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His remaining golden eye now stared at the snow-heavy sky, and for a moment, I wished I had it in me to feel remorse for the dead thing. But this was the forest, and it was winter.
Early in the novel, Feyre establishes that she is entirely focused on her and her family’s survival, and that this struggle has robbed her of the ability to feel empathy for other living beings. This quote foreshadows Feyre’s character arc, during which she sheds some of her tough, survivalist traits and regain a sense of empathy and hope. Ironically, it is Feyre’s time in the fae world that allows her to recover her humanness, soften her heart, and learn the value of feeling remorse, sadness, and love.
Every time I looked toward a horizon or wondered if I should just walk and walk and never look back, I’d hear that promise I made eleven years ago as she wasted away on her deathbed. Stay together, and look after them.
Feyre promised her dying mother that she would take responsibility for protecting and providing for the family. This promise, which has solidified a powerful sense of duty within Feyre, is what keeps her fighting for her family’s survival even when the work is terribly difficult. Additionally, Feyre’s family doesn’t make things easier on her, as they are often portrayed as lazy and ungrateful. Yet, Feyre still knows that, regardless of their treatment of her, she has an obligation to protect them. This obligation of care is one that Tamlin shares, which helps the two form a strong bond and understanding of one another.
I swallowed hard. Andras had a place here, and friends here – he hadn’t been just some nameless, faceless faerie. No doubt he was more missed than I was. “I’m…sorry,” I said – and meant it.
One of the most meaningful lessons that Feyre learns in Prythian is that faeries are not an evil or heartless species, and they have families, lovers, friends, and responsibilities just as she does. As this truth becomes increasingly clear to her, she must grapple with her role in Andras’ death. When Feyre initially killed Andras, she knew that, if the wolf was a faerie, she wouldn’t feel guilty for ending its life because of her prejudices against the fae. However, she learns that she was mistaken about Andras and faeries in general, and she realizes that she is remorseful for ending the life of a living being who had his own loves, sorrows, and duties, just like her. Learning to humanize faeries and deconstruct her prejudices is perhaps the most crucial part of Feyre’s character arc.
For Prythian, for Tamlin, for their world and my own . . . These deaths would not be wasted – even if it would damn me forever.
At the end of A Court of Thorns and Roses, Feyre is faced with an incredibly difficult choice: kill three faeries, and win Amarantha’s game, potentially rescuing Prythian from her authoritarian rule; or refuse to kill three living beings, sacrificing her own life instead, but also leaving Prythian under Amarantha’s power. Feyre chooses the first option, but it is not easy, and she knows she will suffer from deep guilt for the rest of her life. This revelation shows that her character arc is complete: the novel begins with Feyre willingly killing a faerie, and feeling nothing, and it ends with her unwillingly killing three, and knowing she will never be the same for it.
“I love you,” I said. “No matter what she says about it, no matter if it’s only with my insignificant human heart. Even when they burn my body, I’ll love you.”
Throughout the novel, Feyre is hesitant to admit her growing feelings for Tamlin, partially because he is a faerie and she is still deconstructing her prejudices, but also because Feyre’s history with hardship and disappointment has made it difficult for her to open up to the possibility of love. Her focus has been entirely on survival, and emotional vulnerability was at direct odds with the tough, merciless life she led before being summoned to the Spring Court. Thus, her declaration of love for Tamlin, which she gives even as she knows she will likely die for that love, shows that she now believes there are aspects of life more important than survival. Through her love of Tamlin, Feyre has found hope for a better world and a purpose in life beyond just survival.
