Queen of Shadows

Sarah J. Maas

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2015

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapters 1-11

Part 1, Chapters 12-30

Part 1, Chapters 31-47

Part 2, Chapters 48-64

Part 2, Chapters 65-89

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Amethyst Ring

The amethyst ring Chaol gifted Celaena Sardothien during the competition for the King’s Champion in Throne of Glass symbolizes their romantic relationship. When Aelin returns from Wendlyn in Queen of Shadows, Chaol looks “to the empty finger where his amethyst ring had once been” (43). Aelin no longer wears the ring, despite her parting words to him on the docks several months ago, which suggested they’d continue their romance when she returned. Aelin has changed in the months she’s been away. In reclaiming her old identity, she has shed the persona of Celaena Sardothien—the assassin Chaol fell in love with. In keeping with this transformation, the ring has become dented and scratched, showing the wear and tear that has destroyed the formerly beautiful romance.

In turn, Aelin’s empty ring finger is indicative of the murderer Chaol believes Aelin has become: Its “skin was soaked with the blood that had seeped in through the fabric” (43). Chaol’s code of honor and integrity can’t accept the blood on Aelin’s hands. He distrusts her now that he knows that Celaena was a put-on persona, fearing her magic and her ruthlessness. When Aelin returns the ring to Chaol, he decides to pawn it, which signifies that its value is now purely monetary rather than sentimental. The action marks the permanent end of their romance.

The Dragon Dress

The many disguises Aelin has worn throughout the series—for instance, her garb as Celaena the assassin and Lillian the noblewoman—demonstrate that clothes are symbols of power. Though Rowan isn’t necessarily a fan of finery, he knows that “clothes are weapons, too” (241). The dragon dress Aelin bought at 16 yet never wore because “it seemed too… old [and] overpowered the girl I was” now fits her perfectly (242), representing the adult woman she’s become.

The dress has a simple unadorned black velvet front with a scoop neckline, but the back is “the true masterpiece” with gold embroidery in the shape of a serpentine dragon (241). While this didn’t fit teenage Celaena Sardothien, it does fit Aelin, who has accepted her birthright as Queen of Terrasen. The fact that the dragon is on the back of her dress suggests that Aelin’s power is still concealed; however, the gold of the embroidery alludes to her status as a monarch.

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Aelin wears the dragon dress when she faces Arobynn to successfully reclaim the Amulet of Orynth, murder him in revenge, and steal his wealth to finance the Terrasen army. The dress indicates her ruthlessness as a future ruler and her willingness to do whatever it takes to secure her ascension.

Amulet of Orynth

The Amulet of Orynth, which is “the royal heirloom [Arobynn had] stolen from [Aelin] when he found her half-dead on the banks of the Florine” (14-15), serves as a motif of the theme, Self-Acceptance as Closure. Though Aelin’s defeat of Arobynn is an act of retribution, it is also a pronouncement of her self-acceptance. Arobynn refuses to call her Aelin, despite always having known her identity. Instead of raising her as the queen she’d eventually be, he molded her into an assassin through physical and emotional abuse and manipulation. Stealing the Amulet of Orynth, a vital token of her lineage, was another way for Arobynn to remove Aelin’s real identity.

The Amulet of Orynth has been worn by Aelin’s ancestors for 1,000 years and is believed to have “made their kingdom—her kingdom—a powerhouse: prosperous and safe, the ideal to which all courts in all lands were held” (15). By lying about its whereabouts and accusing Aelin of letting the amulet be lost in the river, Arobynn forced Aelin to internalize shame and take blame for the fall of her kingdom. Only after Aelin travels to Wendlyn and fully accepts herself as the Queen of Terrasen, can she reclaim the Amulet of Orynth. Arobynn’s death via retributive justice provides Aelin with the healing closure she needs to return to Terrasen as its ruler.