From the Dragon’s Hoard: Heir of Fire | Dealing with Trauma

We have finally arrived at the last post in this mini-blog series! Although it’s a bit on the heavier side, I think it warrants discussion; what I’m talking about here is the way Maas deals with trauma in her books. Having read many YA books that gloss over the repercussions of death and psychological/physiological trauma, I couldn’t help but admire that Maas not only discusses it, but makes it part of the primary plot arc in Heir of Fire.

Indeed, Heir of Fire reminds me a lot of the ending of Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games trilogy, where we see how the traumas of war affect Katniss (and others) down the line. We are reminded that our actions (and those actions done upon us) do not happen in a vacuum; they irrevocably change us. They can break us and destroy us, but they can also reforge us, like the proverbial phoenix rising from the ashes—making us stronger than ever before. Because of the power of trauma, it’s incredibly important that YA books address its effects in their narratives. Not only because it can teach us how to talk about and deal with trauma—to acknowledge it and do something about it—but also because it can provide hope for those who have suffered from trauma themselves, whether those scars are visible or not.

*Warning! Spoilers Ahead!

In Heir of Fire, Celaena must overcome her awful past if she is to take control of her own power and agency. She is not only dealing with the psychological traumas of surviving Endovier and seeing her best friend brutally murdered, she is also dealing with childhood traumas. She feels the weight of death: those of her countrymen, her family, and above all, that of Lady Marion, who sacrificed herself so that Celaena could escape her assassin. These traumas are very much the traumas of war, of a child of a conquered land who somehow survived the assault. Indeed, it is survivor’s guilt, among other things.

Celaena must come to terms with these traumas in order to take up her inheritance, to become a true heroine strongly rooted in her own strength. She is “the heir of ash and fire” and must learn to harness her own strengths and weaknesses so that she will “bow to no one” (499). Maas reveals how difficult this journey of self-discovery is, however—how lonely and hard it can be when taken alone. Which is why it’s so important that the road to recovery is not taken alone. This is why Rowan is so incredibly important in this novel; he is Celaena’s greatest comfort, the one who can both understand her and push her to embrace herself and her untamed power (which can be seen as not just her magical power, but her power as a person).

There are moments when she feels lost and does “not know the way” (304). But that’s why she doesn’t take the journey alone; Rowan walks with her every step of the way. They will “find their way back together” (304). Celaena realizes that opening up to Rowan, claiming him as a friend, can lead to her recovery from her past traumas. Like her, he “did understand what it was like to be crippled at your very core” since he too was “someone who was still climbing inch by inch out of that abyss” (305).

If nothing else, this what truly makes me love Rowan and Celaena’s relationship. They both come from terrible pasts, but they lend each other strength to push on up out of the abyss of their pasts and their memories. They are survivors together, and it is with their combined strength that they are able to defeat the Valg Princes and the terrors they embody. By reaching out, Celaena is able to claim ownership over herself, to ask for forgiveness and forgive herself, and ultimately let the horrors of the past go. And she is stronger for it.

What do you guys think about the trauma throughout the Throne of Glass books. Do you find it realistic? Do you think it was handled well?

*All quotes are taken from the hardcover edition.