Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Children of Virtue and Vengeance, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Power and Systems of Oppression
Cycles of Violence
Tradition and History
Love vs. Duty
Summary
Analysis
The maji and divîners gather. Amari anxiously waits for someone to realize that it’s her fault the monarchy attacked as arguments break out over what to do and who’s suffered more. Amari thinks that she can hear Saran in her head. She has the power to end this, but up until now, she hasn’t wanted to use it on those she loves. Now, there’s no choice. She tells Tzain that with enough Connector tîtáns, she could take Nehanda down. Amari closes her eyes and wonders if Saran was a monster because ruling the kingdom made him that way. Before Amari can say anything, Zélie sprints in, still covered in blood. She says that there’s another way to end this other than fighting.
Though compassion wouldn’t normally be a bad thing, Amari’s question of why Saran was a monster doesn’t bode well for her future as queen. It suggests that she’s learning that being queen means that she too will inevitably become a monster, something that, if she really wants to do better than Saran, she needs to fight. Especially since Amari says she knows she has the power to end this, it shows that she’s now willing to go to drastic measures to win.
Themes
