Things I Interpreted Differently From Most of the Fandom
I read ACOTAR and when I finished ACOSF, I restarted the whole book over because I loved it so much. Anyway, I went online to find other people to talk to about these books and learned that people read these books completely differently than I did. So here are some things that I saw differently:
Fae children being rare. I assumed that this was because fae live really long lives, so they typically don’t have a ton of children the way humans do. Or else there would a massive population of fae. At some point someone (maybe Rhys) said that humans forget quickly because they have shorter life spans and lots of children.
Mating bonds being rare but everyone in the story having one. I interpreted this as a select few people having mating bonds. Meaning that your average fae that farms in Autumn Court or tinkers in the Dawn Court probably doesn’t have a mate from the Cauldron. However the characters in this story all seem to be fated to rule or be nobility in some way. So they are not the average fae. The fandom seems to see this as an oopsie for SJM because she’s a “vibes only” writer.
The Cauldron makes mistakes. This was in the context of a conversation between Feyre and Rhys about Elain and Lucien. Rhys was basing it on his parents’ mating bond and Feyre at some point I think connects it to Tamlin’s parents being mated. In both relationships there was problems in those relationships. Tamlin’s father was abusive to everyone. Rhys’ father was also abusive. I interpreted that they were the reason their marriages were bad not the Cauldron. As it’s mentioned many times in the series, people have choices even though there is fate. Rhys’ and Tamlin’s fathers are most likely the same misogynist generation as Baron.
Anyway the fandom calls the Cauldron corrupt or unreliable.
- Feyre as High Lady. I understood that Rhys called Feyre a High Lady because he was naming her as an equal. He even says it has nothing to do with her power. >!In CC, Silene refuses to be called a High Lady and chooses a lesser role that became precedent for the women that came after her.!< I interpreted that the wives of High Lords should be High Ladies, but traditions of misogyny corrupted the natural system.
Somehow many in the fandom believe that Feyre didn’t “earn” the title. Because Rhys earned his title???
Here’s my take on all of it: The mating bond has been abused in the past by rulers who are power hungry. Women became oppressed and used only to create powerful sons. For example, Mor and the Lady of Autumn are incredibly powerful but are pushed into marriage as a consort rather than ruling as a High Lady. (Of course Mor didn’t marry.) The efforts of the IC, the Valkyries, and the Bat Boys will allow for the balance between male and female to be restored.
Was there anything that you interpreted differently from the typical fandom interpretation?