The 10,000 stairs was symbolic though. When the intervention happens, Nesta is in a bad place—she’s depressed, alcoholic, and pushing away all of her friends and family. She loses control of her life because she’s unable to provide for herself, financially or emotionally. Feyre and Elain gave her space to process and heal emotionally, but they realized that she didn’t need space—Nesta had always pushed others away and locked them out, with disastrous results. Here’s my analysis of Nesta’s development in Silver Flame that no one asked for…
Feyre says earlier in the series that Nesta seems uncaring but she thinks it’s a mask to hide the fact that Nesta cares more deeply than most. SF is where we see that idea play out. When Feyre confronts her about her behavior earlier in the series, Nesta points out that there’s no reason for her to change because she’s always been able to manipulate others into doing what she needs them to do.
There’s some romantic tension between Nesta and Cassian from the moment they meet, but Nesta doesn’t know how to handle genuinely liking someone. She was raised by her mother to look at relationships as a business transaction, and she was SA in the human world when she attempted to marry for safety. After she’s in Velaris, she starts taking people home for casual sex—because she’s terrified. She’s terrified of being assaulted, she’s terrified of falling in love and finding pleasure, she’s terrified of changing. Her random hookups are a coping mechanism for her unresolved romantic trauma. If she chooses her partners and throws them away, it means she has power over them. It also helps her feel less terrified of intimacy—which she craves, given her favorite genre for reading. Her “healing arc” with Cassian is about Nesta allowing herself to choose her partner. Her mother raised her to make an advantageous political match, so she’s been brainwashed not to fall in love. We know that she truly took this duty to heart because she was prepared to marry an abusive human in ACOTAR for a little protection. Nesta has the opportunity to carry out her warped views of marriage with Eris, but she chooses Cassian for herself. There’s no moment where the mating bond “snaps” in place like it did for other characters. It doesn’t happen until Nesta permits it to happen. She doesn’t lose her autonomy, she gains the power to choose. The fact that she ends up choosing the person she was fated to be with is poetic, confirming for Nesta that she made the right choice.
In ACOTAR, Nesta is introduced by demanding that Feyre spend some of the money from her hunt to buy her new boots. Elain also asks for a new cloak. At that time, it’s supposed to make them seem selfish. When Feyre confronts her about it later in the series, Nesta says that she knew Feyre could always go hunting again and find more money. She never admits or considers that she was valuing herself and her needs over the life of her youngest sister. Feyre is literally risking her life to go hunting, and Nesta admits that she expected Feyre to do it constantly to keep the family fed and clothed. She was very bitter when their father stopped providing for them—so bitter that she was willing to let the whole family starve to prove a point about his faults. Her gambling at the beginning of SF is a continuation of that flawed line of thought. That’s why Feyre breaks down and cries—it has nothing to do with the actual money (and we know from FS that Feyre is still anxious about spending, even though she and Rhys are very wealthy). Feyre sees the bar tab as proof that Nesta still isn’t able to see how her actions effect others—or clearly doesn’t care.
She’s still struggling with that mentality at the beginning of SF. Nesta is very hurt by their father’s death—because the moment that he returned to help them in their war again Hybern, it proved that he’d finally done what she wanted him to do all along. He’d gone out of his way to protect his daughters…and it got him killed. That’s why she’s so traumatized by the fire crackling. She’s not directly responsible for his actions, of course, but she feels responsible because she wanted him to step up for so long. Nesta’s expectations of others have always been too high. She knows Feyre will keep risking her life for their family because it’s what Nesta would have done (they’re “two sides of the same coin,” and that’s why Nesta goes after Feyre when Tamlin takes her to Prythian). She expects the priestesses to sign up for training because she knows Cassian can help them recover some of their strength. That’s the moment that she realizes she’s expecting too much of others—she becomes aware that the priestesses don’t trust Cassian like she does, so she stages the demonstration. It’s a personal breakthrough on so many levels, because she realizes that she has to help people reach the potential she expects of them. That’s something she never did for their father. What if Nesta, Elain, and Feyre had all come together to protect their father when thugs broke his knees? One child crying wasn’t going to do anything, but potentially three? And especially when Nesta’s death point even rattled the King of Hybern… she has always had the capacity to help others, but she’s chosen not to. Her mother raised her to remain aloof. Cassian continually reaching out to her helped her to make the important realization that she’s able to intervene and improve things for other people. He becomes an example of the positive effect that intervention can have, as Nesta sees herself growing and recognizes that he might be able to help some of the priestesses too.
The intervention of placing her in the House and ordering it not to provide her with wine is exactly what it sounds like…an intervention. Anyone struggling with unresolved trauma or depression knows how tempting it is to reach for some substances that will take your mind off things for a while. Nesta’s drinking reaches a new level in SF, as her apartment reeks and she doesn’t remember details about the person she just hooked up with. Cassian, Feyre, and Amren see that she is self-destructing. Amren tries some tough love and tells Nesta off, withholding her friendship, which has a profound impact on Nesta but doesn’t spur her into changing. When she hits some low points in the House, her mind turns to drinking. Being unable to get down the stairs is a symbol of her depression—she’s unable to literally get herself out of the house. Ultimately this issue is resolved when Nesta invites her friends over for a sleepover. Instead of trying to leave and get some wine, she has fun with her friends and makes homing beacon bracelets. AND, the one time that she does get herself out of the house, she immediately runs to her sister and emotionally wounds her. Nesta realizes then that she’s gone too far, and she runs back to the House. It’s all metaphorical for her social life. Alone, she’s self-destructive and causes pain to the people around her. With friends, she’s able to find fulfillment and doesn’t need alcohol to do it.
Her loss of autonomy when she went into the cauldron explains the whole Valkyrie storyline. Nesta says several times in SF that she’s weak. She learned how weak she was when Elain was kidnapped by Hybern, and that truly traumatized her. As they hunt for the Dread Trove items, she realizes that she wants to be stronger. To protect Elain, to protect Cassian, and to protect herself. She offers to scry for the Dread Trove to protect Elain, who snaps that she doesn’t need protection. Nesta’s issues with Elain are still unresolved by the end of SF, but I think that’s a setup for the next book. Cassian is supposed to be this super warrior, but Nesta has seen him practically defeated twice now (when she went into the cauldron and when they faced off with Hybern). Nesta decides that she wants to be stronger for herself. After seeing what her expectations of others did to her father, she’s realizing that she needs to take action. She pushes that very far on Ramiel during the Blood Rite, resolving her trauma at being unable to protect her loved ones. Nesta immediately goes to help Emerie and Gwyn, rather than assuming that they will be able to protect themselves. The old Nesta, who pushed Feyre to take extra risks, is gone. Nesta even sacrifices herself by remaining at the pass as Emerie and Gwyn finish the Rite. It’s an act of selflessness and demonstrates everything she’s realized about teamwork.
As far as the money goes, Rhys and Feyre offer Nesta jobs. They say at the beginning of SF that she refuses all of them. She doesn’t have financial independence because she hasn’t earned it. As a member of their family, Nesta is given access to the High Lord/Lady’s credit around town and she’s able to bill things to their accounts. Nesta says at the beginning of SF that she does this because there’s no reason for her to work. She ultimately does a lot of things in SF that prove her value—finding the Dread Trove, saving Feyre, etc. But Feyre always found Nesta valuable, which is why she was recognized as part of their family and provided for initially. Nesta’s “job” after the intervention is shelving library books. In a magical house. That moves books all the time. Clearly, she’s given this task so that she has something to do. Her job in the library leads to her forming some important relationships and friendships. It’s another metaphor for overcoming depression—just forming a routine and getting “out” helps Nesta begin her process of recovery.
Now, if Nesta fulfilled a role in the court where she was leading the Valkyries, she would be carrying out a more lucrative job. If she got named as an advisor, like Amren or Mor, she’d be carrying out a more lucrative job. There are many ways that Nesta can have financial independence by the conclusion of SF, and all it would take is a sentence or two. I don’t think this was intentionally left out. The ending suggests that Nesta has adjusted and she’s looking for ways to help others. She rejected working initially because she felt like there was no point, and she had nothing to give to others. By the end of SF, she’s got a new perspective of herself and she’s able to make more meaningful connections. Also, before leaving the topic of financial independence, Nesta likely won’t achieve that for a long time. Feyre and Rhysand are essentially royalty. Cassian, Amren, Azriel, and Morrigan all receive a paycheck for their roles in the court. They’re all several hundred years old at least, so they’ve had plenty of time to save. Even once Nesta starts receiving a salary after SF, it will take her time to gain enough wealth to be financially independent of her sister. Rhysand paid Feyre a salary when she arrived in the Night Court and agreed to work with them against Hybern. The implication is that Nesta never got paid because she spent everything she would have been paid in taverns. When he’s showering her with gifts at the end of the novel, it seems likely that he would re-establish a salary and account for her. I strongly doubt that Nesta is expected to start spending Cassian’s money, when Feyre and Rhys have been financing her all along.
Hell, even the dancing is a resolution of Nesta’s trauma. Her grandmother physically abused her when she was little, and her mother emotionally abused her by training her to use others for her benefit (and likewise using Nesta for herself). Dancing was the one thing that she enjoyed, and in SF she regains the ability to enjoy dancing for herself. Feyre and Rhys ask her to dance with Eris because of a political maneuver. Cassian had just noted that Nesta was making progress, but she needed to find something that brought her joy. Beyond the whole mate thing, he sees her dancing and he realizes that it’s a passion she’s never shared. It’s her thing, like Feyre’s painting or Elain’s gardening. Cassian’s solstice gift helps her resolve this issue because she can now dance any time she wants. Yet again, it’s another big tip on recovering from depression. Finding a hobby that brings joy can help to relieve some of those negative thoughts, especially when one is avoiding substance abuse.
Every trauma and unresolved issue that Nesta had is addressed by the end of the book. Her issues with her parents are issues that Elain and Feyre struggle with too, and now that both parents are dead they won’t get any further closure. But that’s life, and perhaps they can now find some support in each other.
Nesta at the end of the book would look back at the way she was previously and cringe. Nesta was:
Traumatized emotionally and sexually, unable to find fulfillment in intimate relationships
Using people for her benefit regardless of their cost or risk
Only willing to help Elain
An alcoholic who refused to participate in family gatherings and lashed out to hurt others emotionally
Unable to protect herself or anyone she cared about
Alone, feeling like she failed her father, failed Elain, and failed herself
Unwilling to do any sort of work or contribute to the goals of the Night Court, while benefiting from their protection and funding
She’s still a powerful woman who doesn’t take any shit. But Nesta now:
Has allowed herself to fall in love and enjoy it
Values others and supports them
Helps people when they need her
Has recovered from alcoholism and depression
Is no longer “weak” in any way
Is able to do meaningful work
The ending scene where she visits her father’s grave takes it full circle. Nesta finally allows herself to admit the truth and stops punishing herself for his death.
What’s the message here? People are social. We’re pack animals—that’s why solitary confinement is so inhumane, and has such terrible effects on people. Nesta is independent and allowed to live her own life, but her friends and family can see that she’s hurting. Instead of turning their backs on her and letting her continue to self-destruct, they stage an intervention. It’s important that Nesta finds healing by reforming the Valkyries. She doesn’t suddenly become best friends with Feyre, or recover her relationship with Elain. Things are still rocky with Amren. Nesta chooses her own people on her journey. This doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s forgiven the Night Court, but it does mean that she’s better able to coexist with them. Since they’re all immortal now, it makes sense that the Night Court tries so hard to help her. They can’t just let Nesta wander off like a loose cannon, not when her powers could potentially threaten them. This isn’t just about the relationship between Nesta and her sisters, it’s also a matter of keeping Velaris safe. If anything, it’s more realistic that it takes a lot of time for Nesta to find a reason to connect with Velaris and keep it safe. Feyre takes a walk for 10 minutes and decides that she wants to live there forever. Nesta takes several months to make friends with a few people and find some value in staying in the city.
When we’re depressed and traumatized, we tend to pull away from others. Nesta’s journey in this book follows some pretty standard recommendations for recovery: establishing a routine, avoiding substance abuse, resolving financial issues, addressing emotional trauma, forming meaningful relationships, etc. Even her motto “I am the rock” is pretty standard meditation/recovery fare. The nature hike with Cassian is another big cheesy nod to recovery in real life—fresh air, exercise, and a connection with nature. Nesta’s healing arc is believable for her character and necessary for the progress of the series. If anything, it’s a little cliche. Don’t forget that by the end of the book, Nesta is in control of three items in the Dread Trove. Despite the wards, she summons them to save Feyre. She knows that she could summon them at any time. The Mother allows her to keep some of the power she stole, so Nesta certainly isn’t powerless. Individually, she’s powerful—and with the harp, mask, and crown she’s almost a god. Nesta ends the book more powerful than she was before.
There’s also strong implications that she’s going to become even more powerful as she explores the idea of being a “witch.” Witches exist in other SJM books, but they’re hardly explored in ACOTAR. Since it’s all part of the same big universe, I anticipate that we can expect this to come into play in some way for Nesta. Cryptically, the only thing anyone has to say about witches in ACOTAR is that they live in the Middle and feast on innocents to fill the void that magic left within them. Metaphorically, that’s exactly what Nesta was doing at the start of SF. So perhaps she’s a witch after all.
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