Reading QoS and for a moment Aelinās lack of awareness is baffling, never once considering that a woman raised in a brothel since the age of a young child would want an escape; would dislike and be in opposition to the things sheās being forced into.
But then I remember, in her defense itās normal to not know things. As you go through life you will be ignorant, and ignorance is not inherently malicious, or wrong, itās just a lack of understanding, and not always looking past what you know to see that other possibilities and narratives are out there.
Nobody is born knowing the circumstances of others without learning of them; you have to look past your own experiences to discover someone elseās.
Now with that all acknowledged, I would still like to reflect on her and her way of thought here . . .
Aelin is someone who is very self involved and very selfish. Now, contradicting this, she is also someone who thinks a lot about others and does find the idea of sacrificing herself for anotherāor many othersāas simply right; she believes herself tainted and her purpose contingent on who she can save, and who she can avenge, despite also being on autopilot to survive anything that comes at her.
It makes sense that two abused children who were raised in separate, different forms of exploitation by predatory and manipulative adults (Arobynn in particular who wants Aelin at least to be dependent on him for a multitude of things he could offer her), wouldnāt recognize the otherās situation for what it was: abuse.
For Aelin sheās raised to be skilled, adored but always redoubtable. Sheās brought up being taught that mistakes = violence because anyone in the Real World will do just as bad if not worse; sheās not blind to the ways that society and scummy humans work, and being taught a lesson in a controlled environment by someone who āwants the best for youā is preferable to being assaulted in a back alley, right? And Iām going to talk a lot more on my view of Aelin & physical violence because Iāve thought extensively about it and have a lot of opinionsābut that will be another time. For now, thoughā¦
Aelin looks at Lysandra and sees someone who, in some ways, appears to have gotten the better end of the stick. Lysandra is groomed, preened to perform in a capacity to please sexually. Now I think a big difference between them and their ārivalryā (which was of course a result of their teachings and the attitudes the adults using & influencing them both had), is Aelin did not receive an abundance of affection ever (to my understanding); Arobynn was meticulously scarce with showing her clear signs of love, so when he did it had a greater impactāthus leading to a larger effect on her and how she responds when he throws out this bargaining chip. E.g. telling her he loves her in TAB.
Hoping this is all making at least some senseā¦
Lysandra on the other hand, while also lacking a necessary level of love and support, found countless praise in her beauty, and was validated in her looks (so was Aelin, but Iām sure by more external factors). She was ālovedā (and I hate even using that Here) in a way that Aelin wasnāt: being āpickedā by Aelinās own master.
And while Aelin has expressed occasional pity and sometimes empathy to sex workers in this series, and has a distaste for rape (as is referenced in literally the first book, from her time in Endovier early on), she does not have a very good view about women and womanhood IMO.
Yes we have moments like her aiding Yrene and explaining techniques for physical safety to her, but more specifically when it comes to women who donāt have a choice in the matter of selling themselves, she looks at it with a lot more judgement, shame, or a simple lack of regard and empathy for the humans beneath. And Iām sure thatās a lot to do, again, with her upbringing.
Aelin looks at sex work with a lot of disgust. There is disgust towards the situation as a whole, but often it also ends up coming off as shaming the girls who partake in these sort of exchanges. To survive.
Just like sheās done things others wouldāand doālook down upon in order to stay alive.
And actually I really like this idea that Aelin by nature doesnāt get along with women. She doesnāt. Read the series; she is regularly either threatened by a woman, or takes joy in being superior to them. And I donāt think that makes her an awful person. As someone who at a young age did have a lot of sexism towards my own gender because of issues with my mother growing up, I donāt think itās just that she is a pick-me bitchā¦. Itās just another product of her environment; she was in a male dominated space, where she was looked at as less than, and whenever she would succeed it was then viewed as 10x more impressive because she had a vagina. So growing up she felt her value be placed in her capabilities, yes, but also her sex. Just like Lysandraās value was in her looks; her body.
Itās a flaw, but one she needs to work on rather than be defined by, if you ask me. (However I unfortunately donāt see Sarah recognizing any of this, much less giving the proper attention to rectify and acknowledge itā¦. Though feel free to disagree).
So anyway, Aelin either sees prostitution as gross (which in a lot of ways it is, but she looks at it from a particularly bad angle), or something the female should perhaps be grateful for (because at least thatās all they had to do to get by). Iām pretty sure in TAB she expresses that sheās glad she gets by being an assassin rather than a whore, and I canāt say I blame her for that. But she also couldnāt in that time look at Lysandra and see both a bitch (because she was) AND a victim in unsavory circumstances. Just like herself, honestly. Aelin is very narrow-minded. She understands that her experiences were bad, but because someone else had a different time/version of events/abuse, she struggles to realise they couldāve suffered as well. At least thatās the impression I got.
And let me be clear: both prepping a child for a life of prostitution, and forcing a kid into a life of killing are violations; depravities that are frankly heinous and worthy of the upmost punishment. These girls deserved so much better.
I also want to add that the disrespectful or merely inconsiderable way prostitution is written just fuels my opinion that Sarah loves to write SA without being mindful of it whatsoever. Because in reading QoS, around chapter six when Aelin meets with Arobynn, she acknowledges all of the women who are there trying to make a means to live, but then she destroys the placeā¦? I understand itās a fuck-you to others, but it completely ignores all of the people there who WERENāT criminal low-lifeās trying to do deplorable things. Not only are you risking their livelihood (sure theyāll find another position, but in how much time? How much worse will it be?), sheās risking their LIVES. Plain and simple. (And yes the king sent those men, but she admits herself that she left the place worse than was necessary because of Sam).
You want to write about how dastardly the āreal worldā is but then when your queen-to-be main character with āsomethingā of a moral conscience eradicates an establishment she doesnāt pay any mind or make any note of the women living there, serving there? Itās just fucking stupid to me. Maybe Iām overreacting but likeā¦ Jesus fuck.
In all fairness, sheās a nineteen year old girl. Aelin is still a child by many means. She has to learn, and I hope she continues to. She will be expected to act more grown than she is as a queen, and thatās not really unfair to expect; but she is still just a young woman, figuring shit out.
And I also want to add that Aelin can totally have a good, strong, and successful relationship with another woman because we saw a glimmer of that with Nehemia (and for a brief time Ansel). And even then she acknowledged how much she lacked female companionship, but it was nice to have. Somebody get this girl a slumber party!!!
I donāt know how much of these details were purposeful by Sarah (I assume from all Iāve seen of her stories that Sarah just has a lot of internalized misogynyāmaybeā¦), but it makes a lot of sense to Aelinās character, at least.
And my apologies because I can never make a concise compendium of my thoughts; it comes to me in a stream of consciousness and I try to make it legible.
