The Queen of Ravka is a blond woman in her mid-40s. She’s beautiful, but she’s been made beautiful to the point of it being uncanny, thanks to Genya’s gift. The Darkling “gifted” Genya to the Queen several years ago, and while the Queen openly resents Genya, she also makes regular use of Genya’s ability to brighten her eye and hair color and smooth her skin. Genya describes the Queen as vain, selfish, and attention-seeking.
The Queen Quotes in Shadow and Bone
The Shadow and Bone quotes below are all either spoken by The Queen or refer to The Queen. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 20
Quotes
“He plans to bring us peace.”
“At what price?” I asked desperately. “You know this is madness.”
“Did you know I had two brothers?” Ivan asked abruptly. The familiar smirk was gone from his handsome face. “Of course not. They weren’t born Grisha. They were soldiers, and they both died fighting the King’s wars. So did my father. So did my uncle.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Yes, everyone is sorry. The King is sorry. The Queen is sorry. I’m sorry. But only the Darkling will do something about it.”
Related Characters:
Ivan (speaker), Alina Starkov (speaker), The Darkling, The King, The Queen
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Shadow and Bone LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Queen Character Timeline in Shadow and Bone
The timeline below shows where the character The Queen appears in Shadow and Bone. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 6
...the stairs, she tells Alina to only say that Genya helped her dress: the “ridiculous” Queen doesn’t think it’s fair for Genya to work on Grisha. Alina is shocked to hear...
(full context)
Chapter 7
...that Genya is special, and she’s not walking with them because she attends to the Queen. When he saw her abilities, instead of letting her become a Fabrikator or a Corporalnik,...
(full context)
...on Alina. Everyone wants to touch her, but Genya appears and pulls Alina away: the Queen wants to meet her. The Queen is in a sitting room, surrounded by ladies and...
(full context)
Clearly annoyed, the Queen dismisses Alina and Genya. In the hall, the Darkling intercepts them. Alina admits that she’s...
(full context)
...other Grisha don’t think what Genya does is valuable, and she’s mocked because she’s “the Queen’s pet.” Alina wonders if the King is also involved and wonders how it must feel...
(full context)
Chapter 9
...says Genya eats and sleeps at the Grand Palace so she’s always available to the Queen—and the King. Suddenly, Alina isn’t hungry.
(full context)
Chapter 13
...away, Genya convinces Alina to sneak over to the Grand Palace to try on the Queen’s clothes. They spend hours playing dress-up, and Alina is shocked by her reflection in the...
(full context)
Chapter 14
...waltzes in, gorgeous as ever, and offers to do Alina’s hair. Genya explains that the Queen will ultimately go to the fete, but for now, she’s pretending to be too sick...
(full context)
...troupes of actors perform for guests. A servant arrives with a note for Genya: the Queen will be attending the ball after all, so Genya must go attend to her. Inside,...
(full context)
Chapter 20
...weren’t Grisha, and they all died fighting the King’s wars. Everyone, including the King and Queen, are sorry for his loss. But the Darkling is the only person willing to take...
(full context)
...his uses”; now, she wishes she’d listened to the Apparat’s warnings. Alina asks about the Queen, but she’s been quarantined for safety. Suddenly, Alina notices that Genya is wearing a red...
(full context)