Woven by Gold

The frozen rosebush, which literally separates Rosalina from her chosen family in Castletree, represents the fear, shame, loneliness, and uncertainty the characters feel before they learn to integrate all the disparate parts of themselves into an authentic whole. Once the magical portal to her chosen home, Keldarion’s rejection and banishment of Rosalina transform the rosebush into an impassable barrier of ice. Its unnatural state is emphasized in the narrative: “Winter has turned to spring, warm rain has washed away the snow, pastel flowers sprout up from the hard earth, and the rosebush is still frozen” (3). Its magical resistance to the changing seasons positions it as a direct manifestation of the High Prince of Winter’s will. 

The rosebush’s crystallized petals suggest a love that has been suspended in a state of cold denial, while the impenetrable thorns represent the pain of being shut out. The rosebush symbolizes a state of hopeless stasis—despite Rosalina’s pleas for Keldarion to give into their mate bond, Keldarion’s refusal leaves them both miserable and unfulfilled. Rosalina notes “Not just [their] mutual pleasure but the desire that sparked through [their] bond” when they are together—“Not only desire. Love. There was love there” (321). Yet, Keldarion repeatedly rejects her and attempts to create distance between them. The presence of the frozen rosebush emphasizes Rosalina’s severed connection to the world where she discovered her true self and the family she now desperately longs to rejoin.