#inner court critical

[simmanin]

Remember in ACOSF when Rhysand got the bill from the bar and he read it out loud and raged at the table while Feyre silently cried into her breakfast?

Yeah, what the fuck was that? Did that not make anyone else feel severely uncomfortable? It felt like a weird power play, with the intentions to embarrass Feyre so she would agree to lock her sister up. He didn’t care about the money. And we know at least him and Amren have been planning the intervention for a while, given how fast they called Nesta to the river house and the lies Amren spewed so confidently.

Idk if SJM intended it to come across that way, but it was really fucking weird to me

#acosf #anti rhysand #anti inner circle #anti amren #rhysand critical #inner court critical #amren critical

[kataraavatara]

dare I dip my toes into acotar fandom discourse….

#i am sooooo sorry followers ik this is not what you signed up for #anti rhysand #anti inner circle #hewn city #court of nightmares #acotar #a court of thorns and roses #a court of wings and ruin #rhysand critical

[whitedemon-ladydeath]

"rhys is finally in a time of peace and is happy with a healthy mate and son. of course hed rip into Nesta. Shes lucky he didnt do worse"

and. who do you think gave him that.

WHO do you think gave you that healthy mate and son, Rhysand? Mr. Let's Steal the Book Entrusted to the Summer Court. Mr. Let me just Routinely bypass Boundaries and Taunt High Lords due to a Personal Vendetta. Mr. Let me make a Death Pact with my Wife and potentially Leave my Court with no Ruler and make my child an Orphan. Mr. Let Me make a dangerous Deal with a Death God

The Dread Trove answers to Nesta. She is not one of Rhysands little special bootlickers like the rest of them. she made a calculated risk to help someone in dire need

Feyre would have done the same thing and you fucking know it

#a court of thorns and roses #acotar #sjm critical #nesta archeron #anti rhysand #anti inner circle

[wannabewriterlol]

I want tamlin and Nesta to start a therapy group and just work through the copious amount of gaslighting they’ve faced by Rhysand, Ferye, and the his merry band of idiots.

#and let’s be honest #just the whole of #prythian #like I just want them to sit down with a cup of wine and just open up #and recover together #I also want Nesta to help recover the spring court #pro nesta #nesta archeron #nesta acosf #tamlin #pro tamlin #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acosf #acotar critical #sara j mass critical #acofas #anti inner circle #anti rhysand #feyre critical

[littlefeltsparrow]

Schrödinger’s Feyre: Where Feyre is simultaneously a cunning and badass girlboss with a mind of steel and a fragile little lamb who doesn’t know any better. When they’re proud, she’s a skilled strategist and competent High Lady, but when it comes to facing the consequences of her actions and the implications of her power, suddenly she’s a little baby waddling through fairy land.

#And the perfect case study? just look at the indecisiveness of her stans when it comes to her culpability in the downfall of the Spring Cou #In one camp Feyre is an excellent and clever strategist who expertly infiltrated enemy territory to destroy those who wronged her #She exacts righteous revenge on her enemy with her wits…but when Tamlin points out the collateral damage wrought upon the innocent civilian #of the Spring Court suddenly it wasn’t Feyre’s fault at all and it was ACTUALLY entirely Tamlin’s fault that the Spring Court fell #Suddenly Feyre had nothing to do with it…how convenient lol #sjm critical #anti sjm #anti inner circle #feyre archeron #anti feyre #acotar #acomaf #acowar #anti feysand #anti acosf #anti rhysand #tamlin #pro tamlin

[spacerockfloater]

The way people switched on Tamlin the moment Rhys was introduced is diabolical.

“Tamlin never really loved Feyre, it was all a trick from the start”: It is stated that Tamlin was disgusted by the idea of forcing someone to fall in love with him and considered it slavery, but ended up being so in love with her that he ultimately lets her go and choses her freedom and safety over that of his own people. Rhys confirms that Tamlin loved Feyre too much. And he loved her truly. Not because he had to. Tamlin treated Feyre with dignity when she was engaged to him. He introduced her as his lady, to be respected and cherished by all. And she really was loved his people, too. Rhysand uses her as his lap dog to scare Hewn City and parades her as his whore.

“Tamlin never did anything for Feyre, he just used her”: He improved her and her family’s life in every aspect and offered her everything he had.

“Tamlin had sex with someone else in Calanmai”: Out of duty and responsibility because he didn’t want to force Feyre, who still wasn’t sure about her feelings, into it. All of the High Lords perform the Calanmai. Lucien says so. How convenient that this is never brought up with Rhysand. He surely does perform it as well. All the theories in here, “Lucien doesn’t know what he’s talking about/ This is a SC ritual only/ He probably just passes the duty on to someone else” are just a way for people to villainise Tam and glorify Rhys again. All of them inaccurate. The Calanmai is canonically performed by every High Lord. There’s no evidence that proves otherwise. As the son of one High Lord and the ambassador of another, Lucien would know. He is 500 years old. It’s just more convenient for SJM to never bring this up again because it raises the question of “Who was Rhysand fucking all these years?” and it makes her favourite character look bad. And once he is engaged to her, Tamlin flat out refuses to do it. Let’s be real for a second.

“Tamlin didn’t help Feyre under the mountain”: He literally could not. He was bound by a curse. He was forced to be Amarantha’s consort and a consort cannot oppose you. His powers were bound. Alis warns Feyre that Tamlin will not be able to help her. Stop acting as if he didn’t want to help her. He decapitated Amarantha the moment he got his autonomy back. Claiming that there’s no proof that Tamlin was under the influence of a spell when he literally didn’t break the curse and Amarantha’s magic didn’t allow him to use his powers is crazy. And even if he tried, he could never provide actual help. We see this when he begs Amarantha for Feyre’s life. Him showing he cares about her would only make Amarantha more jealous and vicious towards Feyre.

“Tamlin made out with Feyre instead of helping her”: He couldn’t help her run away. No one could do that. She would never make it, Amarantha would find her. In fact, Tamlin specifically could not help her in any way. He could only assure her he still wants and loves her. And she wanted that just as much. Rhys abused her physically, mentally, verbally, drugged her and much worse. And he enjoyed all of it. If he didn’t want to raise suspicions, he wouldn’t have placed a bet in her favour. Rhys is a masochist, SJM just decided to mellow him down in the next book so that we’d all like him over Tamlin.

“Tamlin ignored Feyre’s wishes and only wanted her to be his bride, he didn’t let her be High Lady”: Both Tamlin and Feyre were bad communicators going though trauma and Tam had a whole court to care for. Tamlin was unaware of how Feyre felt because she barely spoke up once. Rhys knew because he literally lived inside her head and had all the time in the world to focus his attention on her since his court suffered zero consequences during Amarantha’s reign. And Tamlin simply told her the truth: there’s no such thing as High Lady. Even her current title is given to her by Rhys, the magic of Prythian has not actually chosen her to be High Lady. The title and its power are decorative. And she said she didn’t want that anyway.

“Tamlin locks Feyre up and uses his magic to harm her”: He locks her in his humongous palace to keep her safe, after she just came back from the dead and his worst enemy is kidnapping her every month, while he runs off to protect his borders. Rhysand lock Feyre in a fucking bubble. Tamlin loses control of his magic. He doesn’t want to harm her. That’s not abuse. Abuse is intentional. Feyre and Rhysand lock Lucien and Nesta up. They lock the people of the Hewn City up in a cave. Feyre loses control of her magic and harms Lucien’s mother. Double standards I guess.

“Tamlin is a bad and conservative ruler”: Tamlin is such a beloved ruler that his sentries literally begged to die for him. Feyre had to fuck with their minds to finally turn them against him. They were his friends. He was so progressive that the lords fled his court once he became their ruler because he wouldn’t put up with their bullshit like his father did. He loved all of his people. He is against slavery. The Tithe was just tax collection. Rhysand practically rules over just one city, while ignoring Hewn City and Illyria. He treats 2/3 of his realm like shit and everyone except the residents of Velaris hates him. He collects tax, too, but we conveniently never see this. He ranks the members of his inner circle (my 1st, my 2nd etc.) and reminds them every moment that they are his slaves first and anything else second, while Tamlin treats them equally and even gives Lucien an official title by naming him Ambassador.

“Tamlin conspired with Hybern”: He was a double agent and his short lived alliance, two weeks all in all, not only didn’t harm a single soul, but ultimately saved all of Prythian as he was the only one who brought valuable information to that meeting. He dragged Beron to battle. Rhysand’s alliance with Amarantha harmed thousands and only helped save one city, Velaris.

“Tamlin is responsible for turning Nesta and Elain into Fae”: No, that was Ianthe, who got the info from Feyre. Tamlin was fooled by her, just as Feyre obviously was, or she wouldn’t have trusted her. Tamlin was disgusted by that act.

“Tamlin is less powerful than Rhysand”: Rhysand himself says that a battle between them would turn mountains to dust. Tamlin killed Rhysand’s dad, the previous High Lord of the Night Court, in one blow. He is just as powerful as Rhysand. SJM again just wants us to believe otherwise. And he is smarter, too. He was the only one not to trust Amarantha. And he was a good spy for Prythian against Hybern.

All of these takes are cold as fuck. SJM was testing the waters with ACOTAR and she made sure the main love interest, Tamlin, was insanely likeable, so that the book could be a satisfactory standalone story in case she couldn’t land a trilogy deal. She didn’t know it would be such a big hit. But once she realised she could turn this into a franchise, she had to figure out a new story to tell. She may claim otherwise, but there’s just too many plothotes to convince me. And in order to make her new main love interest seem like the best choice, she had to character assassinate the old one. There was no other way. ACOTAR Rhys was too much of an evil monster to be loved by the majority of the audience. But Tamlin was introduced to us as such a heroic and passionate man that is literally impossible to turn him into someone despised by all. Feyre’s relationship with Rhysand reads too much like cheating on Tamlin. That’s why anyone with basic analytical skills is able to realise the flaws of the narration.

#acotar critical #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acosf #acofas #anti sjm #sjm critical #tamlin #tamlin week #pro tamlin #he deserves the world #tamlin my beloved #anti amren #anti rhysand #anti morrigan #anti ic #anti inner circle #anti feyre archeron #anti feyre #anti feysand #anti night court #pro spring court #anti cassian #pro lucien vanserra

[deathbealady]

has anyone talked about how gullible Feyre is, and the implications of it for the entirety of the ACOTAR series? Feyre is basically the sole lens through which we see the world for the first 3.5 books, and although a lot of things we kind of have to just take at face value (explanations given to her about how the fae courts work, etc), she also misinterprets a lot of stuff bc she’s young/naive/uneducated/lacks perspective. it’s understandable to a degree, but I feel like Feyre lacks serious critical thinking skills to the point that it’s alarming. (I’ve mentioned before Feyre is not my favorite character, and this is one of the reasons why)

like, I’m just thinking about how in ACOMAF, Rhysand has her writing lines to practice reading and writing. okay sure, fair enough

but Feyre writes “Rhysand is the most powerful high lord” one time too many and she’s suddenly like “Rhysand IS the most powerful high lord!”, which is bizarre. Rhysand is a powerful daemati, yes, that’s been demonstrated to us. we know that as a high lord, his power would presumably be comparable to that of the others. but for him to be the most powerful high lord? I don’t recall that any of that is really shown to us, it’s just Feyre/SJM telling us repeatedly until we believe it (which parallels how Feyre presumably wrote those lines so much she began to believe them herself)

Basically she starts hanging around Rhysand, and she manages to get brainwashed so quickly and thoroughly that it’s kind of wild. think of how quickly she takes to the Inner Circle and she immediately decides they are *her* family (and kinda forsaking her own actual sisters in the process if ACOSF is any indication) because Rhysand calls them his family. like honestly? if Nesta decided she didn’t trust Rhysand based purely off of how differently her sister started acting when she was hanging around the Night Court, I don’t fuckin’ blame her!

#someone please use the cauldron to make a brain for feyre #feyre critical #anti rhysand #anti inner circle #acotar #a court of thorns and roses #sjm critical #acotar conspiracy theories

[lainalit]

artist: mftfernandez

#I am begging sarah to let this man go #why is tamlin out here always having uninvited guests in his court #have they not something better to do than disrespect a su!cidal man in his house #acotar critical #sjm critical #anti sjm #anti acotar #anti rhysand #anti ic #anti inner circle #pro tamlin #acotar memes

[thedickgraysons]

okay look. i KNOW the moment we get more time and content with him, it’s going to be revealed that eris is wearing a mask, and he’s doing all of these things for his mother and his people, and hey he isn’t really a BAD guy, he’s just been given a bad hand! i know this.

but at the same time i’m going to be so angry if he goes to the rhysand school of “actually im the best person ever YOU’RE wrong for ever doubting me.”

i want him to have a sharp tongue, and say some shitty things. i want him to make bad choices and not hand wave them away as good. we’ve spent far too much time with the inner circle who portray themselves as cruel, just to get genuinely offended when people then take them at their own word (and actions) treat them accordingly. i need eris to be a bitch and i need him to OWN it!! as a reward.

#a court of thorns and roses #acotar #eris vanserra #sjm critical #inner circle critical #i would like half of the characters more if they were allowed to be problematic favs #they’re all like 500 years old and act like toddlers with no emotional regulation #which could make sense if sjm played into the fact that she gives her characters NO consequences #but i digress #it is projection o’clock and i love (one) chaotic neutral redhead #pro eris vanserra

[yaralulu]

Rhys trying to convince everyone at the high lords meeting he’s actually a good person and in the same breath saying it’d be so much easier to slice into their minds and have them do whatever he wants but he won’t because he’s just so nice was wilddd.Like wow rhys you’re such a good person for not scrambling in people’s heads and taking away their choices and autonomy clearly your evilness was just a act do you want a medal for the bare minimum 😍??

#this is slowly becoming an anti rhys blog #i can’t help it he’s pissing me off these days #not rhys trying to reverse psychology the high lords lolol #a court of thorns and roses #acowar #anti rhysand #rhysand critical #acotar #anti inner circle

[novaricewrites]

If Magic Chooses-

So we know the magic in Prythian ties the land, Courts, and the High Lords and can be vaguely sentient (as with the Cauldron).

It's unclear how it chooses the High Lords but the magic seems to be deliberate and adheres faithfully to whoever it chooses. Even Amarantha couldn't fully access it despite all that she did - she could only prevent the Lords from using it against her.

So imagine if this was explored.

E.g: The time when Feyre and the IC stole the Book of Breathings from the Summer Court as guests - literally committing a crime worthy of a magical death sentence. This then left the Summer Court open to Hybern's invasion, further enabled by what Feyre did in the Spring Court.

This didn't just harm the High Lords. It harmed the Courts in a major way. The very land and the people living in there were devastated by it. And it must have caused mass turmoil that even the magic sensed.

So imagine because of this intricate connection to the land, the people and the High Lords - it caused Feyre's bond to the Spring and Summer magic to become hard to control or even the magic rejecting her.

The kernels of magic are technically still the High Lords'. They're not Feyre's magic but were gifted like handing her a scale off their essence. And it would make sense if the magic reacted to the state of the High Lords (and deeper the courts themselves) if they experienced deep, visceral emotions & damage thanks to Feyre.

Magic being fickle about who wields it would sort of suit the capriciousness of Faeries. It would also require Feyre to use her wits and sense to navigate situations instead of resorting to the Feysand tactics of Lie, Steal and Justify.

It would give actual consequences and gravity to her actions, and add depth to why her being a Made Fae is a big deal. She is now attached via these kernels of magic to the land in a way that she can't run from. Just as High Lords (even those reluctant like Tamlin are).

Just the plot potential and character development. And the internal conflict over actions that we never got.

#acotar #acotar analysis #sjm critical #anti sjm #anti feyre archeron #but not really cause I wanted to like her in the beginning #anti rhysand #he still and always sucked though #anti inner circle #anti ic #anti amren #we were robbed #a court of thorns and roses #feyre critical #pro tarquin #summer court #spring court #pro spring court #tamlin

[simmanin]

I’m so tired of the “Well Nesta needs tough love!!” rhetoric because we saw how much she healed when people weren’t constantly down her throat expecting her to be this perfect, healed woman.

Emerie and Gwyn came in and they didn’t have some preconceived notions about her. They didn’t treat her like she was some monster for “letting” her sister go out and hunt. They didn’t treat her like shit for having very valid responses to traumatic events. They saw a hurting girl and actually reached out their hands to her. They didn’t force her to confide to walls they built, they didn’t hold her sisters’ safety over her head in order to get her to do something dangerous. They didn’t harass her when she walked away from a situation. Didn’t force her to talk when she didn’t want to talk. Didn’t call her names and tell her how worthless she was for not living up to some standard.

I will forever be grateful for Gwyneth “Your story is worth telling” Berdara and Emerie “If you’re cold out there, you shouldn’t suffer. No matter what the High Lord may think” for making ACOSF so amazing.

They helped Nesta heal in ways no on else could.

#nesta acosf #acosf #pro nesta archeron #pro gwyneth berdara #pro emerie acotar #the valkyries #pro valkyries #inner court critical #cassian critical #rhysand critical #when i catch you hofas cassian…

[kataraavatara]

do y’all think that there are hewn city citizens who were born, lived their whole lives, and then died without ever seeing sunlight or the stars once. because they are literally trapped under the mountain, no? Mor was allowed outside apparently but by ACOWAR this exchange happens:

so they’re trapped inside of a mountain and can’t get out? how horribly claustrophobic. how confusing and scary for a little child.

#hewn city acotar #hewn city #court of nightmares #night court critical #night court #anti inner circle #inner circle critical #carly’s anti rhysand manifesto #anti rhysand #feyre critical #acotar critical #keir acotar #keir

[theweeklydiscourse]

What Makes Feyre’s Pregnancy Plotline in A Court of Silver Flames so Upsetting?

The answer is that the events and outcome concerning Feyre’s pregnancy speak to a fear of one’s loss of autonomy, specifically one’s reproductive autonomy. Furthermore, this plotline demonstrates Maas' consistent prioritization of her male characters at the expense of her female characters. Multiple factors make this subplot feel particularly uncomfortable and upsetting, but I can condense them into three main points that converge to create one frustrating scenario.

1. Rhysand and the Question of Choice

From ACOMAF onwards, the reader is made aware of Rhysand’s unusually progressive politics and his attention to the autonomous choices of women. This is demonstrated through his selection of counsel, appointing Mor and Amren in roles of authority, and eventually crowing Feyre as High Lady of the Night Court. In addition to this, we are shown his emphasis on choice through his interactions with Feyre. Rhysand repeatedly reminds Feyre that she can choose, that she can make an autonomous decision that he will respect. So, it is these positive features of Rhysand that make the pregnancy subplot of ACOSF so disturbing.

He, and the Inner Circle by extension, purposefully omit the information that Feyre’s pregnancy will turn deadly and never volunteer the information to her. During Cassian’s meeting with Rhysand and Amren, we are shown their thought process behind withholding information from Nesta (and Feyre by extension) According to Amren, it is not lying because they are technically not telling lies in the traditional sense, only withholding information.

While this is about Nesta, the reader can see the parallels between both cases. The choice to lie by omission reveals that both Amren and Rhysand are aware of the dishonesty of their actions, choosing to mitigate it slightly on a technicality. It feels distinctly like a loophole in Rhysand’s previous promises to Feyre, making this act feel more deceitful while demonstrating Rhysand’s willingness to undermine Feyre’s authority as High Lady. If Rhysand had a condition or illness that would eventually kill him, informing him of it would be certain, you wouldn’t even consider the possibility of not telling him. However, because Feyre is pregnant, she is not afforded the same autonomy.

Wanting to keep Feyre in blissful ignorance is not a sufficient reason, especially when Feyre is still of sound mind and can advocate for herself. Rhysand’s reasoning sounds noble, but in reality, it is just benevolent sexism. It doesn’t matter if he thinks it will cause Feyre stress, she NEEDS to be aware of what’s going on and the fact that the news will ruin her peaceful pregnancy is of little consequence when her life is on the line. Rhysand prioritizes his feelings and implicitly gives himself executive authority over Feyre’s pregnancy, demonstrating his disregard for her autonomy and choices. This action directly contradicts the progressive beliefs Rhysand stated in previous books and is a betrayal for the reader as well as Feyre.

2. The Infantilization of Feyre

The omission of this critical information, good intentions or not, is based on a belief that Feyre would not be competent enough to handle such a pressing situation in her pregnant state. Amren claims that the stress and fear could have physically harmed Feyre, but such a claim assumes that Feyre would not have the fortitude or ability to handle the situation.

Amren's explanation demonstrates a belief that Feyre's input on the matter would be irrelevant and pointless because it prevents Feyre from offering any. It is a plan that assumes Feyre will not be able to add anything meaningful to the solution and that it would be less harmful to her if she was kept out of it. This is infantilizing and paternalistic because Feyre has proven herself to be capable of coping under pressure and happens to be an unprecedented magical anomaly. Feyre’s access to pertinent medical information should not be revoked and it is insane that Madja her physician, actively misleads her with Rhysand’s consent.

This infantilization of a pregnant character echoes how pregnant women have been infantilized throughout history. It is a terrifying thought to imagine that your bodily autonomy could be stripped from you in the name of serving your supposed best interest. Rosemary’s Baby is one of the most famous horror movies of all time and it explores this exact topic, the same is true for the short story The Yellow Wallpaper, both stories capture the horror of reproductive/medical abuse that still happens to women today.

3. The Aftermath & Prioritizing Male Rage

Lastly, one of the most disturbing elements of this subplot is the way the text consistently prioritizes and coddles the violent rage of male characters at the expense of female characters. This is on full display when Rhysand flies into an intense rage after Nesta reveals the truth to Feyre. Although Nesta can be faulted for her harsh phrasing, let it be known that even Feyre felt that she did the right thing and was expressing her anger at the paternalistic and unjust practices of the Inner Circle. However, Nesta is still subjected to severe physical and emotional punishment in the form of a grueling hike where she is left to stew in her guilt and suicidal ideation despite Feyre ultimately not faulting her.

Feyre admits that Rhysand “majorly overreacted” and that she wanted Nesta back in Velaris. And yet, Nesta is still punished. But why? Will Rhysand or any of the Inner Circle be punished for betraying Feyre? Why, if Feyre agreed that Nesta was right to tell her, would she ever need to be subjected to a severe punishment when she was justified in what she did?

This is a particularly telling detail that compels me to ask: is this punishment about Feyre’s feelings or Rhysand’s? Why is it that Rhysand’s “overreaction” needs to be assuaged by punishing Nesta? What I observe from this passage is the characters prioritizing the feelings of a male character and placating him with the suffering of a female character, even when he wasn’t the one who was hurt in that situation. Feyre asks Cassian to tell Rhysand that the hike will be Nesta's punishment as though it isn't truly a punishment, but it undoubtedly is.

Throughout the hike, Nesta is in a silent spiral of guilt and self-hatred, Cassian never tells her that Feyre is alright and that Rhysand overreacted, letting her dwell in it alone. He hardly speaks to her, he pushes her to the point of exhaustion and is somehow surprised that Nesta shows signs of suicidal ideation.

This isn't constructive at all, it is not evidence that Cassian cares about Nesta's well-being, and the scenes of Nesta internally repeating that she deserves to die and that everyone hates her are nothing but gratuitous and disgustingly self-indulgent. The text basks in Nesta's suffering, even when she was in the right and this hike only happened to placate Rhysand who wronged Feyre in the first place.

Hindsight am I right? Fuck off. A more productive resolution to this matter would be for Feyre and Nesta to talk it out ALONE. Feyre could express her feelings to Nesta directly and they could find a solution together, that way Feyre’s situation could be centered on the two sisters working together. Cassian can see that Feyre is alright, she’s obviously upset, but she didn’t crumble like he expected and that makes it completely baffling that he would punish Nesta anyway. It’s a solution that prioritizes his and Rhysand’s feelings as opposed to Feyre’s, making it not about a perceived transgression against Feyre, but against Rhysand.

In Conclusion

This topic has already been discussed at length by many people in the fandom, but it is a topic that still stays on my mind with how upsetting it is. It is a stunning example of the misogynistic undertones in Sarah J Maas’s writing and makes reading a very straining experience due to her obvious bias towards certain male characters. Not even her main character matters when Rhysand is factored into the situation, his emotions are always centred by other characters and is permitted to betray his wife and get off scot free.

Feyre’s reproductive autonomy is violated, and Maas doesn’t bat an eye. But when Nesta rightfully reveals the truth to Feyre, everyone loses their mind. Both Nesta and Feyre have their autonomy stripped away from the, by way of the Inner Circle’s paternalism, and when Nesta advocates for herself and Feyre, she is punished severely. Being put in her place as the hierarchy is strengthened.

#a court of silver flames #acotar #nesta archeron #acotar meta #feyre archeron #amren #rhysand critical #rhysand #cassian #sarah j maas #acosf meta #anti nessian #close reading #acotar analysis #anti sarah j maas #anti sjm #anti inner circle

[whitedemon-ladydeath]

which women we talkin about quickly now

#a court of thorns and roses #acotar #sjm critical #anti rhysand #anti inner circle #tamlin

[littlefeltsparrow]

I think the way Sarah J Maas depicts Tamlin’s abusive traits are indicative of the simplistic understanding she has when it comes to depictions of abuse. Even when the text views Tamlin as irredeemable for his actions, it still strangely gives him an out by bringing magic into it. By having his magical outbursts be involuntary (and have little evidence to challenge that notion) she makes abuse seem like the accidental result of uncontrollable emotion as opposed to deliberate tactics of control.

This is why she can’t clock the irony of Rhysand presenting a compelling case of covert abuse, because she doesn’t have the imagination to consciously write an emotionally abusive or controlling dynamic.

#I think Tamlin is treated unfairly #to be clear I’m not even really convinced by the idea that Tamlin is an evil abuser #it just seems like the abuse narrative just…isn’t good enough to convey it #anti sjm #acotar #anti acosf #tamlin #sjm critical #anti inner circle #a court of thorns and roses #anti rhysand