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Chapter 1
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Cruel Prince, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Power and Control
Cycles of Violence
Identity and Coming of Age
The Nature of Love
Summary
Analysis
Ten years later, an imp named Tatterfell is getting Jude ready for a faerie ball held in the High King’s Court. Madoc—the tall man who killed Jude’s parents—has kept his promise and acted as Jude’s father. Although it makes Jude uncomfortable, she has come to love Madoc. Madoc is a general of the High King and a member of the High King’s Court. Vivi is a member of the court as well because she is Madoc’s natural born daughter.
The Cruel Prince is a coming-of-age story, albeit under extreme circumstances. This is the only significant time jump in the book and juxtaposed with the prologue, it demonstrates just how different Jude’s life has become. Not only is she living a life in Faerieland, but she is living among the royals and trying to please them.
Themes
However, Jude and Taryn are still outsiders to the court. The only way to gain entry is to marry into it or be exceptionally gifted at a trade. Jude has no interest in the former option, but she has to attend to the ball anyway. She lies to Tatterfell and says she is excited, even though her tone suggests otherwise. Tatterfell does not detect the lie because faeries cannot lie themselves and therefore don’t think twice when they hear one.
Although Jude and Taryn are only teenagers, they already think about adult concerns. Faerieland has forced them to grow up quicker than they would have in the human world. Meanwhile, Jude’s ability to lie demonstrates that, although she may live among the faeries, she is not one of them.
Themes
Jude meets up with Taryn, who is also prepared to go to the ball. Meanwhile, Vivi stays home and reads a comic book from the human world. Vivi hates Madoc and does everything she can to displease him. She is also already a member of the court, so the ball has no value to her. Jude and Taryn find Madoc and his new wife, Oriana. Oriana warns Jude and Taryn to behave at the ball, so they do not make Madoc look bad. Although Oriana is their stepmother, she treats them like poorly behaved pets. Meanwhile, she treasures her own child, Oak, who she tries to keep away from Madoc’s other children. Once everyone is ready, they ride horses to the ball.
Because Vivi is older than Jude and Taryn, she has a clearer idea of what Madoc stole from them. Vivi’s memories create a strange dynamic where she, as the only faerie among the three of them, actively resists Madoc and Faerieland. Meanwhile, the two human sisters do their best to fit in. Additionally, on first glance, Oriana appears to fit the disapproving stepmother trope, which is common in fantasy. Because she does not accept the children as her own, they lack a prominent female role model.
Themes
