Direbound

“They have a silly, childish name, given to them by the very kids who fear them. It’s almost hard to take them seriously when you hear it, which is part of the appeal. If you can laugh at it, it doesn’t seem true—like the Nabbers are nothing more than a childhood legend.”

While the looming threat of the Nabbers may have begun to disappear after Saela’s kidnapping, the novel nevertheless underscores how terrifying these dark figures are for the general population. Resorting to childish names to relieve the stress and anxiety they cause is a common defense mechanism that people use when they feel helpless and crave a sense of control over an uncontrollable situation.

“The war has been going on for five hundred years, but between our country’s Bonded and their direwolves and Astreona’s Siphon strength, it’s rare for either side to take much ground.”

Given the eventual revelation that the 500-year mark denotes when the Sturmfrost queen died, this passage calls into question whether Nocturna had ever known an extended peace before the war. It suggests that there may have been a period when Siphons weren’t the mortal enemies of humans, in which case future installments in the series might explore a diplomatic solution. This thematically alludes to one of The Effects of False History: that people are unaware of how their past shaped them.

“There’s nothing magical about the riders themselves, but because of generations of natural selection, they just look different from the rest of us. Tall. Beautiful. Honed fighting machines.”

This quote implies a possible eugenics practice within the king’s (and his ancestors’) corrupt reign, suggesting that the “natural selection” that Meryn refers to is, in fact, a push for the aesthetic preferences of the king and the rich nobles. After all, as Izabel points out, “Appearances matter here” (148).

“The Siphons might be our enemy, but I’m certain that this man is the true face of evil.”

Meryn’s ironic claim in this passage emphasizes the depth of her unreliability as a narrator. Though Stark may yet reveal himself as a villain in the subsequent novels in the series, he’s Meryn’s staunchest (if secret) ally within this novel (with the possible exception of Anassa).

“My grandmother had this madness too, and her mother before that. [The] madness runs in my blood, lurking in the shadows, waiting to drag me down in its depths.”

Here, the novel subtly foreshadows the revelation that what the women in Meryn’s family thought were symptoms of mental illness were actually visions related to their royal birthright, manifestations of the family’s power. Additionally, this line emphasizes a sense of impending doom, which Meryn has presumably lived with all her life, involving predictions of a perilous and short life, had she not reclaimed her birthright. The king’s monarchy worked to promote the fallacy of their mental illness and enforce patriarchal rule, thematically alluding to both the effects of false history and The Objectification of Women.

“When my father died, that worked, sometimes—giving myself pain to focus on, something to feel other than this.”

The novel demonstrates the lengths to which Meryn has gone to stay calm, resolute, and focused since she was quite young. She worked to support the family, suggesting that she never enjoyed a childhood, which makes her insistence on protecting Saela’s chance at one even more poignant.

“I’ve seen violence. I’ve dealt violence. For sport, for money, sometimes for my own satisfaction. But this is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. This—this—is the noble tradition that our Bonded warriors ceremonially endure?”

The notion that the king purposely calls and orchestrates such violent Trials casts this passage in a new light. Though the Bonded are lauded as the king’s elite force and the strength behind the kingdom’s army, they are, at their core, also his victims and deeply traumatized individuals who enact violence and even perform sexual favors for the nobles’ entertainment.

“Goddess, even [the Bonded families’ children’s] skin looks healthier than people’s did back in Eastern.”

This line creates a metonymic comparison to highlight the difference in socioeconomic statuses within the kingdom of Nocturna. The skin condition of the people of the Eastern Quarter denotes how their poverty has likely prevented them from accessing proper hygiene and/or hygienic products, food and/or food services, and medical care.

“For a Bonded family, there’s no such thing as failure. If you fail to bond in your Trials, you’re out. You’re dead to them. Not one of them any longer.”

In addition to the traumatic traditions imposed by the king, the novel highlights that the social structures within the Bonded further isolate and cut off children from proper support. The novel depicts how the expectation to maintain class status supersedes familial love, illustrating the indifference of the king’s monarchy toward its people.

“Beside these children of the Bonded, I look like exactly what I am. Defective. And if it will keep me protected tonight, well that’s just fine with me.”

In this quote, Meryn’s assessment of herself not only reveals deep self-esteem issues but also suggests how corrupted the Bonded class has become. By all accounts, Meryn is the Bonded’s standard of beauty since she’s their queen. However, the societal pressure for beauty is so intense that she feels visually ostracized from her own people. This pressure reflects the patriarchal monarchy’s skewed priorities and thematically alludes to the objectification of women.

“My indignation towards the Rawbonds in the lounge starts to soften. How many other people out there lost friends, family members, or loved ones?”

Though Meryn is often physically conservative about public displays of affection or public sex, her thoughts here imply that the Rawbonds have an emotional need for comfort and relief after the Trials’ horrors. None are more qualified to understand and respond to this need than the Rawbond comrades who undergo the same events.

“Because unlike the Siphons, the Bonded cherish life. We get tattoos to remember the steep cost of war.”

This statement from Stark is loaded with double meaning. At first glance, the claim might seem contradictory since so many of the recruits and Rawbonds die during the Trial when, as later revealed, such deaths are unnecessary. However, given this future revelation, Stark’s claim connotes that the Bonded don’t wish to depend on others’ deaths to live (like the Siphons). They actively seek a solution to circumvent this exact issue.

“And a scar. It’s hidden, slashed right across the very edge of his jaw, up towards the base of his ear. For some reason, that more than anything compresses my lungs and sends my heart thudding against my ribs.”

Stark’s hidden scar in this passage reveals that he’s capable of being vulnerable. Since the text implies that a blade created the scar, Stark was presumably not always a formidable warrior. There was once a time when he, too, was caught unaware during battle.

“What are we meant to do when the man appointed to protect the common people’s interest starts to ignore us? When he’d rather watch his wolves parade dead men through the streets or sleep with unwilling Rawbonds half his age than look into, or even notice the abductions of children in his cities.

This passage highlights the dangers of centralized power. With only one source of authority to rule the country, corruption of any kind has severe repercussions for those who depend on this source for justice and progress, again thematically underscoring the impact of social classes.

“An incredible sense of rightness unravels inside my chest. This whole time, our fractured bond was chafing against me in a way that I didn’t realize or sense until now, when it’s finally disappeared.”

This passage suggests that Meryn’s connection with Anassa might supersede a symbiotic relationship between a human and a wolf. Rather, their bond represents a psychological, emotional, and/or metaphysical completion that Meryn had been missing before.

“Because there’s a terrible truth reverberating in my skull alongside the phantom screams. Even if I survive the Purge, that won’t keep me from following my mother into madness.”

Meryn’s recurring observations about her oncoming “madness” emphasize the sense of futility and despair that she must battle every time she has a nightmare. In addition to contending with her sister’s kidnapping, the loss of her mother, the unknown political landscape of the castle, the constant deaths in the Trials, her strained relationship with Anassa, and her worries for her own safety, the possibility of an inherited mental illness adds yet another source of stress and weighs her down.

“With a start, I realize they’re deciding who’s a target—who among us needs to die for the pack to grow stronger.”

This passage drives home the duality of being bonded to a creature like a direwolf. Though the Trials are cruel and unnecessary, part of the wolves’ nature aligns with the idea of ruthlessly eliminating those who lack the strength to add to their collective pack.

“No one wants these tattoos, princess. […] There is no place for pride in war.”

In this excerpt, Stark explains that his excessive tattoos carry within them a yet-unexplained history of warfare, pain, death, and suffering. Effectively, his comment implies that, while capable of being smug with Meryn, he and the other pack members have lost all sense of pride in their battle conquests through experience rather than maturity.

“Much to my dismay, I feel even more out of place here than I did at the castle. […] The […] irony.”

Here, Meryn’s remark about the irony of her ostracization from her former home effectively places her in a liminal situation. She doesn’t feel at home with her mother or in the castle with her newfound pack, revealing that she has yet to solidify her path and assume her identity.

“In the end, they are—we are—also just toys for the king to use and then throw away. Toy soldiers, to throw against the Siphons. Toy gladiators, to fight for the rich nobles’ amusement.”

This passage attests to the dehumanizing practices that the Bonded experience while attempting to carry out their duties. Though they may partake in a certain amount of luxury, their value as human beings is negated when they no longer satisfy the nobles’ arbitrary interests.

“‘Flattery? You don’t even bow for the king.’ Anassa’s mind ripples with irritation. ‘I give respect where respect is due.’”

Anassa’s demeanor in this quote holds an implicit meaning connected to Meryn’s true lineage, thematically alluding to the effects of false history. Since the monarchy before the Valtieres’ was matriarchal, Meryn’s mother would be considered a royal and a queen in her own right. Anassa thus pays respect to the queen mother of Nocturna.

“Maybe that’s why I get the overwhelming feeling that this is it—the final goodbye. This place will never truly be my home again.”

This scene foreshadows the devastating loss of Meryn’s mother. Though Meryn thinks that the loss of her home comes from her Bonded status and the events at the castle, it’s a prescient feeling about the fact that after her mother’s death, her family will no longer own the house.

“Of course he’d believe that what’s right for the Crown is right for the Bonded. He’s the king’s perfect honed weapon. As the ultimate insider, destined to lead the Bonded himself one day, he can’t see how horrible the king and the nobles treat the Bonded.”

Meryn’s patronizing, condescending, and degrading tone regarding Stark in this quote reveals how little she has come to understand him despite their increasing proximity. Her view of his personality is so distorted that she believes he would bend or ignore his principles for the possibility of a powerful role under a king who controls everything.