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Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.
Shame and Its Distorting Power
Throughout the novel, shame has a powerful grip on the gang, often distorting characters’ abilities to see themselves clearly and understand their own strengths. Wylan, for example, is raised in a house defined by shame. His father, unable to appreciate or love his son, regularly shames Wylan for being unable to read, going so far as to try to have Wylan killed. Having internalized this perspective, Wylan struggles to see that he is inherently worthy, endowed with a wide range of talents, and that he is well-loved by the gang. Kaz tells Wylan that “shame eats men whole” as a portrait of Wylan’s great-great-grandfather looms over them, suggesting that Wylan comes from a long line of men who passed their shame on to their sons. By seeing his father’s lies, corruption, and violence clearly, and through the love of Jesper and others, Wylan begins to cut through the fog of shame. Jesper, similarly, grapples with shame, which he inherits from his overprotective father. Colm guides Jesper to hide and deny his Grisha abilities, which means they remain dormant, but Jesper is filled with a restlessness that leads him to gamble. After confronting his father and telling him that self-denial is killing him, Jesper reclaims his Grisha powers.
Family as a Force of Both Destruction and Salvation
Families of origin are often a source of ruin throughout the novel, while chosen family regularly provide characters with solace, even salvation. Orphaned Matthias calls the drüskelle his brothers, and he is raised with them as though with family. But he comes to realize that they are, essentially, a group built on hate and have corrupted his worldview, and he begins to envision a new life with Nina, one that is sustained by hope. Similarly, Wylan’s father is a constant source of destruction to his firstborn son. Van Eck takes Wylan’s mother from him and attempts to have Wylan killed, acts of violence and cruelty that have devastating effects on Wylan. He also routinely denigrates and abuses his son, which corrodes Wylan’s sense of self-worth. Kaz’s brother’s death has a profound and nearly fatal impact on Kaz, who organizes his life around getting revenge for this loss. It is only through the Dregs that Kaz begins to see a different path forward, one in which he may heal from the past instead of remaining trapped within it. Finally, Inej’s family lives on within her, even years after she was taken from them by the slavers, and her father’s wisdom and her mother’s faith in her are constant sources of strength and solace.
The Corruption of Greed
Throughout the novel, greed and the love of profit rule Ketterdam, and the city’s most successful and respected merchants are often secretly responsible for corrupt and immoral acts. The religious language that is regularly used to describe the city’s relationship to commerce heightens this commentary on greed’s corrupting powers. Trade is the only thing that’s held sacred in Ketterdam. As one example, the place where the auction is held is called the Church of Barter, emphasizing that, in this society, the market is the primary sacred space. The rampant greed and corruption that plague the city is the result of worshipping profit. Many members of the Dregs share these priorities, and though Kaz (and others) may be skeptical of the reverence the merchant class has for the market, he, too, engages in pursuit of profit. It’s Kaz’s dedication to profit that causes Inej to worry whether Kaz would save her if her legs were broken. Without her skills, without being able to benefit Kaz financially, Inej fears Kaz would see her merely as a bad investment. The novel demonstrates that a society built on the endless pursuit of profit generates an atmosphere of distrust. As Inej and Kaz vow to seek out and punish those who turn a blind eye to suffering when there’s money to be made, the novel stresses the need to counter greed’s corrupting influence.
