The Queen of Nothing

In the previous section, Taryn’s arrival in the human world marked a turning point in the text and a breach between the two realms. Once Jude travels to Faerie, the narrative turns again and the action intensifies. One feature of the Queen of Nothing narrative is that it is intensely plotted and driven by action rather than explanation. As the final book in the trilogy, its purpose is to move toward the denouement. Within the trilogy, the book can be regarded as the climax and the falling action of the five-part narrative arc, which is why it is packed with action and set pieces. Jude’s arrival at Locke’s manor immediately immerses the reader in the conventions of Faerie, which are more formal and courtly than the real world. Despite existing in the same timeline as the contemporary mortal world, Faerie practices many traditions from a far earlier time. It exists almost as a living fairy tale or medieval fable running parallel to the real or mortal world.

Clothes and courtesy are extremely important in Faerie, as suggested in the preceding section by the detailed description of Taryn’s Faerie gown. Here too, the helpers in the house dress Jude in “Taryn’s bronze dress, with […] gloves on my fingers” (59). Cardan’s appearance is noted in detail, with his “etched and jeweled breastplate in polished gold […] and his gold-rimmed black eyes” (60). In Faerie, appearances and fashion carry tremendous significance and convey a sense of power. This is consistent with folklore and fairy tales, where clothes and shoes—like Cinderella’s slipper or the hats of redcaps—have a particular value. The centrality of clothes in the narrative reinforces the sense that the Faerie realm is derived from real-life folklore and exists as folklore come to life.

This section also introduces the hierarchical nature of Faerie. Servants are often creatures in debt to those they serve, sentenced to pay out their debt through labor. Common faeries and lesser folk like imps tend to be servants and are bossed viciously by the highborn. While mortals are sometimes allowed in the Faerie realm, as in the case of Jude’s mother and father (Jude’s father, Justin, was a historian and expert swordsman apprenticing with Grimsen, the master smith), they are often treated as objects of scorn and trickery. In the Court of Teeth, Jude is regarded with derision and referred to as an inanimate object. Yet, Faerie folk envy the fecundity of mortals, since faeries have far fewer children.

The fact that Cardan immediately recognizes Jude shows the depth of their connection. Jude is revealed to be in love not just with Cardan, but with magic itself. When she glimpses Cardan in the brugh (throne room), she thinks he is “even more horrifically beautiful than I was able to recall. They’re all beautiful, unless they’re hideous” (60). The immortality and beauty of the faeries, as well as the unfair treatment she meets at their hands, have made Jude feel inferior to them. Cardan’s court’s hostile response to Taryn shows the pervasive hostility toward humans, as well as the pernicious nature of power itself. Because Taryn is the sister of Jude, the mortal who once had Cardan’s ear, she is regarded suspiciously. The court’s snootiness toward her make Jude recall being crowned the Queen of Mirth, a ritual in which a mortal girl is seduced and tricked by Faerie fruit, wine, and kisses. In The Wicked King, Locke, Nicasia, and some other faeries tricked Jude into assuming this role and humiliated her. The Queen of Mirth ritual—drawn from folklore—is meant to show mortals their limitations. Faerie fruit and wine can intoxicate mortals to the point of madness, which is why knowing mortals always salt food offered by faeries (salt, like iron, being a powerful protection against magic).

Although Jude naturally thinks of herself as weak and mortal, the narrative hints that Cardan and the others do not see her so. The very reason that Cardan’s court is threatened by Jude is because of the power she yields; Cardan himself has never harmed Jude or her siblings. This suggests that Jude needs to accept her mortal nature unapologetically to grow as a character. Similarly, the culture of the Elfhame court cannot endure in its current xenophobic form. Things must change or decay. This can be read as a self-reflexive comment on the story Black is writing. She is crafting a new narrative and thus bringing folklore into a new era.

One of the most interesting motifs in this section is the complicated dynamic between Madoc and Jude, whom he still thinks is Taryn. Madoc is depicted as a hyper-ambitious, bloodthirsty general who wants to claim the Greenbriar crown for himself. When Jude allied with Cardan, Madoc shunned her. Yet, it is also true that Madoc came to save Taryn from Cardan and thinks Taryn’s killing of Locke is justifiable. Jude frequently recalls Madoc training her to be an expert swordswoman. But when he deemed her equal to him, he gave her a compliment that was also a threat: “And when I best you, I will make sure I do it as thoroughly as I would any opponent who has shown themselves to be my equal” (79). In other words, he will not show Jude mercy in battle. Jude’s recalling of these lines foreshadows her fate when she does inevitably spar with her father. Madoc reveals to Jude-as-Taryn that he has favored Jude in the past because, of all his children, she is the most like him. He even confesses to being proud of Jude. Madoc’s relationship with his children is complex, with ruthlessness mixed in with fatherly ambition and pride. However, Jude knows that what Madoc wants above all is absolute control over his children, which is why she can never ally with her father.

Jude’s meeting with Grimsen is another instance of foreshadowing, since it reveals that Grimsen enchants each object he creates. Often, this enchantment is unknown to the recipient or buyer when they procure the object. For instance, Taryn’s earrings, which Jude is wearing, are enchanted so that if she removes their gems, her beauty will wither such that the sight of her “would set even the Folk to screaming” (90). Grimsen is now crafting a sword strong enough to crack “the firmament” of Elfhame. Grimsen’s slyness and casual cruelty establish him as an unsympathetic character and also highlight the pervasiveness of violence in Faerie.

Language and words have particular significance in Faerie, since faeries’ utterances are meant to hide the truth in plain sight. Therefore, the sentences are circular and the language lofty. Folk are fond of speaking in adages and proverbs, and since they are a courtly people, their language is also old-fashioned to modern ears. For instance, Madoc tells Jude that the High King’s “trumped-up inquest is three days past” (emphasis added; 75). When Madoc tells Jude about his plans to ask Cardan for a duel, Jude wonders why Cardan would agree to such a suggestion. Madoc replies through a proverb: “There is no banquet too abundant for a starving man” (90). Madoc suggests that Cardan’s weakness is his hunger for love and affection; thus, he can agree to anything if tempted with the approval of his people.

Though the narrative doesn’t give much backstory at this point, it builds the world of Faerie for the new reader with rich details. The appearance of individual faeries is meticulously described. While Madoc is a redcap who tends to dress in shades of dark red, his wife, Oriana, has “white hair and ghostly pale skin” as if she is “made of snow herself” (100). The Court of Teeth sit on icicle-covered thrones and seem to be carved out of ice. Suren has blue skin. Oriana and the members of the Court of Teeth are all faeries from the colder north of Elfhame and are thus identified with cold colors like white and blue. Color symbolism weaves through the narrative, where Oriana’s icy pallor is also shorthand for her coolness toward Jude (although she is very loving toward Oak).