King of Battle and Blood

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2021

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-8

Chapters 9-12

Chapters 13-16

Chapters 17-20

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Mirrors and Reflections

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence and death.

Mirrors and reflections symbolize the impact of the past on the present, and this recurring imagery is first introduced when Isolde arrives in Sadovea and sees a strange woman in the reflection of a window. At this point, she does not understand the image, just as she does not understand the true impact of Yesenia’s past on her current experiences. When she sees the image again later in the Red Palace, the reflection follows Isolde just as the past also dogs her steps. When she comes closer to understanding her past as Yesenia, Isolde finally recognizes the image as Ravena. Likewise, when she destroys the mirrors after Ravena’s escape with The Book of Dis, she symbolically destroys her own misunderstanding of the past. This scene proves that she is now certain of her identity and her role in the world.

Isolde’s Dagger

Isolde’s dagger is a symbol of her independence. It first makes an appearance when Isolde references her own autonomy and states that her suitors often find themselves “facing the point of [her] dagger” (22). These suitors often seek to control Isolde, a presumption that enrages her and fuels her aversion to marriage. However, even after her marriage to Adrian, she keeps both her independence and her dagger, and she soon puts the blade to use when she stabs the noblesse who tries to force her to dance with him at the ball. However, unlike her past suitors, Adrian encourages Isolde to use her dagger and assert her freedom. When he temporarily takes the knife from her, he does so only to clean it and return it. Although she initially believes that he plans to take her knife away entirely, thereby robbing her of her autonomy, he merely ensures that her dagger remains unsullied, just as her independence remains unimpeded.

Goddesses

The goddesses that appear throughout the narrative are symbols of the magic that is now missing from Cordova. The first goddess mentioned is Dis, who is credited with creating the vampires and the blood-red sky of Revekka. Isolde initially disdains the goddesses entirely, and even though Nadia reveres them and implores Isolde to do the same, Isolde does not respect the goddesses because she has never seen them or their power firsthand. Notably, when she critiques Adrian’s lack of reverence for the goddesses, he responds, “Never forget, my queen, that goddesses are just humans with great power” (123). Isolde does not take the goddesses’ magic seriously; she grew up in a land without magic due to the aftermath of the Burning, when King Dragos destroyed the witches and the High Coven. Adrian’s comment draws attention to the fact that the witches were also humans with power so great that it cost them their lives. The goddesses, Adrian argues, are the same; just like the witches, they are symbolic of the magical power that can corrupt those who wield it.