Four Ruined Realms

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and gender discrimination.

The main characters of Four Ruined Realms are from Yusan, where women’s rights are limited. Women in Yusan are not allowed to hold a variety of positions, control their money, or wear what they want. In contrast, in Khitan, women have more freedom in their appearances, vocations, and inheritance. The differences are surprising to both female and male characters, and the novel uses their reactions and observations to comment on gender discrimination and traditional gender roles.

Sora observes gender differences more frequently than the other characters. In Khitan, she notes, “Women are not only attractive decoration here but active participants. They hold court—not just among themselves, but with men. Some wear suits and have their hair cut shorter than Euyn’s” (71). The women there also speak to men as equals and change their appearance as they see fit. They actively control their lives. Sora sees the stark contrast with gender roles in Yusan, reflecting that women there have to conform to societal standards and deny parts of themselves. She also notes that the expectations for women in Yusa aren’t something that the men there would put up with, saying, “[M]en aren’t as forgiving of the binds put on women” (34). With Sora’s observations and comparisons, the novel draws a stark picture of the disparity in the expectations of and freedom allowed women while noting that men, even in Yusan, wouldn’t put up with similar constraints.

The male characters from Yusan are also avid observers of the differences between the two cultures, observing how women can obtain a larger variety of occupations in Khitan. Zeolin is shocked that the realm of Khitan allows “women to serve” in the military (73), and the highest-ranking member of the military, General Vikal, is a woman. Royo reflects on the gendering of other professions, like serving in a Temple of Knowledge, noting, “Yusan doesn’t have female priests, and even if they did, my mother worked a dozen different jobs trying to make ends meet” (172). This thought explores the intersection of gender and class. People of lower socioeconomic classes take a variety of jobs to make ends meet, and the jobs that women can take are far more limited in Yusan. With the two men’s observations, the novel notes the large gap between employment allowed to women in both cultures.

Aeri and Queen Quilimar also comment on gender roles in the two realms. Aeri’s perception of women’s rights is drastically changed when she arrives in Khitan. She thinks, “To some extent, every girl in Yusan is cursed. It wasn’t until I got to Khitan that I realized it’s not the same everywhere” (256). She was unaware that women could hold a wider variety of positions, control their own money, inherit, wear pants, and cut their hair short until she left her home in Yusan. When Aeri and the others meet Quilimar, she immediately points out how gendered expectations and rights differ: “The role of women in Yusan is to be underfoot. You must be steel to survive. I wish you welcome to a place where you can stand on your own” (333). Quilimar is intimately aware of the freedoms that women enjoy in Khitan because she was raised in the more oppressive realm of Yusan and immediately highlights the differences to her visitors.

The fictional realms of Yusan and Khitan reflect cultural differences in gender roles and expectations. Four Ruined Realms uses the observations of its characters to highlight the disparities between gender expectations and roles in the two cultures, demonstrating the real-world implications of restricting women’s rights.