Glow

The Plated Prisoner series is filled with examples of individuals who are greedy to seize power and to wield it for their own ends. As Slade observes, “When it comes to the games the monarchs in this world play […] It’s just about power. How to get it, how to keep it, how to attain more of it. And most of all, how to make sure others don’t have more power than them” (541). While the rulers of the six kingdoms are powerful by default, they are never fully satisfied and continue trying to outmaneuver their rival monarchs and manipulate the populaces of their kingdoms. Through the monarchs’ behavior, the novel examines the corrupting influence of power.

Slade’s backstory provides an example of how power can lead an individual to be even more cruel and domineering. His brutal father can break objects or people at will and is the most extreme example of a character who abuses his power to terrorize others and keep them in line. At one point, Elore tries to change Slade’s skewed perception of what it means to be powerful, but she is a lone voice in a world dominated by corruption. To assert that he is master of his domain, Stanton kills Elore’s lover and nearly does the same to his wife until Slade intervenes. While Stanton is fae, and the fae are generally depicted as more violent than humans, the rulers of the human realms of Orea are no better.

The desire for power consistently leads the monarch to exploit those closest to them. King Merewen uses his son’s power to weave a barrier when Slade attacks the Conflux. Even though the boy falls into convulsions, his father demands more, just as Stanton demanded more of Slade. Midas exploits Auren in a similarly merciless fashion. He schemes his way into power by pretending to have the golden touch while Malina, the rightful heir of Sixth Kingdom, is despised by her father and passed over because she has no magic of her own.

The women in the novel are not exempt from power’s corrupting influence either. Later in the novel, Malina is tricked into opening the bridge between Orea and Annwyn with the promise that she will acquire power of her own—the one thing she is desperate to have, regardless of the consequences. Queen Kaila already possesses the power of voices, but she twists and distorts those voices for her own gain. This becomes evident in her testimony at the Conflux when she carefully edits her words to frame Auren for murder. Significantly, Kaila only becomes threatened by Auren when she fears that the golden girl might be able to steal her own power. Instead of representing an alternative to the masculine world of dominance and scheming, the women instead participate wholeheartedly in it, understanding the rewards of doing so.

Thus, in the world of Glow, magic equals power, and those who wield it will lie, cheat, and steal to keep it and acquire more. Instead of caring for their people and seeking prosperity and peace, the greed of the rulers only leads to endless strife, injustice, and cruelty.