#acotar analysis

A companion piece to my post about Tamlin as a male damsel in distress (It's always those two, isn't it)

We all know SJM likes to play with inversion of gender roles, and she did a pretty good job with Tamlin as the male damsel so let's explore Rhysand as the male prostitute archetype.

🔮 The Object of Desire 🔥

Rhysand is objectified by the narrative when first introduced - framed as the "most beautiful man" Feyre had every seen, enabling the readers to imagine the ideal tall dark and handsome shadow daddy fae. His second appearance, at the Spring Court lunch, is full of innuendo - "lover's voice", "silken caress", "erotic whisper". Whilest usually it's the women who are objectified (even in these books to a degree), there are a few instances of men being objectified in ACOTAR - Tamlin and Rhysand (desired by Amarantha) and Lucien (Ianthe). Rhysand is attractive, he knows that women around him find him attractive, and knows that he can use his body as a tool when needed.

⛓️‍💥 Desperate Times, Desperate Measures 💅

All the High Lord's powers were bound by Amarantha, and Rhysand saw her closing in on him with a sexual proposition. Desperate to keep his secret city Velaris safe, and to distract her from finding out about it, he plotted to have her take him as a sex slave to ensure he could stay close to her, keep himself out of suspicion of rebellion, and gain himself more power, influence, and freedom to tear down her regime from within.

🙂‍↔️ Scorned by Peers ✋

Rhysand allied with Amarantha and received the scorn of other fae Under the Mountain - there is reference to him being "stroked" or "spat" upon, he's called "Amarantha's whore", and received insults and mistrust well into the third book in the series. The things he did or was forced to do as Amarantha's right hand earned him so much hatred from the other High Lords that he fled as soon as they were all free. He was the only one who did not attend the initial meetings Under the Mountain.

🙌 Redemption, and Grizabella the Glamour Cat 🐱

Acotar. The series with faes, magic, monsters and shadow daddies. And somehow the most interesting thing about that story is the relationship between the three, main, mortal sisters – the Archeron sisters. At least in my opinion.

Before we start, I would like to ask for a few things:

1- This is just my interpretation of their relationship where I tried to find the most nuance possible.

2- This is not a “poor martyr Feyre killing herself for her ungrateful family” or a “poor Nesta discarded by everyone who never appreciated her” post. We are trying to find the gray line.

3- As we know, Sarah is a vibes writer – which means she writes the things she thinks will look cool. Good on paper, not so good when you try to actually analyze it. So, hold my hand, let’s pretend the things she writes have actual meaning.

Good? Good. Let’s actually start.

We all know how the story goes. Archeron family rich, bla bla bla, Papa Archeron fucks everything, bla bla bla, Mama Archeron dies and Nesta and Feyre are now trapped in this pseudo marriage situation where Nesta is the demanding housewife and Feyre is the exhausted husband for eight long years.

As we know, Feyre started hunting in her early teens. The books insist that Nesta did not helped around the house, however this was just of sjm’s way of showing us how much of a martyr Feyre is. But we know that’s just not how it works, Feyre is not in the cabin 24/7, so we are going to assume Nesta was helping around. Assumptions like these will be made a lot.

The first thing many people ask: was Nesta neglectful for letting Feyre hunt? I don’t think so. After all, Feyre is Papa Archeron’s daughter, it’s his job to make sure of her safety, not his sixteen years old daughter. However, Nesta was definitely enabling the dynamic.

Before anyone comments – let’s talk about Feyre’s hunting in itself and the damage it did make. Canon says she started doing it when she was eleven to fourteen years old, this means during that time her brain was passing through the very tormenting time of puberty.

I have heard some people say it was not that bad because: “I was hunting with my father when I was that age!” Exactly, you were with your father, Feyre was completely alone. Or “She does eat meat, doesn’t she?” Well, all I can say is that you are definitely not taking the life of an innocent animal by eating it in the same way actually hunting and taking its life is.

And hunting takes time. Feyre was passing hours of her day, depriving herself of important human connection, taking lives without any adult to guide her and explain it to her – failure meant her entire family would starve btw – while her brain is in one of the most important parts of development.

People don’t usually take this seriously because the only people who showed concern about that were blood thirsty immortals who have definitely done worse. And Janet never thought of what the circumstances would do to a young mind (unlike in my fanfic cof cof shameless ad cof cof).

Now that we know how Feyre’s hunting damaged her, let’s look at Nesta again. Nesta was a teen when everything happened, a groomed, abused teen who was very aware of her father’s omission. She was grasping straws to have the control stolen from her, her hatred for her father made her make a lot of bad decisions – which is totally fine! She’s twenty three! But, when you take the weight off your back, it eventually falls back on the back of other person, Feyre’s in that case.

And instead of supporting her sister, Nesta couldn’t handle her self hatred and shame, so she started to settle in Feyre’s role as her bread winning “husband” and projecting her negative feelings on her. Though we are going to be honest here, Feyre gave as much as she take and was provoking her older sister most times.

There is something in psychology called “all or nothing thinking” or “black or white thinking”, which is the habit of the human mind to take an extreme belief as the absolute truth. Feyre has shown to engage in this type of thinking, we can see along the text how she always interprets Nesta’s actions as criticisms towards her, which implies that is something Nesta does often. But looking at Nesta’s perspective, Feyre always expects the worst of her.

Do you guys see the neat little circle we have come to? Feyre becomes parentified = Nesta refuses to replace her Father = That increases Feyre’s burden = Feyre resents Nesta = Nesta feels ashamed = She becomes hostile = Feyre realizes it and expects it = Nesta sees it = the cycle repeats.

Now, we go to the fae part. Oof, that’s a whole can of worms. We are going to ignore the whole retcon “Tamlin offered to bring Nesta in Feyre’s place.” That never happened.

So, Nesta going to the wall when Feyre was kidnapped. Some people see it as her whole redemption arc and apology for her actions, I personally see it as the start of the deconstruction of Feyre’s beliefs about Nesta and the start of Nesta’s redemption arc, not the whole thing. Because, something my therapist told me, you can’t solely trust your actions to show your intentions if your words go in the opposite direction.

Then we go to the other books, and things get worse from here. Rhysand becomes this little devil in Feyre’s shoulder, telling her Nesta is actually much worse than she was, that Feyre was just a helpless victim. And I don’t even blame Feyre for believing him, not just because Rhysand is Sarah’s favorite blorbo, but because it’s so nice to hear that it is not your fault the relationship you desperately yearn for is broken.

(I won’t talk about Feyre promising to help Nesta with her trauma and not doing so, because I think Sjm honestly forgot about it)

What I like about this, even with all this. Feyre still loves Nesta and wants her close. Is there resentment? Of course, you can’t erase eight years of a codependent relationship. But she still asks for Nesta in acofas, but she can’t say it in a vulnerable way and speaks in the language they always have.

In acosf, Feyre had no problem in letting Nesta use her money to please her addiction until Rhysand publicaly humiliates her, that’s where she acts. Even after all this years, Feyre and Nesta are still trapped in their pseudo marriage.

Like Rhys gives Tamlin shit for not submitting to Amarantha for the whole of Prythian, for being haughty and getting himself cursed and then sitting out the 49 years with very little status quo change. Rhys thinks his own choice of protecting Velaris and his friends at the cost of his personal loyalty was worth it and the right thing to do. But the thing is: Tamlin doesn't have a Velaris and his closest friend was already hurt, which brought on the curse in the first place. Like he played somewhat nice until it came to Lucien's eye. And you're trying to tell me that Rhys could have stood next to Amarantha, could have accepted being seen as her henchman if she had already clawed out Cassian's eye? He would have become a pissy broody unbendable bitch himself.

And then when Tamlin does have someone to protect in Feyre he – like Rhysand – has no qualms about sacrificing his public loyalty and trustworthiness to the enemy just for this one person's safety. And in that same scene we do get Rhysand standing around senselessly because interfering with the King of Hybern cauldron stuff would get Azriel hurt even more. Like Tamlin he would rather let things get worse than interfere at the risk of his friends' lives.

Prior to being High Lord we know he was in war bands, but he never actually fought in a war. Did he still kill other fae/monsters while defending the border? Did his family send him on random assassination missions? We know he didn't personally kill Rhysand's mother and sister, otherwise Rhysand would have pointed it out.

But in book 1 he tells Feyre "I kill enough as it is" as an excuse to why he didn't kill her for killing Andras. Or maybe he's just talking about Amarantha's beasts and he feels sorrow every time he kills them? Or Lucien talking about how Tamlin would "eviscerate" him for disobeying, how you don't stay in power by being everyone's friend...perhaps there's some executions that Tamlin has performed personally (like the sentinels when Feyre was taken by NC).

Personally I highly doubt Rhysand's father was the first, killing him in one blow seems too practiced/too much ease for it being the first time. And Rhysand calling him the "brutal war band leader" implies deadly skill (and admiration on Rhysand's part, who is a known and skilled killer).

The first glimpse of high fae form Tamlin. Clothing described as plain with the baldric as the only accent/focal point but holds no weapons and is not fancy enough to be for "style".

Tamlin asking Feyre on a date - No weapons once again in his baldric, BUT a knife in his boot - baldric not being used for weapons, again.

Actually I have no comment here this is normal use of baldric for killing Naga I just like this scene for reasons 👀

He wears his baldric on sex magic ritual night where he is shirtless - sexual undertones associated with baldric

He doesn't have the baldric on for lunch, but puts it on intentionally once he realizes Rhysand is coming, putting it on with knives (presumably Illyrian, which we learn later in ACOWAR) when he knows Rhysand will see (only to not touch the knives at all the entire time).

There's no way Amarantha would let Tamlin carry weapons UTM, so there is really no point in him wearing the baldric, UNLESS it was just for a sense of security (emotional support) or to send a message to someone (Rhysand) that he still remembers and cherishes their friendship.

tl;dr Tamsand is canon and Tamlin is not over Rhysand (he's just more subtle about it than Rhys is) and shows this by wearing the baldric used for holding illyrian knives when he doesn't need to and especially in front of Rhysand

Tamlin is more of a butt guy, he likes to run his claws over Feyre's hips, in general is more grindy and bitey than Rhys. Less vocal during sex, does whatever his partner asks of him. Has very good restraint until he's given permission to unleash then he's wild.

Spring Court There are too few clues at the Spring Court that would indicate the presence of Rhys’s sister. What we do have is: the Star Lake, where Tamlin used to swim when he was young, and the mysterious painting of a vase with flowers and an unusual play of light that Feyre admired.

Tamlin befriended Rhys only after the former joined the army. From what we know, he waited the proper 75 years - the time when Fae are considered young adults. So Tamlin swimming in the lake as a youth is the Tamlin who is not yet friends with Rhys. This is still before the fallout of their friendship and before Rhys’s betrayal.

The lake, although likely important to people from the Night Court, doesn’t actually serve as solid evidence of a direct connection to Rhys’s sister. I’d rather say it’s important to Tamlin because of his mother, with whom he was close. I suspect it’s a place she often took him to.

The painting in the Spring Court manor could be connected to Rhys’s sister if we consider the fact that she loved the Rainbow of Velaris - the artists’ district. The unusual play of light would fit her nature as someone born in the Night Court, someone who sees light differently than others.

This leads to an argument that I believe is wrongly associated with Rhys’s sister: the presence of the Gallery in Tamlin’s manor. The Gallery wing had been closed for years. There’s a strong possibility it was created by Tamlin’s mother. After all, Tamlin never mentions a lost love for whom he might have created it. He doesn’t show any signs of having ever truly loved a woman. He even says himself that he flirted with many.

The only woman he genuinely mourns and truly loved was his mother. So I suspect the Gallery belonged to her. It’s also possible that she was the one who painted the vase painting.

Tamlin's betrayal

The betrayal committed by Tamlin carries many consequences. Many people suspect that the conflict between Tamlin and Rhys stems from an argument over Rhys’s sister. So let’s break this down.

The Spring Court is conservative - in the sense that it draws a clear line between “true” Fae and beings of mixed or lesser heritage. And although Rhys’s sister was a princess of the Night Court, she was also half-Illyrian, which would make her completely undesirable among the lords of the Spring Court. She would never be acknowledged as a proper match for a Spring Court prince.

So if Tamlin wanted her, he couldn’t have her because of the “aesthetic” expectations of the elite. I’m not even sure it would have been possible for them to meet officially. The Spring Court had tense relations with the Night Court. No one approved of Tamlin and Rhys’s friendship.

So would Rhys’s father ever bring his daughter (a half-Illyrian) to a gathering with the Spring Court elite? It would have been a diplomatic disaster.

The only realistic chance for Tamlin and Rhys’s sister to meet would be if Rhys was staying at one of the camps and she appeared there. But here’s the important part: it’s doubtful that Tamlin would ever show up in an Illyrian camp, and it’s equally doubtful that Rhys’s father would take his daughter to a war camp.

But let’s assume he did — considering that Mor was trained as a warrior and took part in the war, Rhys’s father might have had a similar attitude: let the girl see the world as it is. Maybe that’s why she was pulled away from the Rainbow - not to keep her head in the clouds, but to teach her how to fight. And there she met Tamlin, and something formed between them.

Now, if we follow the “Tamlin and Rhys’s sister were partners and shared a great love” theory, we get two possible scenarios: 1)The Spring Court wanted to capture Rhys. Tamlin betrayed him, swayed by the Spring Court’s ingrained hatred of the Night Court. Rhys’s sister was supposed to be rescued, but end up wingless. The Spring Court would gain a major victory by eliminating a threat (Rhys) and would force upon Tamlin a partner they had mutilated. 2)Tamlin’s father invoked their obligations toward the Night Court and forced Tamlin to reveal the truth in exchange for sparing Rhys’s sister (unharmed). Something must have gone terribly wrong, since she ended up dead. Tamlin completely botched the situation.

The funniest part is that supporters of the Tamlin + Rhys’s sister theory fail to notice that Tamlin grieved his mother’s death far more than the death of his supposed beloved. They don’t see that after such a betrayal, there is absolutely no possibility of a happy relationship between Tamlin and Rhys’s sister. A mating bond wouldn’t magically heal the harm Tamlin helped cause.

Tamlin never reflects on his actions. He doesn’t see that he contributed to a crime between the Courts. He doesn’t see that the Night Court’s retaliation against his family was justified by the laws of their world. Tamlin only sees that his mother was killed. He didn’t care about his father. His hatred is fueled by the loss of his mother - and he doesn’t care at all that he caused the same tragedy for his friend.