Nimi

Hi anon! This is a very good question!

Before I answer in totality I do want to clarify that post was not making the argument that Feyre's motivations take away from her accomplishments. This isn't a 'Feyre did not do anything for Prythian!' kind of take! I should also note that I am only making this argument in regards to the elevation of Feyre to High Lady, under the assumption that her actions before and after UTM are proof of that. I don't care that Feyre was made high lady (and it really shouldn't matter - this is quite common in this genre). I just don't agree with certain narratives put forth in relation to her because the story says otherwise. I also think that allowing Feyre to have conflicting and complex thoughts, emotions, and actions is just better storytelling. I'm not say things out of like hatred, but because the complex widening of the narratives makes Feyre a stronger character. Flaws strengthen that.

To answer your question. Unfortunately, no. Please feel free to disagree/elaborate, but I don't see evidence of that. There is never a widening of the narrative - which I believe is necessary for the kind of story the novel is trying to tell. Feyre goes UTM never truly understanding the severity of the situation. When Feyre initially decides to return UTM, she decides to go...alone. No back-up, no letters, no troops. And the thing is at this point in the novel Feyre has access to these resources. And if her purpose was to save Prythian...what did she think she could accomplish? I'm not saying this to put her down, but to think critically about the validity of her actions. Because...Feyre just dies. And the only reason she accomplishes Tamlin's freedom is because the story just decides to make Amarantha inept. The same villian who essentially imprisons seven of the most powerful beings in this world, kills three of them, and keeps a stalemate on progress for fifty years would somehow...give a random human girl, not one, not two, but THREE quite easy (for fantasy) ways to efficiently break her curse.

Like - the backup and troops could just immediately die - and the story could reiterate how much Feyre does earnestly try to ring the bell about the severity of the situation. The story could even feed into the idea that Feyre is an outsider, and have the people reject her for even trying to give attention to it.

But, in short, I think the situation we are given shows that she never had a real plan to actually help herself, Prythian, or Tamlin. And that could have just been one scene or a sentence. There was no real plan about how she was going to actually save Tamlin - which is weird because the story throws a hissy fit that other characters could not help Feyre. In my opinion, Feyre is still brave for attempting - but she is also reckless, negligent, and to some extent selfish with her decisions, especially her heroic ones, and its the responsibility of those around her to rectify or absolve the situation (see: Downfall of Spring, stealing the book, attacking Beron and injuring LOA -- or even Amarantha's bargains + riddle).

#geralt of rivia

The Witcher S02 A Grain of Truth

Even my dislike for Rhysand stems from narrative a standpoint . Rhysand is NOT REAL. He iS NOT my abuser. Tamlin is NOT MY ABUSER. They do not exist. While my experiences inform my understanding, they do not wholly control it. It would be disingenuous to believe otherwise.

“They hurt Feyre” — Feyre is fictional. She does not exist. We can absolutely have a conversation about harm, dynamics, and optics, but I also recognize that I’m criticizing authorial decisions, not the actions of cognizant, sentient people.

The Dancer

— (Wyll)

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Yeah…sure…Feyre needs to rest after *checks notes* her fictional birth, fictional death, and fictional trauma….that makes total sense 🙄

Dropping the latest Sketch-a-Wish voted on by my lovely Patreon members for January (yes, I'm drastically behind, but feverishly catching up!)

Featuring Jude and Cardan from The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black! Another scene requested where I took a slight detour to showcase what we didn't see on page (when Jude was unconscious) but was hinted at in the aftermath (Cardan's bloody jacket). Does anyone else's cat shed fur when they're startled or agitated? Mine leaves behind clumps, which for a Devon Rex is dire. I channeled that energy with Cardan's agitated whipping tail and shedding leaves.

like — as someone with a very deep dislike of rhysand, and often is in spaces that don’t like him, I’ve never seen vitriol so violent like i do in anti-nesta spaces. like it actually gets very dark, very quickly. like - there’s not even like common ground, it’s very deep hatred. some of it i can’t even respond to because it just gets that weird. wow.

Lavertezzo & Foroglio, in the Ticino region of Switzerland

Hey anon!!!!

I absolutely agree.

A lot of the arguments that I see, in relation to Nesta (and Nesta adjacent characters) are really weirdly puritanical in their reading of her actions, which bleeds over with their analysis of the text. Because, on one hand, their seeking retribution in the form of her character, the actual text is too. It's hard for people to conceptualize that 'bad' people...can be victims all the same.

I remember when the Johnny Depp + Amber Heard case was going on (I think I even made a post about it) and so much coverage focused on how 'crazy' she was, how 'unbelievable' she was as a victim. She simply wasn't a 'perfect' victim. She was human. And so much of that was parroted to the media, rather than the moments of pure, intentional abuse. And that really got me thinking about the essence of victimhood; how easily it can be given and revoked if you don't perform it in just the right way.

Cassian's retribution-tinted view of Nesta ensures that he never actually sees her as a victim. Look at the difference between how Cassian approaches Feyre vs. how he approaches Nesta. Like--both Nesta and Feyre grew up impoverished, hungry, depressed, yet the story only ever focuses on that for Feyre because her performance of victimhood is this beautiful, aesthetic sadness that makes for pretty quotes and pretty fan art. It's palpable. Nesta's experiences do not manifest so prettily; she does not become a disney princess, she becomes an asshole. It isn't honorable, it isn't singing to the birds in a faraway castle. And so, because Nesta performance of victimhood is more an ugly mirror than a glowing mirage, she is not given that grace. It's fine that they isolate her, make her an indentured servant, force her to use her power and go on missions in Feyre's stead. She's too difficult, she won't comply, she's mean, she's nasty, she's lazy. It's fine to leverage Elain, control her diet, tear down her house. Because, well, she's too difficult. It's fine to hide her power from her because 'gosh, she might use that power against us'.

Less emphasis is put on the intentional abuse, the control, and more is put on her performance of victimhood. She can't be mean because...she's living in Rhysand's house. He's paying for her meals, of course he can lock her up in the house. And--he's just trying to help - so we can ignore that she's placed in a house with a man she has verbally reiterated she wants nothing to do with. Even worse considering that both Cassian and Rhys suspect he is her mate. So - its fine that Nesta uses sex to punish her, so long as Cassian is the punisher. Nesta tries to escape the House of Wind - and is battered the next day because of it and they laugh. Az cracks a joke and she still has to train. Abuse is a reflection of the abuser, what they are willing to do. Feyre, Rhys, Cass were willing to lock Nesta up. They were willing to levarage Elain, they were willing to throw Nesta into missions. They were willing to leverage their power to make Nesta do what they wanted to do.