“Woe is Me” Elain Archeron - Character Discussion Tackling Fandom Perception
Disclaimer: No Elain Archerons have been harmed in the process of writing this post. Elain personally approved it.
Kind of a controversial title I know, but in reality it’s accurate based on the arguments circulating regarding Elain’s character.
Including the arguments made in her favor.
I am not a fan of the “woe is me” approach to her character.
It reduces and flattens Elain into this exaggerated passive character and erases any nuances to her characterization.
It feels as a stretch to turn her into this tragic “Helen of Troy” or “Juliet” character archetype when... that’s not how I personally think the author wants to write her or intends to—from the author's storytelling patterns, she doesn’t really lean into those type of characters.
I struggle with reading about passive characters, and in some ways Elain feels passive to me within the story (I know some might disagree with this), so framing her as a passive tragic archetype feels as an exaggeration and it makes her lose even more appeal.
In a way, it feels forced and perhaps carefully manufactured to fit a certain moral narrative.
Which, to be fair, she does have more to offer once we get her POV and she had defining moments in the series that makes you go “huh, I need to see more of that.”
I think the “woe is me” approach also comes from the fact that not many readers are fans of Elain.
So within specific fandom circles, that lack of interest or dislike of Elain may feel as an injustice being made to her character, especially to some passionate fans of hers.
That could explain how discussions around Elain’s character have become more moralized, and less canon-adjacent.
You cannot explore and analyze her flaws, you are a misogynist for shipping her with Lucien, you hate her if you believe she will leave the Night Court. And so on.
It’s pretty much keeping Elain within a specific mold.
She's also an easy character to project into, thus it becomes personal to some fans that her arc has to play out a certain way to validate their expectations and feelings rather than waiting for the story unfold on its own—the personal offense and hurt some fans may feel on Elain's behalf is another thing to consider on why she is framed as this character who is suffering from greatest injustice of all time both within the story and the wider fandom.
Furthermore, it explains the tendency to claim any criticism or different interpretation of Elain is rooted in jealousy and bias rather than accept it's a simple matter of preference for some readers. Many readers don't like Nesta or Rhysand yet it isn't framed as jealousy, they're fictional characters and not every reader will enjoy or appreciate them the same way.
Elain’s story won’t be centered around struggling to pick between Lucien or Azriel.
She’ll make choices and explore her free will in the ways that count, not just about the bond or who she’ll pick as a partner, and the choice to reject is available to her, so she’s not being pressured or harassed by Lucien into accepting it, let’s not forget that.
It was validating to hear Sarah confirm that Elain is still processing her own trauma, as someone who kept reading in the fandom about how settled she is at the Night Court and her only dilemma is the mating bond.
But if you revisit ACOFAS, her conversation with Amren hints at her struggling to adjust to her Fae body, and that won’t magically resolve off-page especially since the author recently reiterated that struggle is ongoing—Elain is good at placating others but I don't think she herself is content.
That confirms there is still a healing journey for us to experience with Elain, and her arc is unlikely to be reduced to picking between two males when that choice is easy to make, there is more depth to her story than that I hope and her love story will be a healing one for her and not the main point of conflict.
One last example I would like to expand on is Elain's situation with Lucien.
There is an attempt to frame Lucien as this imposing creepy male who is violating Elain's boundaries—which canonically is not true—but that attempt seeks to alter readers' perception of Lucien in order to uplift Azriel.
Elain is actively making the choice to not address the mating bond and avoid Lucien, and he has been respectful of her boundaries. That awkwardness and distance between them does not confirm whether nature got their mating bond right or wrong because it's a matter of compability. Elain and Lucien are strangers at this stage and we have not explored their dynamic on-page thus it's premature at this stage to definitively say they are right or wrong for each other—soon enough SJM will confirm that long awaited answer.
We lack Elain's POV, to some readers that is not necessary since her actions could convey and speak louder than words, but lacking her POV leaves room for assumptions that are possibly inaccurate. Elain's POV as I have previously said, could be a game changer.
To conclude, certain interpretations seem to be dramatized beyond what is actually written in the text.
