“Halla of Rutger’s Howe had just inherited a great deal of money and was therefore spending her evening trying to figure out how to kill herself.”

The novel’s opening sentence establishes its central conflict and ironic tone. Inheriting wealth is typically associated with gaining freedom, so Halla’s suicidal ideation immediately highlights her powerlessness and raises implicit questions about her situation, setting the plot immediately in motion.

“‘I am the servant of the sword,’ he said. ‘I obey the will of the—great god, woman, put on some clothes!’”

Sarkis’s first words to Halla subvert the high-fantasy trope of a magical being’s dramatic appearance. The jarring shift from a formal, mystical declaration to a flustered, mundane demand for propriety introduces the novel’s comedic tone, which remains constant from chapter to chapter.

“Good. Roderick and I will go out that way and make sure no one suspicious is lurking around. Oh, this is Roderick, my aunt’s guardsman.”

In this moment of deception at the town lich-gate, Halla demonstrates her quick thinking under pressure. By misdirecting the young man on vigil with a clever lie, she employs intellect to ensure their escape, contrasting with Sarkis’s reflexive use of force in any scenario. As she focuses on Navigating the Prejudices of a Patriarchal System, Halla projects the false persona of a concerned, slightly foolish woman to manipulate the situation to her advantage.