A Ruin of Roses
47 pages • 1-hour read
K.F. BreeneA Ruin of Roses
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Themes
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of sexual content, illness, death, bullying, and emotional abuse.
The Importance of Resilience
A Ruin of Roses explores the relationship between suffering and resilience on both a personal and societal level. In the early days of the curse, many people in the village died of illness, and demons constantly attacked the village. Finley’s resilience amid this crisis made her an asset to her community and gave her a sense of purpose that kept despair at bay. Her aptitude for combat allowed her to protect her village, and her skill with the everlass allowed her to mitigate the curse’s sickness. As a result of Finley’s resilience, the villagers also developed resilience to the curse’s effects, showing how seeking solutions in times of strife allows them to thrive. By contrast, Hadriel and other castle denizens are protected from the curse’s most acute violence. Since the castle denizens were frozen in time, spared the illness, and offered pleasurable experiences with the demons, they were not forced to develop resilience like the villagers. Though they seem to be living better lives than the villagers at first, Finley observes in Chapter 5 that Hadriel hates himself for giving into the demons: “[I]n a way [those in the castle] were living a life of luxury, but the curse hadn’t spared them” (107). Hadriel’s self-loathing means he has given in to despair, rather than cultivating resilience. As a result, Hadriel’s suffering controls him, making him a foil for Finley’s resilience. Together, the two represent the value of resilience as a response to violence and oppression.
The non-demon characters in the novel are shifters, able to shift between human and animal forms, and this ability is central to their cultural identity. The curse prevents them from accessing this ability. Since Finley has never experienced shifting, this effect means little to her at the outset of the novel, and it does not affect her ability to face the curse’s effects head-on. However, once the connection to her inner animal is awakened, Finley begins to understand how integral the ability to shift is to her and her people. With this realization, Finley understands what she has missed and begins to feel incomplete. Nonetheless, she approaches this existential crisis with the same resilience she developed earlier in her life. She chooses to seek a solution to the inability to shift, and though she doesn’t know whether she will ever find such a solution, the search itself gives her a renewed sense of purpose and allows her to avoid despair.
Unlike Finley, Nyfain gives up hope and thus loses the resilience that would allow him to withstand the curse’s psychological effects. As the only shifter who managed the transformation after the initiation of the curse, Nyfain is still able to take his dragon form. However, the first transformation sheared off his dragon’s wings, meaning he is no longer able to fly—a critical piece of what shifting meant to him. While Nyfain is grateful that shifting allows him to better protect his people, the process is also a constant reminder of his failures. Not only is it a symbol of what his people have lost, but it is a reminder of how he could not save them from his father’s decisions. Thus, Nyfain feels guilty for the broad cultural suffering within the kingdom, and he becomes trapped in an endless cycle of self-blame that does not allow him to find solutions. Like Hadriel, Nyfain is mired in self-loathing, and both these characters act as counterexamples demonstrating the value of Finley’s resilience.
The Harm that Comes from Shirking Responsibility
At its core, A Ruin of Roses is a story about the harm that occurs when those in power shirk responsibility for their actions. The tension between Finley and Nyfain stems from their very different upbringings and understandings of responsibility. As a commoner, Finley has lived her life knowing that she must go after what she wants because no one will do so for her. By contrast, Nyfain’s royal upbringing taught him that he is above reproach and, in particular, that his status as an alpha male allows him to get away with things others cannot. This difference is highlighted through how Finley and Nyfain deal with their mutual attraction. From the beginning, Finley recognizes that her attraction to Nyfain is her responsibility. She does not blame him for her feelings, even though she does blame him for holding her captive. By taking responsibility for her own feelings and for how she responds to those feelings, Finley reclaims agency in a situation designed to robe her of it.
Nyfain, ironically, takes far less responsibility for himself even as he holds all the structural power in their relationship. He believes he should not be attracted to Finley because she is a commoner, and he blames her for his unwanted feelings. Finley recognizes the gendered nature of this dynamic: “[H]e clearly blamed me for his lack of control. Wasn’t that how it always went for a woman?” (205). The principle behind Finley’s thoughts applies to status as well as gender. Whether as a man or a prince, Nyfain blames Finley because his privilege has taught him that he need not take responsibility for his feelings or his actions: Someone less powerful is always to blame.
Paradoxically, although he refuses to accept blame for his feelings toward Finley, Nyfain unfairly blames himself for the curse and the demons afflicting his kingdom. This, too, is evidence of the harm that occurs when the powerful shirk responsibility for their own actions. While Nyfain has power over Finley, he is far less powerful than the Demon King. Sixteen years ago, when Nyfain’s father made his fateful deal with the Demon King, Nyfain was a child, powerless to affect the politics of the kingdom. Because his father and the Demon King refuse to accept responsibility for their actions, Nyfain is left with no one to blame but himself. This combination of self-blame and learned helplessness impede his ability to meaningfully protect his kingdom even after he reaches adulthood. To make up for his perceived failure, Nyfain patrols the Forbidden Wood and protects the villages from the demons, but his actions are only a stop-gap measure. Ultimately, patrolling this way will not stop the demons or break the curse, but since Nyfain believes both of those things are beyond his power, he denies any responsibility to bring them about, choosing instead to hide behind blaming himself for letting things get so bad to begin with. Nyfain’s cycle of self-blame highlights the harm in his mindset, both for himself and for his people. On a personal level, it keeps him from pushing his boundaries to do more, and on a societal level, it makes him less effective as a ruler. Blaming himself allows Nyfain to shirk his responsibility because he’s convinced himself there’s nothing he can do and that there is no point in trying. Only by learning from Finley’s example does he accept that he has agency and thus has a moral obligation to use it.
Escaping Restrictive Gender Norms
As a woman in a village dominated by traditional gender ideology, Finley faces pressure to fill the role the villagers expect of her—to mate, have children, and be the caretaker for her family before all else. However, Finley wants none of these things, as seen by how she gravitates toward the traditionally male role of protector and takes on duties like defending the villagers from the effects of the curse. While the villagers appreciate what Finley has done, such as creating the everlass medicine to slow the illness, they rarely show their gratitude, instead viewing Finley as an excellent example of a woman because of her physical beauty alone. This puts pressure on Finley to conform to the village’s standards, meaning she must constantly fight to be her true self. In addition, this pressure frustrates Finley and makes it increasingly difficult for her to prioritize the protection of people who always want more from her than she is willing to give.
The village’s inflexible gender norms push Finley away, ironically harming the village by depriving it of a capable protector. Despite this tension, Finley refuses to change who she is to match other people’s expectations, and the novel’s closing line shows her adopting a traditionally masculine role. Nyfain enters the Forbidden Wood without her, aiming to protect her from danger by exposing himself to it instead, but Finley will not be relegated to the sidelines: “If he wanted me to play hero, I would. And I’d make him my damsel” (376). The phrase “make him my damsel” alludes to the “damsel in distress” trope common to tales from the age of chivalry, in which women are portrayed as passive objects to be rescued by heroic male knights. Finley reverses the gender roles implied by this literary tradition, insisting that she will be the hero while Nyfain will be the one in need of rescue.
Finley’s brother, Hannon, similarly bucks gender norms, and the two complement each other in this way. In Chapter 15, Finley says of her and Hannon that “we make an excellent team. I’m good at all the things he hates, and he’s good at all the things I hate” (321). While Finley excels at the traditionally male role of protector, Hannon thrives in the traditionally female role of caretaker. The village frowns on this role-reversal because it is not how things have been done in the past, and thus, it is viewed as somehow weakening the structure of their society because it takes Finley and Hannon out of the roles the villagers believe they should be good at. In truth, Finley and Hannon’s refusal to bow to expectations makes each of them, their family, and the entire village stronger. By bucking traditional stereotypes, Finley and Hannon can focus their energy on what they are good at, which allows each of them to hone their skills to finer points and then offer these cultivated skills to all. Because they are attuned to their true selves, Finley and Hannon recognize their strengths, which lets them conform to the expectations they have for themselves, not the expectations others hold for them. Thus, their strong senses of self are directly linked to how they challenge societal norms, highlighting the link between confidence, nonconformity, and individual success.
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