The Bomardi use misogyny and violence against women as tools of control throughout Rose in Chains, especially after the enslavement and auction of the Eversun people. The Bomardi’s use of heartsprings and sacral magic—drawing power from their captives through sex and romance—intentionally blurs the lines of consent. In theory, sacral magic only works when the sex is consensual, but in the context of military occupation and enslavement, consent has no real meaning. Meanwhile, enslaved Eversun women are subjected to forced sterilization and invasive virginity checks, evidence of a thoroughly misogynistic system in which the Bomardi use sexual violence as a means of imperial oppression.

The enslavement of Eversun women as heartsprings for the Bomardi creates a deeply misogynistic system in which all romantic feelings are inherently suspect. Briony struggles in her relationship with Toven, as she battles her romantic feelings for him while also feeling dehumanized by him. Though he claims to have enslaved her only to save her from a worse fate, she remains legally his property. When Canning uses magic to make Briony spill her drink, Toven licks it off her neck, and Briony thinks, “To be so reminded that she was property in the same breath as feeling Toven Hearst’s mouth on her skin was… a mess” (229). Briony wants to like the feeling of Toven touch, but she cannot, as it’s Toven’s goal to lay claim to her and her body publicly. Toven later explains his actions, saying, “The only mistake I made was dancing with you at the estate dinner after the first school year. You were marked in their eyes from that moment forward” (277). Briony became an object due to her gender years ago, before the war with Bomard even began, demonstrating the deep-seated sexism present in Bomard even before Mallow’s coup.

Briony’s objectification is not the only demonstration of sexism in Bomard. At the private gatherings at Biltmore, Briony notes that most of the heirs of the line are male, thinking, “She would have scoffed if she could, knowing how much Bomard looked down on Evermore for relying on male-born primogeniture. Now look at them. Some of their mothers or aunts may be on the line, but the second generation was certainly a boys’ club” (251). This observation suggests that the culture of Bomard has not always been as violent and misogynistic as it is currently. The manipulation of consent in the practice of sacral magic similarly suggests that recent events have corrupted what was once a more equitable culture. Briony highlights the irony of Bomard, a nation that previously claimed to prioritize gender equality by allowing women to ascend to the Seat, practicing such pervasive violence against women. However, women in power do not automatically make the world safer for all women. When Mallow, a woman, takes the Seat, she begins to contribute to the degradation of women in both Bomard and Evermore, including decreasing the number of women in the line for the Seat. Briony and the other Eversun women are degraded because of their gender through enslavement, and the Bomardi women are degraded through decreased access to power.

Though Briony seeks to rebel against Mallow and her oppressive regime, she cannot fully shake off the gendered notions of power instilled in her through her life in Evermore. When Briony finds out that she’s still capable of becoming pregnant, she thinks that she “could still bear the heir twice over. She was a Rosewood. The Rosewood line was not ended with Rory” (392). Briony doesn’t see herself as a potential heir to the Evermore throne or a potential savior to end the conflict; she only views herself as the potential mother to the male heir. Briony’s relationship with herself is dictated by gender norms, much like her relationship with Toven and the other Bomardi. Briony’s character arc will continue as the trilogy unfolds, and the theme of gender and its impacts will remain significant.