Enchantra

Genevieve must overcome numerous roadblocks to reach Enchantra in the first place, and she pursues her goal with determination even after she is repeatedly turned away. After Rowin first refuses to let her in the door, she thinks, “The stranger had made the mistake of rousing her curiosity—and her stubbornness—and she found herself much more interested in finding out what he was so determined to keep her from discovering inside the house” (45). Rowin tries to spare Genevieve from the Hunt, but Genevieve remains determined to solve the mystery of Enchantra, entering the house regardless of the consequences. Once she has set her sights on a goal, she refuses to be deterred. Her core character trait is a determination to chart her own course in life, rather than having her choices dictated by others. 

In Knox, Genevieve finds an antagonist who constantly schemes to deprive others of choice, creating elaborate, rule-based systems in which his victims can make choices only within the parameters he has defined. The rules of Knox’s game, the Hunt, not only cause the Silvers physical and emotional anguish but also force them to inflict suffering on each other, making them responsible for the pain they endure. Knox is initially thrilled at the chance to thrust a vulnerable mortal into the trap he has created. Once she enters the Enchantra estate, Genevieve has few meaningful choices. She must marry Rowin and participate in the competition or face certain death. However, she finds an ally in Rowin, who is determined to respect her consent and choice, even in an inherently non-consensual situation. When Knox tries to force them into having sex by dosing them with passion fruit, Rowin lets Genevieve touch herself but refuses to put his own hands on her, saying, “It doesn’t matter what I want. I’m not going to touch you as long as we have this stuff in our system” (173). Rowin toes a difficult line between giving Genevieve space to express her agency and not crossing a line while Genevieve is under the influence of Knox’s drug.

Rowin has a strong understanding of both agency and consent, and he falls in love with Genevieve in part because he admires her strong will. When he and Genevieve discuss their growing feelings for each other and their complicated experiences inside the Hunt, Rowin clearly establishes the role agency has played in the arc of their relationship, saying:

But you and I have made our own choices. No matter what they’re saying, or wagering on, or voting on, we have chosen our path here. I cannot imagine how hard this has been for you. How exhausting it probably is thinking you finally have a handle on your emotions, only for the game to turn everything on its head an hour later. And I know a lot of that is my fault. But you’re not alone (331).

Rowin owns up to his own choices that have hurt Genevieve and acknowledges her pain, but he makes sure to remind her that she made key decisions to end up as a participant in the Hunt. Ironically, by making her own choices and refusing to be deterred, Genevieve placed herself in a situation in which choice was ripped away from her. However, the same determination that got her into this trap also gets her out of it. By the end of the novel, Genevieve and Rowin reclaim their agency by circumventing the Hunt and Knox’s rules to gain their ultimate and eternal freedom. The ring that restores Genevieve’s memories at the end of the novel only works if she freely chooses to put it on—a final symbol of the importance of free will.