Freedom In Sarah J. Maas Throne Of Glass

“There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires”-Nelson Mandela. Freedom, power and control, as well as stereotyping are some of the most prominent themes seen throughout Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas. In this novel Celaena Sardothien, an assassin, is taken my Dorian Havilliard, the prince, to compete against other killers and thieves to be the king’s champion and win their freedom. Celaena, Nehemia, and Prince Dorian portray freedom through their actions and thoughts. The people who manipulate, destroy, and bully to gain power and control are Cain, Duke Perrington along with the king. Also, the people

Wanting freedom above all else, Celaena Sardothien is willing to do almost anything to get it. She wants to be free from Endovier as well as her life in Adarlan. “Yes, she would go—to Rifthold, to anywhere, even through the Gates of the Wyrd and into Hell itself, if it meant freedom”. (pg 19) Celaena is willing to do whatever it takes to gain her freedom, even kill for the person she despises most. Another person who exemplifies this theme is Princess Nehemia of Eyllwe. She wants her people to be independent from the tyranny of the king of Adarlan. When Celaena first meets her, she thinks, “Nehemia, the Light of Eyllwe, who would save them from their plight. Nehemia, who might someday pose a threat to the King of Adarlan’s rule over her home country when she ascended to the throne. Nehemia, they whispered, who smuggled information and supplies to the rebel groups hiding in Eyllwe”.(pg 95) The people of Eyllwe believe that one day Nehemia will gain back control of their country and free them, and she does everything in her power to make that freedom possible, including putting herself at risk by helping rebel groups. Furthermore, Dorian Havilliard wants to be free to marry the girl he chooses. Contrary to the customs of his family, Dorian doesn’t want to be stuck with a girl who he only married for political or economic gain. While explaining to Celaena why he isn’t married yet, he states, “‘I’m not married,’

One of the people who epitomize this theme is Cain, who is one of Celaena’s competitors. Cain is willing to do anything to win the competition, many of these things involving the death of competition. During the final battle for the title, Celaena thinks, ”He knew. He knew they’d drugged her”.(pg 355) Wanting to win so he can have power, Cain was aware of his sponsor drugging her and doesn’t object as long as he has influence and control if he wins. Moreover, Duke Perrington, Cain’s sponsor, executes many immoral plans to achieve power. He manipulates and uses the people in court to achieve his goals, specifically Kaltain. After being dragged away by the guards, Kaltain thinks, “Perrington has been planning this for too long. And she’d played right into his hands. He’d acted the besotted fool only to plunge a dagger in her back”.*(pg 372) Despite Perrington devising the plan to poison Celaena to gain power and control, he quickly blames Kaltain, so he doesn’t lose what authority he has. Someone else who demonstrates this theme extremely well is the king of Adarlan. The king continually tries, and succeeds, to gain control over other lands as well as wanting everyone to obey exactly what he says without question. When confronting his son, “The back of the king’s hand connected with Dorian’s cheek, and the prince staggered, but regained his countenance. His face throbbed, stinging so badly he fought to keep