“The Bomardi men who were in her father’s castle—The men who watched her brother die—The men who were hunting Eversuns—They were the men to whom she grew up curtsying, the men she greeted at state affairs, the men who shook her father’s hand just weeks before Mallow took the Seat and struck him down. She likely knew them all.”

The Bomardi invasion is analogous to historical events like the Rwandan genocide and the Balkan Wars, in which political demagoguery leads to horrific violence against people who were formerly seen as friends, neighbors, and colleagues. The men currently killing and enslaving the Eversuns are the parents of Briony’s friends and former colleagues of her father, and the sudden eruption of violence shocks her.

“Briony’s skin tingled. She gave her magic to Rory all the time. She’d never thought of it as something that could be taken from her, only shared.”

The issue of consent is central to Rose in Chains. The Eversuns are enslaved to become heartsprings for the Bomardi enslavers, who take their magic and their bodies without consent. Briony consensually gives her magic to Rory to make him look more competent, and her thought about her magic being taken from her foreshadows Briony’s eventual enslavement, though Briony is not forced into a heartspring bond with Toven.

“I also happen to believe you’re headed to a fate worse than death. But bear in mind that there are no promises kept for the other women. If you try to run again, I will kill every Eversun in that cell. And I will start with Cordelia Hardstark.”

Mallow’s words to Briony add a layer of complexity to the theme of Sexual Violence as a Mechanism of Oppression. Mallow is a woman herself, yet she is content to allow the Bomardi enslavers to rape and abuse the Eversuns, especially the women. Ironically, a woman-ruled empire sits atop a pyramid of systemic gendered violence.

“It was the Bomardi Circus. Her father had taken them when they were young, and the entertainers had given her purple roses for her hair. And now she was below deck, like one of the animals that danced for applause.”

Soto’s choice of setting for the auction further demonstrates the objectification Briony and the other Eversuns face. Not only are they being enslaved and sold for profit, they are kept in what is essentially an animal pen in anticipation of their further dehumanization.

“Orion Hearst had been the dangerous exception, and Toven Hearst had had the potential to break every rule that came before him.”

The description of Toven’s magical talent cements him as a foil to Briony. Both have intense magical abilities (Briony is highly rated on the magical ability scale during the pre-auction appraisal) and similar ambitions, making them both capable of clashing and being compatible.

“I’m sorry for all that you’ve lost, but I cannot offer you more than the assurance that Hearst Hall is the safest place for you.”

Serena’s words to Briony hint at Serena’s maternal instincts towards Briony, which is an important aspect of Serena’s character arc. She wants to help protect Briony like she protects Toven, but she cannot yet confide in Briony, whose mind is not safe.

“Toven Hearst was not using her as a heartspring. Her mind drifted through all the possible reasons why not, but she couldn’t come to a clear conclusion.”

Briony struggles to understand why Toven hasn’t completed the heartspring bond. The novel later reveals that Briony is already in a heartspring bond with Rory, who is still alive, but Toven also doesn’t bond with Briony because he wants to respect her bodily and magical autonomy, pushing back against the expectation of Sexual Violence as a Mechanism of Oppression in Bomard.

“Briony’s heart raced. Orion Hearst knew she had her magic, and he didn’t plan on taking it from her.”

Orion’s character remains mysterious, especially as he seems to support Briony’s use of magic to learn mind barriers, which is inconsistent with his supposed loyalty to Mallow and Bomard. He treats Briony callously, yet his actions do not align with his attitudes and beliefs.

“‘It’s a shame Canning thinks he owns the line.’ Her mind twisted, and it felt like when she and Rory used to stay up all night, trying to plan for every eventuality on the battlefield. ‘You’ll have to get one over on him somehow…No one should order a Hearst around like that.’”

As Briony goads Toven into pushing back against Canning and the other men who harass both Briony and Toven about their relationship, she compares her thought process to her strategy meetings with Rory. Deprived of political or magical power, she falls back on strategic thinking, which has always been one of her strengths. Her mind is an asset to both her and the rebellion.

“General Meers paced to the desk. ‘We think she seduced Riann Cohle—’ ‘There’s no evidence of that,’ Finola objected.”

Mallow herself faces the negative impacts of sexism, as General Meers assumes that Mallow used her body to obtain the Seat. Ironically, though Mallow knows Evermore is a sexist society, she herself creates a society based on gendered violence.

“What did that tone mean? Had he been friendly with her father? Was he perhaps upset to see King Jacquel’s offspring being treated like property by Bomard? Briony couldn’t decipher it.”

Briony questions the political implications of her enslavement, as Bomard still exists within the context of the broader world outside the continent of Moreland. Briony, as the daughter of the former king, is still a prominent political figure, and she can potentially use that status and the optics of her enslavement to garner support for the rebellion.

“Husked. Cordelia had been husked—all her magic taken, used up, with no promise it would ever return. Briony squeezed her hands into fists.”

Briony is horrified to hear that Cordelia has been robbed of her power by Cohle, since Briony hasn’t seen Cordelia since the auction. Husking is also a broader allegory for the physical and sexual violence that the Eversun women face, as so much more than just magic is taken from them without their consent during their enslavement.

“‘And so what happens to her now?’ ‘She is alive, but…no longer a heartspring.’ Briony reached between the words he wasn’t saying. ‘Now she’s just a woman, held captive in a man’s estate.’”

When Briony speaks to Toven about Cordelia, the issue of gender and power becomes significant again. Though Cordelia isn’t a heartspring anymore, she’s still enslaved by Cohle and at risk of physical and sexual violence. Briony feels guilty that she experiences safety and security while those she loves suffer, illustrating her selfless characterization.

“Was that how the Hearsts saw Briony, too? Was that how General Tremelo of Daward saw her? Something to be kept healthy and unharmed until a safe return?”

Briony again contends with the political implications of Mallow’s reign, this time in the context of the Hearst family. Though she begins to forge a real relationship with Toven, she still wonders if he views her as “a something,” an object to be used and bartered for political gain. The power imbalance between Toven and Briony impedes their romance, suggesting that genuine love is difficult or impossible within a system built on Sexual Violence as a Mechanism of Oppression.

“Larissa was actually practicing when she wasn’t with Briony. It seemed that whatever it was that motivated her to get to Biltmore was strong.”

Soto foreshadows a larger role for Larissa in the coming installments of the Evermore trilogy. Briony does not find out what motivates Larissa to attend Biltmore, but like many of the other secrets in the novel, it will likely be revealed later in the series.

“‘Oh yes,’ he snarled, turning back to her, his face pink. ‘I do wonder what your old friends would have to say about your method of information gathering, Rosewood.’”

Toven’s statement to Briony illustrates that he is not immune to the sexism that surrounds him in Bomard. He criticizes Briony for kissing Canning to find out Cordelia’s location, but Briony has little to bargain with when it comes to gaining information about her friends. Instead of treating her with sensitivity, Toven shames her, demonstrating the pervasive nature of sexism in Bomard.

“There was a hole in her stomach the shape of a cannonball, filled with grief and rage and despair.”

Briony’s agony at the maid and her brother’s deaths via cannonfire demonstrates The Importance of Hope in Seemingly Hopeless Situations. Passing notes with the maid at Biltmore gave Briony hope, but losing the maid challenges that hope, though Briony fights to maintain her determination to rebel in the maid’s honor.

“His eyes were clear and his voice soft. And though it was the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to her, she felt nothing.”

Briony’s tries diligently to force herself to fall in love with Didion, as a match between them would be politically advantageous. The contrast between Toven and Didion is strong; they don’t look alike, they don’t act alike, and they have completely different backgrounds. Briony cannot stop her feelings for Toven just as she cannot force her feelings for Didion, demonstrating Soto’s argument that romance is not always a conscious choice.

“She is Mallow’s favorite. She…I’m not sure what she does to her, but I have healed her once.”

The male medical tech foreshadows the eventual revelation of Cordelia’s fate. Cordelia is absent throughout most of the narrative, only mentioned in passing and haunting the narrative. Cordelia serves as a reminder of what Briony has lost, though later in the series she will likely return.

“There were no servants at Hearst Hall. They entertained no guests. They hosted no parties. There were secrets within these walls, and Briony had only scratched the surface of them.”

Briony discovers Serena’s mind magic, but other mysteries remain going into the next installment in the Evermore trilogy. Orion’s motivations remain unknown, and Toven keeps Briony at a distance, the novel ending with Briony uncertain whether Toven will help her take down Mallow.

“The missing piece of her heart ached. And it wasn’t just the act of killing Cohle. It was the oil on her skin from Reighven’s mind, his memories of her naked body. It was the nameless nurse who she’d given the chance she couldn’t have—the way her heart needed to hope that he could find Sammy. It was Phoebe—knowing that she’d lost a child she couldn’t have wanted and her chance at one she did, all in the same day. It was Cordelia, husked…And it was Rory. Rory whom she hadn’t said goodbye to because she was so confident in a prophecy that was nothing but nursery rhymes.”

Briony mentally recites a litany of what she’s lost to the war with Bomard. Some are personal losses, like the loss of her dignity and her brother, and some are empathetic losses, like Phoebe and Cordelia’s suffering. Briony’s guilt for promising Rory that he’s the Heir Twice Over remains evident, as she can’t let go of her culpability for his death.

“The collar didn’t work on Briony because she had given her heart magic away to her brother. What if she still was giving it? Magic freely given couldn’t be taken.”

Briony slowly comes to realize that Rory is still alive. Even in his supposed death, she’s still giving her magic to Rory, further illustrating her unwavering loyalty to her brother and her selfless nature, two traits that are essential to her characterization.

“When these two had come for him the last time, they’d all decided that it was safer for her boy to stay here. Foolishly, the dragon thought he’d chosen her that day. That he would have preferred to stay.”

The dragon yearns for companionship, which is what led her to ally herself with Mallow in the first place. The dragon yearns for a real relationship, which she thinks she has with Rory until Rory needs to leave to fight against Mallow again. The dragon and Rory’s relationship only appears in the epilogue, though it will likely play a significant role in future installments of the series.