Throne of the Fallen

Content Warning: This section of the guide describes sexual content, death, and death by suicide.

Throughout Throne of the Fallen, Kerri Maniscalco deliberately juxtaposes ideas of light and darkness to underline the needed but delicate balance within and between Envy and Camilla. One way in which this balance is emphasized is through the narrative’s emphasis on art, and the role it plays in both characters’ lives. Early on, the novel introduces the concept of chiaroscuro, an Italian term that refers to the interplay of light and shading within an artistic piece. The term first appears in Camilla’s observation of Envy’s painting studio: “As if [the studio] were chiaroscuro made solid, the chamber was a study of bold, dramatic contrasts—on one side a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows let in bright sunlight, and on the other dark paneled walls cast nearly black shadows in the corners” (189). This setting, with its balance of light and dark, parallels Envy’s character. As a private space isolated both from Envy’s court and his brothers, the studio is a rare insight into Envy’s mindset: While he does keep part of himself in the shadow, and is highly secretive, he also seeks out the light. Nicknamed the Prince of Secrets, Envy deliberately maintains a highly curated persona that keeps his true self and intentions shrouded in mystery. Yet his persistent need for games and gambling—be it in larger contexts such as Lennox’s games or smaller ones such as the recurring competitive and seductive behavior he expresses toward Camilla—indicates a desire to be challenged and discovered, while his continuing attraction to Camilla underscores his desire to be fully exposed and vulnerable to her.

Camilla’s appreciation for the dark and light aspects of his studio highlights their similarities; she responds to this melding of opposites in his studio by reflecting that “[the studio] was all perfect, exactly what she’d chosen for herself” (190). Her instinctive attraction to the contrasting elements highlights her and Envy’s compatibility as partners. It also illustrates their roles in each other’s lives and conflicts: They each keep secrets that deeply affect the other’s life. Envy’s dark secret is his court’s memory fog affliction, which drives his determination to win the game and his initial demands for Camilla to participate. Meanwhile, Camilla’s secret status as Lennox’s estranged daughter and an Unseelie Princess of the Wild Court complicates Envy’s task of winning the game and forces him into a battle for both his court and Camilla. 

In the closing chapter of the novel, Envy and Camilla are finally able to be together. When they have sex on a canvas in the studio, their balance is figuratively achieved as light and shadow are melded. Their connection creates a canvas of “every shade of silver, purple, blue, yellow, white, and green […]. Their colors, and the colors found within her [Camilla’s] favorite flowers” (556). Color is brought into their world, emphasizing the more complex nature of their connection, which now goes beyond simple light and dark. With these references to art and color, and their use as a metaphor for the balance between Camilla and Envy, the narrative highlights the complex and shifting nature of the balance between these two characters, and how it continues to evolve.