From the Dragon’s Hoard: Heir of Fire | Matters of the Heart: Celaena’s Relationships

I absolutely love Sarah J. Maas—why? Well, for a number of reasons actually, but in this particular post, it’s because she didn’t fall into The Trap so many YA books have fallen into today, especially after the publication of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series. That’s right: the dreaded Love Triangle (or rectangle, or pentagon…).

Aw, yes, the love triangle, with its shallow characterizations and rather empty depiction of “true” love. I used to not mind them so much, but with the influx of them in recent years, I have now come to tiptoe around them—mostly because it tends to strip the characters of any of their importance/agency outside of their roles as love interests.

Now, this is not to say Maas didn’t skirt the edge of this trap. Indeed, Throne of Glass flirts with the possibility of a love triangle between Celaena, Chaol, and Dorian rather early on; it was the “obvious” story arc, one that would have emphasized Celaena’s journey as one of finding love (with some occasional kick-butt assassin fighting thrown in for good measure). But this isn’t what Maas does. Celaena’s story is not simply a love story against a fantasy backdrop (though I do occasionally enjoy those). No, while love does play a role—as it tends to in many life stories—it is only a facet of Celaena’s coming-of-age story. Because of this, Maas doesn’t create a love triangle in the traditional sense, where the protagonist finds herself in love with two other people at the same time. Instead, it’s more like a love mountain range, with relationships developing and peaking at different times with different people—something that is much more healthy and realistic.

In the first book, Celaena has a brief thing for Dorian, the crown prince of Adarlan, but by the end of Throne of Glass she forces herself to end it, as a relationship with him is both dangerous and not what she wants anymore (partially because of her developing relationship with Chaol, but also because of his status as the evil king’s son). She makes a decision—a hard one—but sticks by it, and although Dorian hurts over the course of Crown of Midnight, he eventually accepts Celaena’s decision and becomes one of her strongest rocks and friends, especially after Celaena’s fallout with Chaol over his accidental hand in Nehemia’s murder. Dorian even falls in love with Sorscha in Heir of Fire, reminding us readers of something very important: our first love is generally not our last, and that’s okay.

Which brings me next to Chaol, who was Celaena’s main love interest in Crown of Midnight. Unfortunately, to disastrous results. Chaol’s unintentional hand in Nehemia’s death creates an uncrossable rift between them at the end of book 2, and while they may be able to become friends again, and while there may be strong feelings on both sides still, I honestly don’t think it’s something they can come back from romantically. A deep trust was broken here, and while Chaol was incredibly important for Celaena’s recovery after Endovier, he is no longer what’s best for her.

As Dorian tells him outright in Heir of Fire,

“You cannot pick and choose what parts of her to love.”

Chaol cannot accept Celaena as her true self (Aelin, the fae heir to the throne of Terrasen), or even her assassin self for that matter. He has trouble reconciling these darker aspects of her character, and you know what, that’s completely normal and true to his steadfast character. But Aelin—for that is who she truly is and becomes again over the course of Heir of Fire—needs someone who accepts all of her: her jagged edges, her traumas, her magic, her past and all its ugliness.

Celaena recognizes this at the end of Chapter 33—one of her lowest points—when she thinks how

“it would have been nice, she supposed. It would have been nice to have one person who knew the absolute truth about her—and didn’t hate her for it. It would have been really, really nice” (276).

Aelin/Celaena is broken and needs someone who accepts all of her, which is something that Chaol has failed to do.

Which is why she finally slips his ring off her finger at the end of the book. She loved him and misses him (and will probably always still love him, in a sense), but she recognizes too that it is time to move on. In taking off his ring, she is symbolically letting him go, a process that mirrors the book’s larger theme of letting go of the past and its hold over you. Slipping off the ring is “a blessed release, a final shadow lifted from her heart.” That doesn’t mean her relationship with Chaol wasn’t good, or that she doesn’t still care for him—she is still going back, to “make sure he was safe—and would remain that way” (560)—but she is moving on, and that is good and normal.

Which brings me to Rowan, but that relationship deserves its own post, so that’s coming next! In the meantime, what do you guys make of Celaena’s relationships? Are you still pro-Dorian or pro-Chaol? Do you think either them could develop into a love interest once more as everyone grows over the last few books of the series? Feel free to comment below!