Emira Maresh vs Maxim Maresh: did they ever view Kell as their own?
Iâve lowkey been wanting to make a analysis kinda post on kells parental relationships and psychoanalyze it, bc I personally find it so interesting. itâs one of the most complex relationships in the trilogy, so Iâm gonna organize my thoughts in a super long rant and essentially try to convince yall of my argument. thereâs a tl;dr at the end if ya donât really gaf (also this is abt to be super long), but i digress:
firstly one needs to acknowledge that this relationship dynamic is largely told in Kells POV. this means that it is largely biased to his preconceived notions and biases, and his perceptions of certain characters can be misconstrued due to emotions. basically he isnât a reliable narrator because heâs a dynamic character with his own thoughts and beliefs. (And we all know that Kell is quite dramatic, sometimes lol). so while we can learn a whole lot thru his view of the characters, thereâs going to be things that are missed. secondly, the addition of Maxim and Emiraâs POVS in the third book also complicate things further, because they show us things Kellâs POV has no access to.
Furthermore, Kell is throughly convinced that both of his adoptive parents never saw him as a true son. This is said multiple times in the first book, and reiterated again in Fragile Threads, showcasing how the events of the trilogy did little to change his mind.
okay. now that weâve got the obvious stuff out of the way, let me state my argument. Emira Maresh did like Kell, but he never was a son to her. In contrast, Maxim Maresh had always viewed Kell as his child.
**keep in mind I didnât read the âSteel Princeâ comics, so there might be some things about Maxim I donât know. This is all in context of the three books in the ADSOM trilogy**
Book One: In ADSOM, Emira touches Kells cheek when he returns from his trips in Grey London in a motherly way. Kell mentions how she does this pretty often. She also tells him to sit because he âlooks paleââtypical response of a concerned mother. Furthermore, she insists that Kells calls her âmotherâ rather than âmy queenâ. This gives us the impression that she genuinely views Kell as her own and contradicts literally everything Kell said, and continues to say in the rest of the book. It also shows her as an affectionate person with those she loves. However, this completely changes at the end when Kell returns with Lila at the end of the book bartered and bruised from his fight with the Danes to his parents. Emira, after her son being missing for days, has nothing to say to him other than âwhere is my sonâ. See here, we are shown no concern for Kellâs safety, only concern for Rhy, highlighting for the first time the Queens true opinion on Kell. Also, as noted by Kell, she didnât say âwhere is Rhyâ. No, she said âwhere is our sonâ, showcasing how there can only be one son she is possibly referring to. Note how she was adamant on him addressing her as âmotherâ when he remained unthreatening and flawless, but when he was struggling and made mistakes and things took a turn for the worse, she was quick to revoke it. This is conditional love: a love that only exists when one fits into an archetype or when the relationship faces no real trials.
Now weâve got Maxim. Maxim Maresh, in ADSOM, is addressed by Kell as âsirâ. This is very odd for a son to address his father as. Howeverâand this is very importantâRhy also addresses Maxim as âsirâ in this book. This is shown in the scene when Maxim interjects Rhyâs magic lesson to give Kell a letter for White London. This is important because it shows how Maxim makes no distinction between both his sons. Through the rest of the book, there is no indication of Maxim treating Kell any differently. In the scene at the end however, when Kell and Lila return, Maxim does not correct Emira when she says âwhere is my sonâ. This is wrong, but he can be absolved of this because it was a high stress situation and I can guarantee you other things were on his mind at the moment that itâs possible he hadnât even caught it. ALSO, after Emira says this, Maxim asks âIs Rhy Alive?â. Note that, unlike Emira, he didnât say âis my son alive.â No, he specified Rhy, because to him saying âsonâ wouldnât make sense because he has two.This difference might be small, but it shows a great difference between the characters. Another thing: the first thing Maxim says to Kell is âwhat have you doneâ, which is a valid question, though quite tone deaf and slightly cruel as he didnât even bother asking if Kell was okay or removing his chains. This can be attributed however to the fact thatâwhen taking the entire trilogy into consideration, and it should be taken into consideration for character analysisâMaxim isnât the type to show affection so openly. He doesnât do it for Rhy or Emira either in the third book, when the stakes were even worse. His character is one that conceals his true emotions and portrays himself as unshakeable and tough, so he treats others with such a strict manner (example: rhy and kell both calling him âsirâ and being so formal with him). But yet again we at least see a glimmer of concern from him, in the following line he says next: âthe Danes will pay for what theyâve doneâ. Now obviously this refers to the chaos theyâve caused the kingdom, but this also most likely includes what theyâve done to Kell specifically, showing us how he does, at least potentially, care about Kellâs wellbeing.
Keep in mind that, like Maxim, to analyze Emira is to understand her character in all three books. Emira very clearly has severe anxiety. This is something that Kell, unfortunently, is victim to the most but we cannot blame Emira for her mental disorder because she genuinely has no control over it. Nonetheless, it does not excuse her mistreatment toward Kell particularly. Anyway. This book hardly has Emira moments. We learn that she no longer touches his face like she used to, and no longer urges Kell to call her mother. This shows us how she is struggling on how exactly to view Kell. She very obviously treats Kell as an outsider to the family, Kell recognizing her tone as âkind yet distantâ, showing us how she is almost pretending to care. This shows us how she might not love him as much as sheâd initially thought she did. Mind you, she has no reason to do any of this (the same cannot be said for Maxim). When Kell was arrested by the king for running away and disobeying orders, Emira remains just as distant with a detached kindness to her, showing how she isnât bothered to see her son in a cell. Kell asks, completely vulnerable, âdo you hate me, my queen?â Emira responds that she doesnât, for how could she, when he saved her son. This is the final piece of evidence that shows us how Emira, while she does care for Kell, never ever viewed him as her child. She literally admits it here. She only likes Kell because he is kind and good and saved her biological child. Kell internally remembers that she used to insist she had two sons, but now she is saying the opposite. What we learn is this: she was willing to consider Kell her son only when he pleased her, which prior to the first book was all the time. Once he screwed up just once, he was no longer her son. Conditional love. Rhy screws up a lot more than Kell, yet this title was never removed from him. When rhy storms in the prison and demands Kell freed, he says âhe is my brotherââ. The queen says âHe is notââ before they get interrupted by Maxim. If it isnât obvious that Emira doesnât see Kell as her child by now, I dunno what else to say.
Maxim also treats Kell differently. He very obviously does not trust Kell anymore, having guards track his every move. This is also because of prudence, since Kellâs life is now tied to the princeâhis youngest biological son who is the HEIR to the throne. Nonetheless, it can be interpreted that heâs doing this because he is worried about Kell, and can no longer trust that he wonât do something to hurt himself. This isnât confirmed like the other reasons, but there is no evidence that suggests that this couldnât also be a reason. His treatment to Kell, however, remains the same as the first book, with the occasional remark that suggests that he no longer trusts Kell (keep in mind that âmistrustâ does not equal âdoes not loveâ. You can love someone, but not be able to trust them. They arenât mutually exclusive). Up to this point, Maxim hasnât done anything that shows he does not love Kell, even though Kell says in his internal monologue that the king does not love him. Everything he is doing is reasonable, and unlike Emira, can actually be justified under prudence and his duty to protect his sons as a father, from harm from others (rhy) and harm from themselves (kell). Later, Maxim comes to Kell and tells him that he is not allowed at the Essen Tasch. This is due to potential dangers, and it is not out of some malicious hatred toward Kell or some kind of punishment, though Kell views it as a punishment. And in hindsight, he was right. After all, Vesk was planning to assassinate the royal family. It is possible that Maxim mightâve gotten some light on some information that we as the readers didnât get, since we are in Kellâs POV. Another important note. This is in Rhys POV, when Kell is competing against an opponent in the ring during the Essen Tasch as Kamerov. He asks the king âwhen will you stop punishing himâ and the king says âYou think I do this out of spite? Some ill borne malice? This is meant to be a lesson, Rhy. Your people will suffer when you err, and you will suffer when your people do.â This line shows us that Maxim genuinely blames himself for what happened in the Black Night and for Kells crimes, and that by doing this to Kell, he can rectify himself and make sure his people donât suffer from his mistakes ever again. He is suffering because he caused his people to suffer, so he cannot allow himself to err again and thus this is how he justifies his treatment of Kell. Is it wrong? Yes, but it is a character flaw of Maximânothing to do with his love for Kell. Later in that same chapter, Rhy says âdo you really think his life is in danger?â To which Maxim says (almost defensively) âitâs not his life that Iâm worried aboutâ. On the surface, it sounds like Maxim doesnât gaf about Kell, but Rhy literally says right after that âhe knows this isnât trueâ. Essentially, heâs arguing that the king does actually worry about Kellâs life at least a little bit, showing us how heâs being stricter and harsher on Kell not out of malice, but out of love and fatherly concern that he isnât willing to say out loud or even admit to himself. When he catches Kell secretly attending the Essen Tasch, he gets angry with him and confines him to his rooms like a child. He says âYou didnât listen when I asked you as your father, so now Iâm asking as your king[âŠ]â. we see him detaching himself from Kell in order to be harsher on him and almost command him. Removing himself emotionally, he can allow himself to view Kell as he wants toâan employee. Remember: Maxim was a soldier before he was a father. A strict soldier, so he isnât going to be the most emotionally available. In addition, this is the first time we see him refer to himself as Kellâs father. Despite eveything that happened, he still sees himself and reminds Kell that he is his father.
Maxims biggest cruel injustice was when he had Kell arrested toward the end of the book. He does this because he is angry Kell will not listen to him. Rhy disobeys the king all the time, yet never arrested him. This shows us how he treated both his sons differently, a lot harsher and strict on Kell (though it can be argued that technically, Kell is more of a threat to the king because he can actually beat him if need be, but it does not justify anything.). When the others leave, he removes Kellâs cuffs and sits to talk with him. Kell notes that Maxim clearly looks exhausted. Maxim apologizes (not directly, but he basically does by admitting he lost his temper and thanking him for not leaving. Itâs quite in character for Maxim, to not directly state his feelings). In their conversation, he evidently blames Kell for his situation. This is again, cruel and inconsiderate. Maxim here is shown to be a uncompassonate father, but he does not say or do anything that indicates that he views Kell as anything other than his own. When Kell started crying, Maxim hugged him. This is the most display of emotion and kindness we get from Maxim in all the trilogy, and it is shown to kell. This is significant. He hugs him and apologizes but still blames him. He tells Kell of his concerns for the kingdom and for things bigger than themselves. Again, very inconsiderate to Kellâs own feelings. This is a problem Maxim has: he is unable to understand other peopleâs point of view. To him, sacrifice for the kingdom is something everyone should do, and is something expected of Kell because it was expected of him. This is a character flaw and problem he has, but has nothing to do with his love for Kell. He tells Kell âyou are the key to his son, my heirâ. This is different than when Emira said it, because here Maxim clearly is taking about rhy by adding âmy heirâ right after. He doesnât say âmy sonâ only. He said âmy heirâ after, to specify because he knows he has two sons. And when Kell makes the decision to leave, in the end, Maxim lets him. He does not stop him, though he can. This shows us just how much he actually cares for kell, that heâs willing to let him have the choice to walk away. It also shows us how he sees Kell as an individual with his own agency to chose his own life, and not as a pawn for the kingdom like Kell claims.
We learn that Emira wanted to initially raise Kell and Rhy as brothers, but changed her mind after the black night. This shows us how she was open to the idea of viewing Kell as a son, but ultimately changed her mind long ago (âI tried to raise Kell as a ward then, not a sonâ). Furthermore, she is clearly uncomfortable with Rhys intense love for Kell, unable to understand it and also seeing it as a threat to him:âhe was supposed to be your shield, not you hisâ. Prior to this, there is a scene where Emira drapes a coat over Kell to keep him warm while sleeping. This shows she does care for him, even though she wishes she didnât (she literally says she wishes she didnt). Also when Rhy is injured at the beginning of the story and Kell returns, ensuring Rhy wonât die, she hugs him and cries. This isnât because sheâs happy to see him aliveâitâs because now she knows her son will be too. Sheâs crying with relief and utter gratitude toward Kell. She does seem to love Kell, genuinely, but not as a son as a saviour, a hero. Someone who can protect her familyâa family he isnât a part of. The last scene we get of Kell and Emira together is when Emira meets with Kell before he leaves for the inheritor. She gives him a knife, one that says K.M rather than K.L. She mentions how she had made it long ago, but never felt it right to give it to him. âPeople break so easily Kell, [âŠ] and I was afraidâŠbut you have to understand that you areâŠhave always been..â here we see that sheâs basically telling Kell that she loves him like a son. Yet she is still unable to say it, unable to admit it to him and lie to herself and him like that. She is quick to say Rhy is her son. She can never say Kell is her son. She made the knife for him before, when she considered considering him her son. But the fact that she never gave it to him shows us that she was never able to fully convince herself she was his mother and he her son. But she does love him, because she touches his cheek again and tells him to come home.
Maxim, upon seeing Kell again after he was tortured in white London, also hugged Kell with Emira. Though this was less about Kell and more out of relief that everyoneâs alive and well, and to comfort his wife. Later, when Maxim is going through his stuff in the map room (where he keeps his private, most precious belongings), he has a picture of both Kell AND rhy. Both his sons. When Kell breaks up the fight between the Essen tasch competitors (Brody, Losen, and Sar), Maxim is shown to be proud of him, like a father being proud of his son. When Kell makes the fatal mistake during Hollands execution that almost got him and Rhy killed when he jumped into the river, Maxim was the one to defend him in front of everyone. When Kell raised his hand defiantly to join the trip to find the inheritor, Maxim didnât stop him. Again, showcasing how he cared about Kellâs wishes even if they went against his own. Though, it is also because he thinks this is the smartest decision and the best way to keep rhy safe. Finally, when Maxim was preparing for his final fatal stand against Osaron, he knew he was going to die. Thus, heâd left letters for his family. One for Rhy, Emira, and one for Kell. This shows us that he does view Kell as his son, because he left Kell a letter. He didnât leave one for Tieren or Isra. No. He only left letters for his family, which includes Kell. On his final day, he let himself replay a dream. This dream was one where he was sitting and eating with his family, Kell included. âMaxim let his tired mind live with this dream, this memory, and let it carry him forwardâ. When facing Osaron, he mentions how Osaron looks like Kell, but was quickly repulsed by that idea because âKellâs gaze held the warmth of a flameâ. He could never view Kell in such a negative light. Finally, when he died, these were his last thoughts: Emira, Rhy, Kell. This evidently shows us how Kell is, and was always, family to Maxim Maresh.
TL;DR â> Maxim genuinely saw Kell as nothing other than his son and loved him like a father loves a child. Kell was just unable to see it because Maxim is horrible at expression emotions and is overly strict and harsh with his love. Meanwhile, while Emira is more affectionate to Kell, her kindness is all superficial and surface level. She did love Kell, but she loved him as a saviour, a hero, a close friend to the crown. He was never her son. Not like Rhy was.
If ya read all of this then I love you so much it took me hours to write this down lol