#rhysand critical

[legendl0re]

For Illyrian females, flying is a birthright that is stripped away from them in the name of outdated misogynistic values of the NC

When Feyre, a hero yes but also an OUTSIDER, puts those wings on flies around and uses them for sex acts, that is actively insulting to the females whose chance to fly has been actively ripped away from them. She gets to fly because she’s the high lords wife, while the rest are treated like dirt.

Fuck the IC and the NC

On the wings.

I hate that we have to still have this conversation but so many (white) ACOTAR fans still don’t see an issue with Feyre donning Illyrian wings. I’m absolutely open to criticism and discussion, but if you disagree with what I have to say and happen to be white, I implore you to think of your own biases and think empathetically as to why poc feel this way. I’ve done my best to include real world examples in a tasteful manner to assist that, as well as real arguments I’ve seen and discussed, but we’ll see.

Now let me clarify, this specific part criticism towards her use of Illyrian wings is for SEX, and is more broadly directed to Sarah and the white women who defend the actions rather than Feyre herself. Do not dog pile me for being a Feyre or women hater, that’s not what this is. Okay? Okay.

She could be a paragon of virtue, but as long as the Illyrian women are still suffering under their rule, whether directly or not, it’s still wrong. It’s the equivalent of a white woman in colonial America dressing up as an indigenous woman because her husband thinks it’s hot. The majority of Illyrian women have their wings clipped; you might not think it’s morally wrong to shift into an Illyrian, but it is insensitive.

“What happened to pro-choice? It’s her body!” Okay? Pro-choice does not mean pro-bad-choice. A white woman doing black face isn’t okay all of a sudden just because it’s her body that she’s painting black. “But blackface is demeaning and meant to be derogatory!” Do you not think turning into a specific race for your sexual escapades isn’t demeaning? It’s a fetishization. Do you not think the fetishization of East Asian women by white men and only caring about them in a sexual content isn’t wrong? And before anyone attacks me for applying real world examples to a fantasy land, obviously these aren’t one-to-one, nothing can be when you throw in magic, but they are in the same vein of reasoning.

“But she modeled them after Azriel, her friend.” 1. Azriel is not and was not affected by the plight of the Illyrian women. His permission, opinion, or relation in the matter does not matter. 2. Just because one poc (which in the world of ACOTAR aren’t technically poc, but rather a whole other race, though that’s not the point) says an action is okay, doesn’t make the action is okay to the collective. I mean would you be okay with a white high school boy saying the N-word because his friend gave him a “pass”? Hopefully not. 3. Azriel was her only choice (besides Cassian) to model them after. The women’s aren’t exactly an option…

“It’s not a costume, she’s physically shifting.” If I get surgeries specifically with the intent to look like a different race, physically altering my body, is it all of a sudden not a costume and okay?

Feyre can take her wings on and off, Illyrian women can’t. Feyre can get all the benefits of their livelihood, without any of the hardships.

At the end of the day, the Illyrian women are still suffering, so using a part of the autonomy that’s denied to them will always be inconsiderate and insensitive.

[reblogandlikes]

Is anyone curious about Rhysand’s parents? Because, what do you mean for the first time in their recorded history an Illyrian female is The Lady of the Night Court?

That's such an irrefutable statement in power and those who are deemed "worthy" that would shatter the discrimination against non high faes. The union could have brought about systematic change.

The sheer opportunity for the unification of all the NC populous that could have combined their strengths and been the biggest menaces towards all of Prythian and beyond as a unified front than the fragmented crap that was served is a missed opportunity. Like, be mean as fuck to everyone else, but treat your own court nicely, ya'know. Have your whole court prosperous.

Like, what do you mean you had this woman as the Lady of the Night Court but everything broken remains the same? What do you mean all we get is that she was a seamstress and wanted her sons future wife to fight for an engagement ring? Excuse me?

[extremely-judgemental]

Tarquin offers friendship and peace and Rhysand steals from him.

Helion treats him as a friend and helps him with concealing the trove and Rhysand keeps the truth about his son (with the woman he loves) from him.

Lucien works for him without expecting anything in return and Rhysand baits him with his mate and exploits him against Tamlin and Band of Exiles.

Eris spies on his father risking his life and Rhysand betrays him after promising a marriage alliance and throne and help to find his soldiers.

Tamlin helps bring him back to life and Rhysand repays it by telling him to kill himself.

Nesta sacrifices her powers to save him, his mate and his child, and Rhysand wants to kill her for using the trove (that belongs to her) the way she sees fit.

What an ungrateful fuck.

[kataraavatara]

dare I dip my toes into acotar fandom discourse….

[legendl0re]

lol wait until she finds out she’s one of the only female Illyrians who can fly?

Either she can be horrified and scared to lose her own wings, or she can end up that cliche entitled child of nobility who looks down upon the peasantry.

Either way, Cassian will just be shrugging his shoulders.

What if Nessian had a daughter and said daughter got mad at Rhysand one day for whatever reason and let's out an "I hate uncle Rhys". Is Cassian going to scream at his own child and tell her everyone hates her the way he did with his mate? Or punish her with a grueling hike? Or give her the silent treatment like the child he is? Or would he just take it out on her mother because that's clearly learned behavior from his "ungrateful " mate.

I don't want to hear any of this "Cassian would be a girl dad" nonsense. He wouldn't know the first thing about how to treat a girl respectfully.

[merwgue]

The only reason I believe the acotar books are fantasy and not horror because if I were tamlin and an illiterate-barely-legal girl tried to ruin my court I would have BOMBED the night court. You bitches would have seen female rage. Mary curie would have had NOTHING on me. Uranium discovered on the SPOT.

Send tweet.

[my-acotar-thoughts]

So about Nesta vs the Inner Circle…

When they first meet Nesta and Elain, Rhys and Cassian already don’t like Nesta. That much was clear with how Cassian brought up Feyre hunting at 14, but I don’t understand why they ignore the fact that Nesta and Elain were also children, barely older than Feyre at that time too. Nesta wasn’t a grown woman expecting a child to do all the work. Nesta and Elain still did their parts in the home, but it was more traditionally feminine work that, honestly, Feyre acts like is beneath her.

It honestly feels like a manipulation. Feed into Feyre’s anger and insecurities against her sisters and seem more sympathetic so she sees you as the good guys. Cause their anger towards Nesta is extreme. The girl wasn’t out there buying luxuries, she was being practical. I also think Feyre compares Nesta to their mother too much and their mother sounded very frivolous so there may be projection. Nesta gives off a more practical aristocratic lady, not the frivolous, hedonistic kind like their mother. But yeah, Rhysand and Cassian feel like they’re just saying shit that Feyre wants to hear to feel validated in her anger towards her sisters, particularly Nesta. And Cassian, being Cassian, of course lets his emotions run away with him in the worst way.

[falsemneme]

We explicitly learn in the next chapter (Chapter 31) that High Fae pregnancies of Illyrian children are nearly always fatal. (Cassian refers to this pregnancy as a death sentence.) Rhys knows this. Cassian knows this. Madja knows this. What pisses me off in this scene is that the emphasis is on the health of the baby. Feyre is forbidden from shape-shifting because of the risk to the baby... but what of the risk to Feyre??? Feyre won't have the chance to change the colour of her hair 'cos she'll be dead!

Feyre's chances of success in bearing this baby naturally without complications are slim to none. In just a few short paragraphs, Rhys makes it clear that he is prioritising the baby, and his mate won't have a voice in her own pregnancy. She won't be given all the information, just enough information to keep her compliant (i.e., she won't be tempted to try magic).

Look, I know he came to the vision of his own child in the Christmas Special, but I have a tough time believing that the Rhysand of the original triology—who emphasised that they would be equals, that he'd no longer keep secrets from her, that she'd always have a choice—would not treat her as an equal, keep something pretty fucking important from her, and rob her of a voice and a choice. Either SJM assassinated her own character, or THIS is Rhysand. This is who he is at his core. He will tell Feyre up and down he won't keep secrets (like their mating bond, like the true risk of her pregnancy) from her, but he will. He always will. And every time she finds out, she'll be pissed off, but nothing will materially change. She'll come back. Give it a week. She'll forgive and forget. And what a sad fucking picture that paints.

[mia-nina-lilly]

Reasons why I still like Tamlin and prefer him over Rhysand and I always will, day 10:

Let's talk again about Feyre learning to read.

- Tamlin offered her help. When that help was refused, Tamlin backed off and allowed Feyre the space to try on her own as she wished. When he realized that she was still having difficulty with some words, he wrote a short poem to help her finally grasp the meaning and spelling - a playful way.

- Rhysand, on the other hand, forced her to do it his way. Feyre had no choice, no agency over what and how to learn. No, instead, learning to read and write – something from her to herself – became yet another way to massage the ego of Prythian's star boy.

- Ps.: It is always important to remember: "the most handsome High Lord", instead of the girl's name.

[litnerdwrites]

Rhys being the 'most powerful hl' ultimately hinders the story. If SJM wanted the nc to be underdogs, it should've been the smallest, most unstable court.

Historically, objectively bad or unmoral people can sometimes be the best rulers while objectively good or moral people can be terrible rulers. Take advantage of this.

Make Rhysand need to wear the mask of the cruel, ruthless high lord in order to prevent the CON and Illyria from rebelling. Make both of those places have a certain amount of political and militaristic power over him that would explain why he can't just force them to do as he pleases.

Have the NC be the court with the highest crime rates, and poverty rates and Rhysand be considered a ruthless ruler. One who 'lets' amren out on the prowl to steal wealth (preferably from greedy rich nobles) but they don't know that it's redistributed into running the NC, and looking after the people.

Have Mor actually help woman but drinking and visiting the con or other cities under the guise going there to flex her power and act tyranicle, but secretly leave money, medical supplies, tickets to boats/carriages, etc. Or even instructions to their library where sa survivors heal (maybe not in the how, but somewhere else, hidden or warded).

Have Azriel and Cassian push the limits of the Illyrians, not enough to incite war, but to keep them in line. If men clip wings, have Azriel either assassinate them or Cassian publicly punish or beat them but not reveal the reason why, so it comes off as tyranny.

Make them act like villains for a damn reason, and actually accomplish things in the process, even if it's small. Perhaps even have the land itself be dying (like the dusk court centuries ago), making food harder to come by too.

Maybe even have the concept of Velaris be a legend, of the Night Court's former glory, but in the current story, be a shell of itself. This would give the so-called court of dreams something to dream about and work towards.

Have the previous rulers of the nc be objectively moral people, that were bad at ruling and created the unstable political climate Rhysand needs to navigate, while Feyre gives him new perspective. Have Elain and Nesta come in later, and help teach Feyre about politics based on what they knew from their mortal lives. Give them dreams and aspirations of their own.

Give each of the Archeron Sisters something in the NC that would cement it as their home, if that's what you want to do. Have Feyre speak with the Illyrian women, teach them to hunt, learn of their issues, etc. Have her repair her relationship with Nesta over helping them, with Nesta using the training of her childhood to help the Illyrian women overthrow the corrupt lords that insist on treating them as lesser than.

Give Feyre and Nesta a chance to learn about each other, their childhood, how neglected Feyre felt and how abused Nesta was, before coming together to reach a common goal. Then, Nesta could become a diplomat that helped the nc repair their foreign relations, giving her the chance to travel that she always wanted.

Make the humans have innovative methods of agriculture, given they don't have magic. Have Elain want to help the people of downtrodden villages and towns, teaching them about those innovative methods, to help rejuvenate the land. Still let her have trauma, but let them have their own reasons to want to stay in the nc or not stay in the nc.

Making Rhysand 'the most powerful hl' doesn't make him unique or interesting. It makes it too easy to wonder why he won't do something when he sits in a seat of power and privilege, to do it. So, take away that power. Give him something to earn. Give the entire IC a dream/vision for what the NC could be and work to it, throughout the books, instead of handing it to them on a silver platter. Make them work for it.

[yaralulu]

Tell me why when rhys visited the spring court for the first time in acotar he mentioned the lady of autumn THREE TIMES to try and taunt lucien. Bringing her up more than once in a span of like four minutes was already insane but it doesn’t even stop there because he continues to do it in acomaf.Stop dragging his momma into this and leave the poor woman alone what’s wrong with you 😭.

[wingsdippedingold]

Hold on

You’re upset about Nesta ruining your reputation by hanging out in a slum and going to poor neighborhoods and bars?

But instead of just helping to improve the slums, you… demolish her apartment????

[ennawrite]

Tamlin: *is personally targeted by Amarantha to be her lover, denies her advances & gets cursed, spends the next 50 years sending his sentries out to ultimately die (something he feels extreme guilt for and tries to stop), actively takes in refugees from other courts, spends a majority of his time hunting down Amarantha’s monsters from his lands so they can’t harm his people, gets a human woman to fall in love with him but sends her away so she won’t be in danger, goes UTM, basically becomes Amarantha’s lap dog, somehow holds all of his emotions back because ANY sign of ANY emotion would get Feyre killed (did I mention how down-bad Amarantha is for Tamlin? Yeah.)(Also, Rhysand somehow finds it suitable to parade Feyre around like his own personal whore because…he wanted to rile Tamlin up? Which would have lead to Feyre’s death…🤔), ends up killing Amarantha*

Rhys:

jesus man, I know you hate him but give roses where roses are due. Tamlin did A LOT, but I guess doing Amarantha’s personal tasks (like killing children) is the only thing that holds any merit to the High Lord of the Night Court 🫤

[1800naveen]

Unpopular opinion

Tamlin is morally grey, not Rhysand. Hell, he's the definition of morally grey in the Acotar universe.

He's good at heart but at times, he executed them poorly.

He truly cares for his court and lets in refugees or anyone who needs a place that they can call home. He will protect the people he loves, even if it means sacrificing his life. He's actually making a difference.

Tamlin may love someone but no one is enough to push him away from the path of fighting against tyranny (that's iconic as hell like yes. If I had two choices: my lover or fight against tyranny, I'm fighting every time. Tyrants will make sure that almost everyone suffers and I'm not down with that. No offense but get the hell out of my way, I got tyrants to kill).

His moral compass is like a diamond and it's unbreakable.

But one of the few actions where he did wrong is held over his head unlike Rhysand who has done numerous amounts of bad stuff but most people don't get mad at him for it.

"It's because he's morally grey!" Nah, he's just a bad guy and that's completely fine, I like a good villain. But sjm keeps defending him and his actions which is just annoying.

IF TAMLIN WASN'T BLONDE, PEOPLE WOULD LIKE HIM MORE. THEY CAN'T HANDLE A BLONDE MAN WHO SERVES JUST AS MUCH OR MORE THAN THEIR DARK HAIRED RIVAL😔

On another note, what's up with the Tamlin would sacrifice you to save the world but Rhysand would sacrifice the world to save you?? Girl, I don't ever want a man to do that just for me, nobody is going to have a place to live anymore. What's more important, a singular person's life or the lives of millions? Fuck the villains, heroes on top.

(also he reminds me of a golden tiger, I can't hate him when he looks like this to me)

(I love this animal so much, I would adopt one if I could. You can't tell me that this is not Tamlin.)

[extremely-judgemental]

How convenient Feyre doesn't have a single memory or glimpse of how Rhysand abused her for two months though she was drugged but her memories weren't taken away. Her body doesn't recognise his touch as danger and isn't repulsed by him. Her trauma hasn't left a mark on her mind and body.

How convenient Feyre's PTSD is about being locked up in a cell and not the man who tortured and broke her hand forcing her into a bargain. Her nightmares are filled with the creatures that abused her once and threatened to spit roast her but not of the man who touched her and kissed her without consent and paraded her naked.

How convenient Feyre goes back to using sex as a crutch with Tamlin and later with Rhysand when it was the very thing that was used against her UtM. Her body readily wants a man's touch right after her rebirth.

How convenient Lucien is the only source of information who told Feyre what was done to her. He is also the most considerate and sweetest friend she ever had. He could have withheld some of that trauma to spare her the humiliation and heartbreak.

How convenient Feyre and Tamlin agreed never to speak of what happened UtM. Feyre doesn't understand how Tamlin's rage extends beyond his possessiveness. For her to turn a blind eye and blame him when they won't even talk about it.

How convenient every HL wants to hold Rhysand accountable for the very things he explicitly claimed to be remorseful of (Winter children massacre) and not the other atrocities he participated or committed in the fifty (or 500) years.

How convenient the HLs are polite enough to not ask Feyre how she forgave Rhysand after he SA'd her every night and willingly plays his whore whenever he wants.

How convenient the HLs don't ask if Feyre is also being mind controlled by Rhysand when he proved his strength by taking over Tamlin's mind in front of everyone.

How convenient every HL forgive Rhysand and Feyre for every mistake they ever made and make compromises throughout but never expect anything in return. How convenient mere 'sorry' always seems to be enough when their courts are suffering because of IC.

How convenient Tamlin insults Feyre but doesn't ask how she accepted her abuser as her mate when she accuses him of the same (sometimes worse) too.

How convenient Lucien is so charmed by the beauty of Velaris that he understands why Feyre left Spring for it but doesn't hold a grudge for what she did to his home.

How convenient Nesta, who's been SA'd twice, never finds out her baby sister also went through the same and is in love with the perpetrator. She never finds out the baby she saved is the child of Feyre's abuser.

How convenient Rhysand and Feyre agreed to deal with their trauma in secrecy. No one in Velaris ever finds out what truly happened UtM.

How convenient 'We save abused priestesses together' Morrigan or 'Careful how you speak about my High Lady' Azriel or 'No male better than Rhys' Cassian never find out how Rhysand hurt Feyre.

How convenient Rhysand himself was SA'd over and over again and so it's all fine to do the same to Feyre.

How convenient what happened UtM stays UtM.

How fucking convenient.

[mj-dev]

Long Post

I recently completed all the books in A Court of Thorns and Roses series and the first one in Crescent City. Both works are praised for their strong female leads and feminist characters which is the sole reason I decided to give them a try. And now, I have opinions.

Though the female characters show promise on the surface, it’s not the case when we look closely. Most of this analysis is based on the former series as it has the most varied range of female leads.

Feyre

In the beginning, Feyre heavily radiates masculine energy from her choice of hunting as occupation to the tired breadwinner mentality. She lacks empathy for her sisters and expresses her disdain clearly in her attitude and inner monologues when it’s clear they do the household chores, which translates to her disregard for the feminine work. She falls under the ‘not your typical girl’ archetype with her preference of pants over dresses and apathy towards her appearance. She makes an exception when she intends to please Tamlin. In the first book, it’s a one-time occurrence but over the course of the series, this becomes more prominent once Rhysand enters her life.

A woman, who refuses to be controlled, willingly plays Rhysand’s whore wearing the same dress he forced her into Under the Mountain when he sexually assaulted her. In Spring, Feyre expresses her fear of getting dolled up and reduced to a broodmare. While in Court of Nightmares, she takes pleasure in flaunting her body and putting on a sex act in front of an entire court. This transition apparently marks her taking back her power. She describes in great detail in her inner thoughts how she enjoyed kneeling to Rhysand as part of the act and the power he held over her and the room. This is the same woman who refused to bow to any fae in the first book. She feels empowered being reduced to a sex object for Rhysand and enjoys the discomfort it causes to the court, which she radiates as she walks down from the throne. Moreover when Keir disrespects her for it, she is offended by the insult but not for being put in the position. This becomes a role she actively and pleasurably plays in their court for the rest of the series.

None of her femininity translates to her emotional state. Except for the one scene in the mountain cabin where she heats a soup for Rhysand, she’s not portrayed indulging in womanly activities or mannerisms. Moreover, Feyre only embraces this side when she pleases a man. Tamlin, Rhysand, Tarquin. Despite her overtly masculine traits, she is equated to a goddess in Cassian’s monologue the moment she’s pregnant and paraded like a ‘breeding mare’ in Court of Nightmares.

Feyre’s story heavily pushes the idea that being feminine is only acceptable when it satisfies a man and his desires. Over and over again, a woman who doesn’t appreciate this way of living only ever embodies it to please her partners.

Nesta

Nesta is raised and groomed to be a housewife but she sheds that part of her life to become a warrior. This isn’t a choice of hers but thrusted upon her by the ones, mostly men, in her life as this is seen as the most contributing or ‘healthy’ way of living. Where healing through softness and compassion is an option and most needed given Nesta’s trauma and history, she’s subjected to more and more violence.

Nesta begins as someone bound to be a lady using her wits and charms as her weapons. But as the story progresses, she becomes a sword swinging warrior who becomes a close enough reflection of Feyre. A woman who won’t wear anything but dresses as it’s not lady-like becomes someone who only wears pants and slays demons for a man. A woman who wants to travel and read and enjoy simple life with her girl friends finds purpose becoming a weapon.

A woman who’s taught to treasure her body and never has sex for the same reason until she’s into her mid-twenties turns to it when she’s hurting and becomes sexually hyperactive to the point it’s considered an embarrassment. What’s interesting here is she’s forgiven for this when her sexual energy is focused towards the man(Cassian) everyone approves of.

Nesta enjoys reading romances, a classic hobby associated with women, which is either dismissed or joked about by Cassian. But the moment she trains to fight, he starts appreciating her. The same is seen during Eris’s seduction. Nesta’s dancing skills are known even before that and Cassian doesn’t acknowledge it until he sees her dancing with another man. Everything Nesta does or indulges in are somehow appreciated when they align with Cassian’s interests or what he desires in a woman.

Elain

The one character who is highly feminised in the series is Elain. She loves gardening, small talks and connecting with people, and surrounds herself with beauty. She learns to cook and enjoys feeding/nurturing her family. She’s often described as ‘kind’ and ‘delicate’. Even in Feyre’s thoughts, her body is sensualised and described in ways that imply sexual allure while her emotional traits are equated to child-like innocence. She’s the epitome of femininity and she’s the damsel that needs to be saved and protected by everyone at the end of the day. Sure, this could change in her book but the bottom line is her womanliness is very much in parallel with the misogynistic standards of what and how an ideal woman should be.

Morrigan

Morrigan is very in touch with her feminine side as her interests are wearing red dresses and painting her lips red and having sex (please hear my sarcasm). Her expression of liberation is lording her promiscuity over her parents and wearing provocative dresses in her court. In order to hide her true sexuality, she uses men to the point of using one of her close friends as personal flirting companion and leading the other on who’s been pining over her for five centuries. She’s the classic ideation of femme fatale with a heart of gold, yet has a childish, bubbly personality.

Amren

Throughout the series, Amren is more masculine than the male characters in some ways from her talks to behaviour. She’s an ancient creature trapped in a fae body. She’s so disgusted by it that she can’t grasp the need for eating specific food or relieving oneself. But what she truly understands and embraces in this body is her sexual urges. It is ultimately the one thing that helps her to bond with another person in her long life. Even if sex is considered as a universal act among all creatures or whatever, she should feel the same about eating and shitting which she doesn’t.

Bryce

Though she fares better than the A Court of Thorns and Roses (except SF) women, Bryce still falls victim to this pattern. She’s introduced as someone who parties and has sex without regrets which is sign of her independence. It forms most of her personality that everyone perceives her as such. This soon changes but the idea often lingers. She’s always found in her underwear (which could be considered a character quirk but I highly doubt that was SJM’s intentions) and all the male characters tend to love her or be attracted to her body at first sight. Over and over again, her sex appeal is brought to reader’s attention and one of the ways Bryce claims her feminine nature is being very confident with her sexual prowess.

There are several common themes and patterns in these books that heavily contradict the foundation of feminism.

Equality

Feminism, in simple terms, is equality of genders. In this series, it’s anything but that. Again and again, the words are mentioned but there’s simply not enough proof of it.

The Archeron sisters have no true autonomy. Feyre shares three different connections with Rhysand the majority of the time which gives him control over her thoughts and emotions to some extent. In Nesta’s can, Cassian transforms her into his ideal partner when she’s at the lowest in the name of healing. He often sees her as an animal to be tamed, and so far, he’s succeeded. In the end, Nesta becomes someone who questions her choices until Cassian or IC affirm it. Moreover, she has no financial independence or agency to choose how to live. And Elain is playing courteous guest in Rhysand’s house as she has no home or life of her own.

In Spring, Feyre who explicitly expresses her desires to be an equal to Tamlin complains when the opportunity is given to her to shoulder the responsibilities—socialising with the people serving her, dressing to be part of her court, and sitting through a tax collecting ceremony. While in Night, she becomes Rhysand’s soldier and goes on missions where she kills and maims in the most brutal ways possible. Though she is a ruler, her training and life is always focused on the arts of warring rather than administration which was requested of her in Spring. And once the wars are over, she complains about answering letters which are again tasks expected of a ruler. This shows what Feyre truly sees as equality is the chance to be violent.

Strength

The female leads are considered equal to their male counterparts only when they are progressively aggressive. Except for some side characters, almost all women prove their strength through their fighting abilities—Feyre, Nesta, Bryce, Morrigan, Amren. Elain, who has been a bystander until now, had her moment of courage when she embraced violence and initiated Hybern’s killing. This has brought many speculations about her future adventures mostly involving training like her sisters and becoming a spy, thereby proving the point.

Also, Feyre is only considered an equal to Rhysand after she inherits the powers of other High Lords. The same is seen in Nesta’s relationship with Cassian when everyone accepts her as his equal after she becomes a warrior. All this implies the strength of the men is the standard to which these women have to aspire to be, while none of the men are expected to change or challenge themselves to reach the level of their partners.

Appearance

They all possess extraordinary beauty that every male character is charmed with at the first sight and they either directly pursue these women or it’s implied. And at some point, their partners relish or wield this desirability against the said men—Rhysand against Tarquin, Cassian against Eris. This is prominent in Silver Flames as we get only some of Rhysand’s inner thoughts through Feyre. Cassian objectifies Nesta even when she’s emaciated, when she’s not fit—physically or mentally, after she’s sexually assaulted and almost dies. The value of these women are reduced to how appealing they are to the male gaze.

Sexuality

Most of these characters come with a sheltered view of world about how a woman should be or behave. When they finally step out of that bubble and embrace themselves and their new world view, they also become sexually proactive.

Every female character at least at one point describes being seen as a prey by their male partners. This can be attributed to the fae’s primal nature although it is a recurring theme in every relationship. Especially for Feyre, where she describes Rhysand’s gaze as predatory. She revels in this objectification to the point she derives pleasure by entertaining and putting on a show for him.

All these women exhibit hyperactive sex drive and have multiple partners with no emotional attachment which is seen as a sign of their empowerment. They always use sex as a means to ease their emotional trauma and they all have endured one variation of abuse at the hands of a man, mostly sexual, which they eventually explore and overcome by being sexually active—Feyre with Rhysand, Nesta with Cassian, Morrigan with her multiple partners. Elain’s attraction towards Azriel could very well fall under this category with her struggle to accept her fae life and mating bond with Lucien (and SJM loves trauma dumping).

There’s nothing wrong with owning one’s sexuality and putting one’s pleasure first but seeing it as the only path to empowerment is absurd, which is common theme in all theses women’s growth.

Life outside their romantic relationships

The female characters either come with a set of girl friends who are her ‘ride or die’ as in case of Bryce, or bond without much depth like in case of Feyre, Morrigan and Amren. The Valkriyes are the only exception to this where the women organically grow and build genuine friendships. Given the 4.5 books are dedicated to the Archeron sisters, there is no bonding among the three except for the blame shifting and one minute heartfelt conversation where their life-long trauma is erased and forgotten.

These women have hobbies which only exist to offer that touch of femininity to them—painting, gardening, reading smut, dancing, dressing themselves in pretty clothes (while male characters have no hobbies except for Tamlin and Lucien, and in case of Crescent City, all the men are into the same sport). Their ‘softer’ traits only rear its head when the narrative calls for proof of their kindness or empathy and mostly reserved for their partners but not in the way of living or their character itself.

Here’s the bottom line. Feminism in these books is masculinity masquerading as female empowerment. Throughout the series, what makes these women powerful is their ability to match the men in their lives. They are equal because of the brute force they embody on par with them which is basically the masculine ideal of strength. The faux feminism propaganda is blatantly obvious with the woman’s value constantly reduced to how much she is desired by men and her hyperactive sex life. These books are nothing but a mockery of feminism.