I—and many others—have talked about the motivators behind Feyre's decision to go UTM. Something that is always leveraged against the readers and other characters in the novel is the idea that Feyre sacrificed herself to "save Prythian." And, from a literary POV, it has always bothered me because...that's not true. Feyre did not go UTM the save Prythian -- she went down there because she realized that she essentially fucked over Clare Beddor.
And I think this distinction matters for a lot of reasons, but specifically because it changes what we (as readers) expect out of characters like Feyre. Like -- think of Katniss, and the burden that followed internally because she truly did not think she would start a revolution; she simply saved herself and Peeta out of instinct. That matters -- because it shapes how Katniss responds to being thrust into these roles of leadership, and how she struggles with it.
Feyre went down there, partially out of love, but moreso out of guilt. There's never a moment of growth where Feyre realizes -- 'Hey -- there's a whole population of people trapped UTM."
EVEN, when she goes UTM, she doesn't bargain for the lives of the rest of the people, she ONLY bargains for Tamlin's power and court . There's never a full circle moment from the curse where Feyre realizes the humanity of these people (from her previous hatred, which was a stipulation of the curse). And again - its so annoying because Feyre's sacrifice is heavily thrust into our face; Rhysand threatens Tarquin with this sentiment, yet it's not trueeeee. If anything - Amarantha is more helpful in this regard because SHE Is the one who offers these extra stipulations.
The point isn't to diminish what Feyre went through, but to acknowledge the reality of why she went down there: It was guilt. And that changes a lot of what I take from Feyre's internal narrative. Especially in moments where she essentially judges the Spring Court people for trying to have a normal life after fifty years...in a concentration camp. The story is asking me to leverage Feyre's three months (that she, for the most part, has little to no memory of) against these people who were essentially treated as...cattle. How am I supposed to to sympathize with a petulant narrative that never zooms out from Feyre's interiority. The story simply resorts to bastardizing Feyre's motivations to fit a narrative that, in my opinion, does not exist.
It's why, I feel her journey falls flat in MAF. There's never a moment where she actually realizes the humanity and breadth and similarities between the Fae and humans. Never a moment where she reflects on her hatred of Andras and understands the brevity of her killing him. Because if we're following the curse -- Feyre murdered Andras in cold blood. (and that;s fine, narratively, because the whole point is for Feyre to grow to love the Fae as she loves humans). Yet, in FAS, she immediately just...dehumanizes Andras, and never thinks about the fact she murdered him. It's so weird. But its why I think there's a disconnect between myself and a lot of people who stan Feyre.
