The Primal of Blood and Bone

The novel is especially interested in examining the complex way love drives characters in situations of duress, offering them a sanctuary, but also weighing them down. Although love is a powerful, positive force in the text, it simultaneously extracts a cost from the characters, casting love as both sanctuary and burden under pressure.

Characters often feel love keenly to the point of pain, as seen in Cas and Poppy’s intense devotion to each other. For instance, when Poppy is in stasis, Cas can hardly leave her side, nearly foregoing his duties to his people. Even the usually stoic Kieran is beside himself with worry. He anxiously tests the temperature of Poppy’s skin, alert to any sign of chill. Words like “anguish” are often used in the context of the central trio’s love for each other, such as when Poppy briefly drifts out of sleep and tastes the “thick tanginess of anguish and concern” (97) in Cas’s emotions. Poppy also senses anguish in Cas when he is feuding with Kieran, the pain like “the near-constant anguish for his brother” (940) during the period Malik was with the Blood Crown.

Love is also dualistic in the novel because it sometimes forces characters to make difficult choices, such as the choice between personal love and public duty. Cas has trouble balancing his role as Poppy’s husband with his royal responsibilities. His instinct is to focus only on Poppy till Kieran’s chiding reminds him that, whether he likes it or not, he is the king of his people. Another difficult test is between competing loyalties, such as when Poppy chooses to place the burden of stopping her on Kieran, instead of Cas. While Cas has assumed Poppy chose Kieran because she did not trust Cas, Poppy reveals that her decision was based on other factors. Poppy knew stopping her would destroy Cas. When an incredulous Cas snaps “And you thought it wouldn’t destroy Kieran?” Poppy replies that she knows it would destroy Kieran but she made a choice all the same.

While love is not easy, it is always life-affirming and transformative. Throughout the novel, characters are driven to do good because of the power of love. Poppy’s love, not just for Cas, but for her entire found family—Kieran, Delano, and the others—gives her hope and balance. Even when she panics about being Sotoria, she controls herself for the sake of everyone she loves. She stops herself from killing Isbeth out of love for her people, reminded by Valyn that her violence will terrify them. Cas, too, changes himself for Poppy, reining in his impatience and impetuousness. Kieran’s love works in a subtler fashion: He allows Poppy and Cas to take centerstage, stepping back to give them space. He does not burden Poppy with expectations and weathers Cas’s ill temper.

Finally, love acts as hope and sanctuary, enabling characters to survive the grimmest conditions. It is Poppy’s love for Cas and the others that allows her to first fight Kolis in stasis, and then face him in a terrifying battle. The novel ends with the implication that Cas, although now terrifyingly powerful, will ultimately find salvation and purpose through Poppy’s return.