The Cruel Prince

“The servants are overfond of telling me how fortunate I am, a bastard daughter of a faithless wife, a human without a drop of faerie blood, to be treated like a trueborn daughter of Faerie. They tell Taryn much the same thing. I know it’s an honor to be raised alongside the Gentry’s own children. A terrifying honor, of which I will never be worthy. It would be hard to forget it, with all the reminders I am given.”

This quote highlights an important dynamic: As mortals, Jude and Taryn are looked down upon and considered “second-class”. Jude recognizes this with the phrase “terrifying honor, of which I will never be worthy” (10). The phrases “bastard” and “faithless” also highlight the faeries’ ideas about Jude’s legitimacy and about her mother’s actions.

“If I weren’t wearing a string of rowan berries, he could ensorcell me so that I thought dirt was some kind of delicacy. Only Madoc’s position would give him reason to hesitate. I do not move, do not touch the necklace hidden under the bodice of my tunic, the one that I hope will stop any glamour from working. The one I hope he doesn’t discover and rip from my throat [...] Since Cardan’s a prince, it’s more than likely no one has ever cautioned him, has ever stayed his hand. I never know how far he’ll go [...].”

This passage incorporates two important elements. The first

is the vulnerability that Jude’s mortal status entails, as evidenced by the fact that she must wear rowan berries for protection. The second is Cardan’s arrogance and sense of entitlement, which Jude muses must mean “no one has ever [...] stayed his hand” (29). 

“I bite the inside of my cheek. Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.”

Jude has a complex set of emotions about the faeries she lives among. While her classmates torment her, she is also envious of their beauty, immortality, and the sense of belonging they have in Faerie. While this intensely enmeshed disdain and admiration would be painful for anyone to endure, Jude nevertheless remains honest with herself; she confesses her enemies have desirable traits, and she confesses her envy of them. This mix of emotions makes Black’s story and Jude’s character more complex.