In Defense of Cordelia Carstairs
I haven't finished reading the book but because I am incredibly impatient, I have read so many spoilers that it feels as if I have. (For reference I believe that I am almost half way through.) That being said, I may change my mind on this take after finishing the book.
*WARNING SPOILERS FOR TLH AHEAD*
Cordelia is catching a lot of flack right now. People arent liking her in this book as much as they did in the previous ones and while I understand that in some instances, I dont think people are looking at her situation as a whole while reading. In the past several weeks she has (spoiler alert, seriously stop reading now if you haven't read Chain of Gold, Chain of Iron and/or Chain of Thorns):
Lost her father who she had an extremally complicated relationship with.
Witnessed her mother begin to experience a high risk pregnancy because of the stress of her father dying
Witnessed her brother get his heart broken which, she has shown concern about on a number of occasions (people keep saying she doesn't care and to that I say: you seem to forget that she was literally running interference every time Charles so much as looked at her brother in Chain of Iron and encourages him at several points in Chain of Thorns to pursue happiness with Thomas.)
Believed she was being singled out to become a hero and was doing something great by swearing alligance to Wayland the Smith and having that thrown back into her face by discovering that she is now the Paladin of a greater demon.
Lost the future she thought she would have in becoming Lucie’s Parabatai because she is now the Paladin of a greater demon.
Begun to hope that James had feelings for her but then witnessed him embracing the women that she believes he truly loves, thereby having her heart and hopes crushed.
Thought she was going to Paris to heal and take her mind off of things only to be immediately lied to by Matthew which she finds out about at the same time that James comes to tell her that he loves him. Which given what she knows about the situation must be incredibly confusing.
You guys... that's a lot for a single person to go through. Imagine the worst moments of your life, all compiled into a span of a few weeks and ask yourself: do you think you would be on your best behavior? I know that I wouldn't be.
I will concede that the Cordelia/Matthew/James love triangle has been incredibly annoying to read. Out of all the issues she is facing in her life, I would put “which cute boy do I love?” at the bottom of the list. However since this is a romance novel of sorts I wont speak too much to my annoyance on this particular plotline being overly focused on.
I will also concede that her treatment of Matthew is just shitty honestly. I dont think that she feelings for him at any point. Matthew is a distraction and honestly the way she lead him on was incredibly mean. The moment she started thinking about James while they kissed she should have said something. I will say Matthew straight up lying to her about the drinking was shitty as well. He should have been honest with her but I can understand his thinking more than hers. He is an addict which is a sickness.
As to the whole James situation: she doesn't have the benefit of knowing what we know as the reader. Yes, it is incredibly frustrating for us to watch her hem and haw about her feelings for James because we know the truth of the matter. She does not. In her mind, James’s feelings are sudden and confusing. Just a few days ago he was in their house embracing Grace and thanking god that she wasn't going to marry Charles and now, suddenly, he hates Grace and loves her. He offers her absolutley no explanation on why this would be. What would you think in that situation? I dont know that I would jump to “he only wants me because he cant have me,” but I would be angry and confused.
I'm not saying that I think she is right in doing and saying the things she does in the book (especially towards Lucie) but I also dont completely blame her. She has also been lied to so many times (her fathers alcoholism, Jame’s feelings, Matthew’s drinking, etc) that I am not surprised that she is suddenly suspicious of everyone’s motivations. Which I’m sure she would have debunked herself if she had the time to really stop and think about it. Her life has been thrown on its ear and I dont think she knows how to cope or is taking a moment to stop and think. Nor has she really had the time to do so with the whole Belial/Lilith situation.
I know that there are more grievances that people have but again I haven't finished the book so I dont really have an opinion and I may change my mind about all of this later on. Kudos to anyone who made it all the way to the bottom of this rambling post. Let me know your thoughts :)
