The Poisoned King

The Poisoned King presents authority as a structure that must prove its validity through its actions. In her portrayal of the court at Argen Castle, Rundell presents a world in which corruption thrives amid superficiality and deceit. While Claude Argen is the primary corrupting influence, the novel demonstrates how obedience and passivity can amount to complicity when authority is misplaced. Meanwhile, critical thought and brave dissent are depicted as crucial weapons in the fight against tyranny.

From the beginning of the novel, Anya’s aversion to courtly life at Argen Castle underscores its artifice. Drilled in deportment, diplomacy, and the “twenty-one official smiles” (32), her role as a princess is to be an ornament, “seen, and admired, and coveted” (29). This emphasis on etiquette and appearances contrasts with the authentic nature of Anya’s former life with her father in the forest. The incident in which she spits at Claude is a visceral, defiant response to the rules of this world, which prioritize false outward facades over moral integrity. Claude’s seizing of the throne after murdering the king and framing Anya’s father further highlights the artifice and duplicity that underpins the court. Anya’s response—lying and using the castle’s secret passageways to steal evidence of Claude’s guilt—demonstrates her growing maturity as she uses the deceptive skills she has learned at the castle to fight her uncle’s corrupt influence.

The Argen court’s passivity stands as a foil to Anya’s defiant resolve. Chancellor Rillian Gerund demonstrates how officials preserve their own comfort instead of protecting justice. Gerund’s discomfort when telling Anya she is being sent to boarding school is conveyed as “his eyes would not meet hers” (80). The chancellor’s inability to look at Anya directly implies shame and an awareness that her life is in danger. Nevertheless, he insists, “It is the command of the regent. You will do as you’re told” (80). His loyalty to protocol, along with the silence of other courtiers, allows Claude to commit heinous acts without challenge. The novel also highlights greed as a factor in complicity as the court’s soldiers kill Koo’s mother and agree to assassinate Anya in return for financial rewards. The court members’ willingness to obey Claude without question turns them into collaborators in his crimes.

Christopher embodies the moral imperative to challenge corrupt authority when he publicly exposes Claude’s crimes during Anya’s “funeral.” This chapter illustrates how, if one person has the courage to stand up to corrupt authority, it can ignite a similar resolve in others. Rillian Gerund’s insistence that Christopher should be allowed to speak marks a shift in his own stance from compliance to resistance. Claude’s swift loss of control in this scene, as the commander of his army and the rest of his subjects turn against him, illustrates the power of collective rebellion.

Ultimately, the novel argues that authority must be challenged and dismantled whenever it harms the innocent. Anya’s dissolution of the monarchy highlights the undemocratic nature of a political system that offers absolute power as a birthright. Her creation of a parliament composed of humans and creatures in equal parts establishes a society grounded in equality and mutual cooperation rather than absolute control.