he takes his time. He doesn't consider his purpose is to serve Monomon; he's not overtaken by a passion or skill; Quirrel is a traveler. He's just after the wonders.

At the end, he does exactly that. He lived a long, full life for himself and no other, seeking out wonders and taking his time. He finished what he was called to do, but it's telling even his final goal - seeing the Blue Lake - is a goal for himself, and not something he was told to do. He spent most of that long life not knowing he had a purpose someone else set, and doing what he wanted.

(quirrel voice i was put on this earth to accomplish 1 thing but i forgot what it was so thankfully i can do whatever i want)

Despite his final thoughts being of someone who loves living, Quirrel is... almost absolutely dead. The file is called quirrel_death_nail.png. One of his first lines in the game is advising you to loot weapons from corpses, because the dead "shouldn't be burdened with such things," and the last sign of him is his abandoned nail. Furthermore, he abandons his nail at the time Hallownest is most dangerous, with the Radiance so close to being free. Self defense is more important than ever, and a character as wise as Mr. Either-you're-alert-or-you're-dead wouldn't abandon his nail at such a crucial moment! Overall, Hollow Knight is a game that keeps in the classic tragic opera tradition of killing off as much of its cast as possible before the final curtain, and Quirrel is no exception. You can argue that quirrel_death_nail.png is the death of "Quirrel the wanderer," but I'm not going to lie, the signs aren't in looking good.

But I don't think he drowned. Just for fun, let's bring a common fan interpretation into the fray: Quirrel is commonly interpreted as a pillbug. (So do I - it's just too perfect.) Neatly, pillbugs are actually crustaceans, and have gills! Given the general aquatic theme of fog canyon and his final stop at blue lake, the effect is less "giving up" and more "return to homeland/true nature," which is what Quirrel's arc is all about. I wouldn't worry about him drowning.

But if he's dead, and his last stop was at Blue Lake, but he didn't drown, what did happen to him?

Remember the Seer and Pale Mourner, and their conditional immortality? Keeping in line with the other ghosts-that-haven't-died in the resting grounds, I like to think Quirrel, upon completing his task, likewise fades into light. The location, lack of clarity between immortal, alive, or dead, and completion of unfinished business all line up for Quirrel to go the same way. This idea is a bit more of a stretch than all the others, but I believe it suits him. It's fair. It's graceful. It's direct contrast to an unburied corpse or an unmarked grave, like all the Fools at Kingdom's Edge.

So, In conclusion: Quirrel didn't drown himself. He doesn't think he's worthless or that he doesn't want to live. He saw his time is up - and perhaps had been up for a while - and does not scrabble or cling, but bows out with grace. In turn, the wandering scholar earns the rarest jewel in all of Hallownest: a dignified passing.

Rest in peace, Quirrel. You've earned it.

[bobbinbugs]

hornet does not get flustered, ever. ok? she doesn't blush and she doesn't freeze up. she'll think about her rival getting all up in her face, blowing a kiss, etc at 3am and her gaze will harden and be like 'hm. this is hatred. i have to kill her'

[bobbinbugs]

Anne Carson, Antigonick / Team Cherry, Hollow Knight.

[bobbinbugs]

what if you saved me from my gilded cage. and it was mutual. and we were both girls

[bobbinbugs]

GIRLS WITH CLOAKS AND GRIEF-RELATED FAMILIAL TRAUMA GANG

[bobbinbugs]

Lace: if i was a fragile linen would you gently handwash me 🥺 or would you put my in that damned mashine 😑 

Hornet: Linens are NOT fragile. I’m going to beat the shit out of you

[bobbinbugs]

Hornet is not a very angry or quick to anger adult, but I stand by her being an extremely angry child. If the kingdom you were born to protect was falling to ruin from a magic plague and you watched your family dwindle away 1 by 1 you’d be a pretty fuckin angry kid too

[bobbinbugs]

Thinking about Hornet and her implied backstory, that said, here’s a list of headcanons.

Spent short time frame living with Herrah after birth - all newborn bugs are more akin to 3-4yos by our standards, so she knew some stuff. She learned a bit about her mother’s culture, how to spider, and the strong community in Deepnest, raised communally with the midwife’s supervision. Was still in an odd position as technically princess, but the other babies didn’t know - was never close with any deepnest bug beside her mother, but was overall accepted in a way she hasn’t been since. Herrah also told her as much truth as she could about what was happening to Hallownest and what would happen to her.

Herrah also consulted Vespa on the name of the baby. The spiders and the bees had an alliance, and Herrah hoped that Hornet would train under Vespa.

Sent away to live within the white palace pre-sealing while still very young. Hornet got to know the other dreamers a little bit, but again, barely remembers them now. She overheard many things in discussions with Monomon when they thought she wasn’t listening, but she learned of and got used to the vessel concept young.

Was taught things like courtly manners, high education, and ruling responsibility, in the assumption that Hallownest would have a future. However she was yet again in an odd position, as a princess who would never inherent a kingdom, and the story of her siring an open secret. Either way, as her sire, the Pale King was expected to be responsible for what happened to her after Herrah was sealed away, and he expected her to live in the palace. (Bring light to the dark, civilize the beasts... etc.)

Hornet hated it. Bright palace vs dark Deepnest. Constricting attire vs the freedom of hatchlings to feel and explore their home. The most comforting thing to her was the dark, still presence of the Pure Vessel, who was often being trained or otherwise unavailable, but their emotional distance didn’t bother her much. She still convinced them to teach her some basic nail techniques. They were familiar and that’s what mattered. Hornet had quite the temper, but learned how to repress herself as part of her courtly manners, even if she didn’t generally do it at that age.

After the sealing, both Herrah and HK - the only people she tolerated - were gone, her surly mood exacerbated. While Hallownest enjoyed a renaissance, Hornet became the weird, dirty girl that coolly tells you the date and time of your death if you look at her wrong, as well as someone who tells you they’re not mad and then breaks plates as soon as you’re out of the room. In an effort to conform, she started not only repressing but closing off some of her emotions - trying not to think too hard about things and focusing mostly on what she can do so she doesn’t boil over. the vessels and PK as a whole became part of this - if Hornet really unpacked her feelings she’d find a lot of rage for PK (her mother’s pointless dreaming, the children slated to die, general shitty fatherhood, the sheer weight of his failures that he imposes on others...) that she ignores because she got used to it.

PK, staking on Herrah’s closeness with the Vespa, sent her off for intensive training at the Hive. Hornet trained for a few years under Vespa and her knight to be, Hive Knight, similar to a boarding school. The constant movement and intense work was good for her mood, and she built up a rapport with Hive Knight - they developed the spikeball weapon together, each with their own twist on it. Hornet’s hot temper became a very, very cold rage that’s nigh-impossible to break.

It’s unclear how the fall of the kingdom went from Hornet’s perspective, but either way, the Radiance came back as the infection, and the hive was sealed off. if she didn’t finish training beforehand, she would have been kicked out - either way, the pale king essentially gave her a patrol (or she offered to patrol and protect the kingdom? or did it of her own accord without his approval?) that she upholds diligently, drawing on Vespa’s training, her mother’s advice, and her own drive for survival.

[bobbinbugs]

Bad end: full on queerbait, lacenet has almost no subtext in the game and Lace dies at the end, subtext is with different characters, the marriage imagery is lace in an arranged marriage and nothing else or was totally accidental

Good end: the best ending is locked behind lace and hornet’s wedding, gamer dudebros die mad, most epic W for lesbians since korrasami

[bobbinbugs]

Hornet is just so. She was born to protect but how do you protect something that’s rotting?

[bobbinbugs]

For a character so marketable-plushie shaped, it is astounding and saddening there is no marketable plushie of hive knight.

[bobbinbugs]

Something fun: most of the area themes are rearrangements of the title theme, and the soul sanctum follows the same chord progression and melody as CoT in a minor key

[bobbinbugs]

Hollow’s tragedy is that they were always fated to fail. Hornet’s tragedy is that she has to live on. Ghost’s tragedy is that they have to die at the end of Dream No More, for some reason