The Death of Violetâs Worldview
I just saw @nesta331917âs post about how Violet being unable to trust Xaden in Iron Flame makes complete sense and I just wanted to spit out my thoughts on thatâand Violetâs characterizationâbecause I completely agree!!
When Iâm rereading I tend to fixate on Violetâs difficulty grappling with failure (to uncover the truth sooner, to save Liam, to protect her friends from the bitter truth & dangerous rebellion, to raise the wards in Aretiaâwhatever defeat she is internalizing at the moment) not only because Iâm in this photo and I donât like it, but also because it is such great characterization.
Violet previously protected the people she loves (and herself) by weaponizing the wealth of information she had, but now the very foundation she used to define herself has been ripped out from under her. Not only was she unaware of the reality of venin, wyvern, and the truth behind the attacks on Navarreâs wards, the entire rebellion that she (and her dad!! her favorite person!!) has studied and analyzed for her entire life was censored and propagandized by her government to shape public opinion and she was none the wiser.
For someone who is centered by facts, information, and truth, to learn that youâve been on the wrong side of history at no faultâor choiceâof your own is devastating. Itâs a feeling of utter powerlessness and betrayal; no matter how many hours Violet had explored the archives, no matter how many times she reread the death tolls, maps, and battle strategies, no matter how ferociously she believed in the power of information, nothing could change the dismal reality that the truth was simply not accessible to her.
Not only that, but the discovery that her own mother was complicit in the death and destruction of entire provinces for the benefit of her country and children introduces a whole new burden of guilt and hypocrisy Violet didnât know she complied with. Add in that (1) the man sheâs just fallen in love with is leading a revolution against these terrors she knew nothing about, (2) Dain, Violetâs best friend since she was a child, stole her memories to aid in the hypocrisy of their government and nearly get her killed, and (3) her brother Brennan, whose death completely altered the fabric of her whole family and may have contributed to their fatherâs own death, is fucking ALIVE, and itâs the perfect (onyx) storm of disillusionment. Absolutely everything Violet held true came barreling down in a matter of weeks, and no amount of rereading or reanalyzing could mend the hurt or justify Navarreâs (and, from Violetâs perspective, her) lack of intervention.
Violet is selfless to a fault, and being misinformed about the horrors outside of the wards robbed her of her choice to defend the defenseless. Of course we saw her escape Basgiath/the âsafetyâ of Navarre to join the revolution as soon as she could, but the feeling of failing not only those you love, but also countless others you didnât even know were in peril is still so heavy. She also has consistently been targeted for being The Generalâs Daughter, and now the full implications of that association is branded on her like a third relic.
Of course Violetâs relationship with Xaden has been affected by the guilt, betrayal, and disillusionment that are ingrained within it, whether either of them has accepted it or not. Even if Xaden had nothing to do with the revolution and they were living happily ever after before graduation, once the truth about the dark wielders came to light and Violet didnât know up from down Iâm sure the identity crisis still would have (at the very least) strained their relationship.
I so desperately need Violet and Xaden to finally be able to finish their fight and figure out how to move forward while trusting each other.
Give Violet (And Xaden) A Break 2025, Pleeease Rebecca