The Alloy of Law

In The Alloy of Law, Waxillium Ladrian’s primary struggle is the tension between his authentic identity as a Roughs lawman and his inherited duties as an Elendel high lord. The novel suggests that true integrity is achieved not by choosing one life over the other, but by integrating a personal sense of purpose with societal responsibility. Wax’s journey from compartmentalizing his identities to synthesizing them illustrates that social obligation and personal morality need not be mutually exclusive.

Initially, Wax attempts to completely abandon his past. Haunted by the death of his wife, Lessie, he returns to Elendel and ceremonially sheds his frontier identity by locking away his mistcoat and Sterrion revolvers. The third-person narrator’s description of this event conveys its finality: “He closed the lid of the trunk on his old life. ‘Take this, Tillaume,’ Wax said. […] ‘I won’t be needing it,’ Wax said, turning away from the trunk. ‘Put it somewhere safe, but put it away. For good.’” (28) In this moment, he declares his intent to fully and permanently embrace the role of Lord Ladrian. However, his authentic self resists this suppression. He feels suffocated by the city’s endless social functions and finds his only moments of peace when he dons his mistcoat to leap through