What it Sounds Like: The Valkyries & Musical Imagery
Iβve been seeing a lot of discussions about which characters are associated with musical imagery in ACOTAR. While I was excited to see SJM use ππΆπ in her instagram announcement post, I wasnβt necessarily surprised β¦ and the same goes for the leak which seems to indicate that the title page of ACOTAR 6 labels the text as βA Book in Four Movementsβ β¦ clearly a poetic use of musical language to illustrate her βone book told in four partsβ approach to whatβs coming.Β
There have been a lot of takes about what this might mean. Yes, the mating bond has been described as the music between souls; so perhaps the romantic plots will focus on multiple mated couples in these next installments. Or perhaps weβll be focusing on characters and a plot which deal directly with music. We already know that Nesta has deep, constitutive ties to music. That thread was woven all throughout her novel. Music is the emotional language of her ACOSF arc, from its beginning to its resolution.Β
Beyond Nesta, the text has also shown us on page that the other two characters who are specifically tied to music are Azriel and Gwyn. This was made explicit in the most recent ACOTAR book and in SJMβs most recent book (HOFAS). This is where SJMβs clear authorial intention is at most recently.
This is all great, and I love exploring these ideas and hearing others talk about where this might lead as we learn more in the coming months. But thereβs one detail that I donβt think is being discussed enough amid all of this:
The musical imagery surrounding the Valkyries as a unit.
Not necessarily Gwyn or Nesta individually (since they both have such clear individual musical imagery associations), but the three Valkyries together as a collective whose formation, bonding, training, survival, and defining moments are consistently and repeatedly described in musical terms.
THE FIRST NOTES: Gwynβs Voice
Across the hushed, cavernous space, it was easy to hear Gwynβs soft singing as she flitted from table to table . . . Nesta allowed herself to listenβto savor the pure, sweet voice that rose and fell with sinuous ease.
This is one of the earliest moments between Nesta and Gwyn. They are not yet friends, but Nesta (who is allowing almost nothing to reach her in this point of her story) stops and allows herself to listen. Savors Gwynβs voice, actually. It seems as if Gwynβs voice might actually be breaking through Nestaβs armor before anything else does.
Then, as their early acquaintance grows and as Nesta begins to notice Gwyn more, we get this:
Occasionally, Nesta heard a lovely, soaring snippet of song from some distant corner of the libraryβthe sole indicator that Gwyn was near.
I love this. The sole indicator that Gwyn was near.
On the surface, itβs simply a description of the setting and Nestaβs observations. But Iβd argue itβs establishing Nestaβs awareness of Gwynβs presence β¦ her nearness. And itβs registered musically. Before Nesta can even see her, the sound arrives first, because Nesta has now learned to recognize it.
Perhaps this is the beginning of attunement between sisters: one person learning the specific signature of another, but through musical terms.Β
Basically, what Iβm getting at, is that in the early days of what will become a significant bond among these females, music is already the language through which Gwyn reaches Nesta β¦ and in which Nesta allows herself to be reached. The foundation of the Valkyrie sisterhood is being laid here, in song.
THE SECOND MOVEMENT: The Foundation Deepens
By the time Nesta asks about attending the evening service, something has started to shift after the appearance of the ribbon as part of the Valkyriesβ training. That foundation, built by early trust and offers of friendship, solidifies when Nesta chooses to be vulnerable about what she needs: music.
βItβs a long story, and not one worth telling, but through it all, I picked taverns and pleasure halls to frequent because of the music. Iβve always loved music.β She braced herself for the damning judgment. But only sorrow filled Gwynβs face. . . . βThe drinking, the malesβI donβt miss any of it. But the music β¦ that I miss.β Nesta waved a hand, as if she could banish the vulnerability sheβd offered up. . . . βI was hoping you meant it when you said I could come to one of your services. Just so I can hear some music again.β
Nesta braces for judgment; but she gets this instead:
βYour story is worth telling, you know.β . . . βIt is. But yesβif you want music, then come to the services. We will be glad to have you. I will be glad to have you.β . . . βCome to the service this evening,β Gwyn said. βListen to the music.β She squeezed her hand again. βYouβll always be welcome to join me, Nesta.β
Nesta hadnβt realized how badly she needed to hear it. She squeezed Gwynβs hand back.
This is after Nesta stopped to savor Gwynβs voice in the library, after the ribbon has been set up, and after these females are beginning to understand what they are trying to build together. And Gwyn is showing here that she is unafraid of Nesta and Nestaβs past, and she offers an invitation to Nesta. The bond forming between them strengthens because of this invitation made in music.
Gwyn is offering Nesta an opportunity to hear music, yes. But sheβs also offering Nesta the sound of her presence and the knowledge of being welcomed without condition. Nesta hadnβt realized how badly she needed to hear it.
MUSIC-FILLED COMPANIONSHIP: The Bracelets
After Solstice, Nesta, Gwyn, and Emerie make friendship bracelets together:
They worked in music-filled companionship, idle chatter bouncing between them, Emerie and Gwyn occasionally laughing at Nestaβs awful workmanship. βNow,β Gwyn said when they were halfway through, βwe make wishes for each other.β . . .Β
βWait,β Nesta said, catching Gwynβs hand before it could touch the charm. . . .Β βLet me make a wish for all of us,β she explained, gathering the three charms. A small giftβfor the friends who had become like sisters.
A chosen family. Like the one Feyre had found for herself.
The Symphonia is playing here and music fills the space while their sisterhood is sealed in it. Nesta gathers all three charms and makes a wish for the three of them: for courage and for finding their way back to each other, no matter what. And then Nesta βcould have sworn the coins glowed faintly.β
As we then remember that image of the bonding, and the bracelets, and magic of the charms β¦ we can hold it against this moment, during the Blood Rite:
Emerie shuddered. βThe Mother watched over us.β
Nesta could have sworn the charms on their bracelets let out a soft, singing hum at that.
The physical symbols of their sisterhood, the objects they made together in music-filled companionship, sing. And not only do they sing, but they sing at the moment of their greatest trial and at the moment the Mother watches over them.
Even the objects representing their bond are musically alive. A super intentional choice, if you ask me.
Although a small detail, itβs one that I didnβt want to gloss over or leave out. The House of Wind β¦ where Nesta lives, where Gwyn lives and works in the library below, where the three Valkyries train together, where they have sleepovers and read romance novels and become sisters β¦ has been transformed.
In fact, Amren even notices it:
Amrenβs eyes became lined with silver, a hint of how they had once been. βI went poking about the House when we arrived an hour ago. I saw what you did to this place.β
Nestaβs brow furrowed. She hadnβt changed anything.
Amren grabbed Nesta under the shoulder, hauling her up. βThe House sings. I can hear it in the stone. And when I spoke to it, it answered. Granted, it gave me a pile of romance novels by the end of it, but β¦ you caused this House to come alive, girl.β
The space the Valkyries inhabit together sings. Itβs been made musically alive by what is being built within it, by Nesta β¦ and her chosen sisters share in that space with her. We are not shown this happening for any other grouping of characters in the novel. The House of Wind, specifically the place where these women are becoming who they are meant to be, sings.
THE BODY & THE WIND BECOME A SONG
Cassian describes what it feels like when movement is truly right:
But he knew she [Nesta] liked the punches. The kicks. A light shone in her face as her body flowed through the motions, a slingshot of strength all narrowing to a point of impact. Heβd always felt that way when he did the movements correctly, like his body and mind and soul had lined up and begun singing.
I love this so much, the idea of body, mind, and soul singing together β¦ especially because SJM returns to this language at a significant moment in the Valkyrie arc in ACOSF.
It is Gwyn who uncovers the history of the Valkyries and brings it to the group. Her research, knowledge, and initiative gives their training a deeper purpose and new direction. And when Nesta proposes combining Valkyrie and Illyrian techniques, something that makes fate seem to sit up and pay attention, what they are reaching for is exactly what Cassian describes above.
And then Gwyn eventually steps up to the ribbon:
Azriel went wholly still, as if he, too, had felt the shift. As if he, too, were aware that far larger forces peered into that training ring as Gwyn moved.
Smooth as the Sidra, swift as the wind off the Illyrian Mountains, her entire body working in singing harmony, Gwyn lunged toward the ribbon, twirled, and as she spun, her arm opened up, executing a perfect backhanded slice that cut the winter morning itself.
Half the ribbon fluttered to the red stone.
Her entire body working in singing harmony.
This is what Cassian was describing, and this is what alignment of body, mind, and soul produces β¦ itβs not just a technically correct movement that cuts a ribbon, but something that sings. The language that SJM uses here at the moment Gwyn becomes the first Valkyrie reborn is the same language she uses to describe what perfect movement feels like from inside it: articulated by the trainer and embodied by the Valkyrie student.
And then at Ramiel, exhausted, injured, helping each other up a nearly unclimbable mountain, the three Valkyries find it again:
βWeβre winning this fucking thing,β Nesta said, bending to grab Gwynβs legs. Teeth gritted, Nesta hoisted Gwyn onto her back.
The muscles in her thighs strained, but held. Her knees did not buckle.
Her gaze lay on the terrain ahead. She would not look behind.
So Nesta began to climb, Emerie limping beside her.
With the wind as their song, Nesta and Emerie found their rhythm. They climbed, squeezing and slitering and hauling their weight. As the males fell behind, like the mountain was silently whispering, Go, go, go.
The wind becomes their song, the mountain whispers, and larger forces are watching and urging them forward. The alignment that Cassian described (body, mind, soul) is here expressed collectively amongst the Valkyries as the three of them find their rhythm together and move as a unit.
SJM doesnβt utilize this language by accident, because it becomes clear that this is the language she has established for what it looks like when the Valkyries are most fully themselves (individually and together) β¦ the body, mind, and soul line up and begin to sing, often times when the Mother or larger forces also seem to be watching them.
SJM uses music as core thematic language of Valkyrie identity: their formation begins in music, their bond is built in music-filled companionship, their physical symbols hum, their home sings, their training sings when it aligns, and the wind is their song. On top of this, their defining moments as Valkyries (the ribbon, Ramiel) are described in musical terms.
So, am I saying that the ππΆπ and the βBook in Four Movementsβ language is about the Valkyries? Maybe? Yes and No.Β
What I primarily want to get at is that if we are going to have a conversation about which characters carry musical imagery in ACOTAR, then the Valkyries as a unit deserve to be part of it. The text puts them there repeatedly, deliberately, and at their most significant moments.
Iβve said many times (and I continue to believe) that SJM is not finished with the Valkyries. The amount of careful, deliberate intent put into building this group in ACOSF doesnβt exist to be tidied away as a background detail in future installments, in my opinion.Β
Why? Because Gwyn returns to the library with her oath at Ramiel deferred and her storyβs bowstring pulled back. Emerie becomes the first Illyrian female winner of the Blood Rite. Nestaβs romantic arc may have been completed, but we see in HOFAS that her contributions to the overall story are not over. These are the opposite of conclusions.
Additionally, Iβve argued over and over that the runway has been built for Azriel since ACOFAS and through the crossover material in HOSAB and HOFAS. SJM has been on record how excited she is to tell his story, and she has confirmed that we will hear him sing. Heβs ready. And the texts have made it clear that his story intersects with the Valkyries too. So if his story is coming, then it likely will involve these women in some capacity β¦ and how fitting that music imagery is not only tied to Azriel, but to the Valks too. ππΆπ
