Curse of Shadows and Thorns

The idea of choice is a central concept in Curse of Shadows and Thorns. From the first chapters of the novel, it is clear that Elise feels she has little choice over what happens in her life, yet still longs for the ability to make her own decisions. This sense of powerlessness extends to her romantic prospects, introducing the novel’s thematic interest in the importance of choice in love.

When she learns that her father has opened up bidding for her marriage, Elise laments, “Timoran wives were given purses to spend at their leisure, they turned heads when their husbands took mistresses, kept silent over matters of state. A voice? No, thinking was better left to the men” (23). Though Elise seems to have a crush on Legion in the first chapter when she sneaks out to the gambling hall to get a glimpse of him, her feelings for him immediately change when she learns he is the one who will be deciding who she must marry. Elise and Legion’s relationship is grounded in the fact that her future is left in the hands of a stranger, and Elise initially directs her anger about this at Legion, as if he is the one who robbed her of her choice.