A Court of Silver Flames

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A Court of Silver Flames is the last novel in the series that follows Nesta as she works through her trauma by switching between her point of view and Cassian's. Nesta must come to terms with her past and battle her inner demons in order to heal. She does this with the help of her new friends and Cassian, who never gives up on her. As the novel centers around the mental health and healing of Nesta, as well as her friends Emerie and Gwyn, this final post will dive into the mental health of each character and explore their trauma and healing.

Most of the characters that are mentioned when discussing mental health have some sort of PTSD that is related to the trauma they have experienced. Emerie is the least open about her trauma but it is known that her father abused her growing up. He had her wings clipped as he was a "traditional male" and believed that "females should serve their families and be confined to their homes" (Maas 108). After her mother's death there was no one left to shield her from his abuse which lead to him turning on her. Despite this upbringing, she works to keep her store and refuses to back down the way Illyrian females are taught. Even with her fierce attitude, she still has trauma from the experience which is brought up while in the library where she swears she can "hear him screaming" and the "furniture breaking" (Maas 572). When at Nesta's sleepover she admits, "I sometimes wonder if I shall ever have the courage to go out there again. I fear every day that I won't" (Maas 617). Emerie has never left the village except to train with Nesta and Gwyn and because she fears what is out there after everything that has been done to her. Emerie's trauma from her upbringing is what leads her on the quest to becoming a Valkyrie.

Gwyneth Berdara was the first woman to join Nesta on her journey of self-healing. As a priestess in the library under the House of Wind, Gwyn has experienced immense trauma that required for her to have a place of sanctuary. After Gwyn mentions to Nesta that she was an acolyte at Sangravah, Nesta questions Cassian about the events that happened there. He explains to her that when Hybern was looking for the Cauldron there was a piece hidden at the. temple. The warriors that were sent to retrieve it "slaughtered most of the priestesses for sport. And raped any they found to their liking" (Maas 161). During this event, Gwyn was forced to watch as the men dragged her twin sister, Catrin, in front of her and cut off her head. After that, the general raped Gwyn and she was about to be raped again when Azriel found her and slaughtered them all, taking her home to Velaris. The trauma she gained from that event kept her from leaving the library until she decided that she did not "want to feel powerless again" (Maas 273). Gwyn's training to become a Valkyrie makes her realize that "[their] stories are worth telling" and she ends up becoming the first Valkyrie as she speaks the most famous line of the novel, "I am the rock against which the surf crashes. Nothing can break me" (Maas 573, 621). This moment helps heal Gwyn in unimaginable ways.

While Gwyn and Emerie still live with their trauma daily, Nesta's transition and the death of her father is fresh in her mind. She throws herself into "the music at those taverns, the card games with strangers, the endless bottles of wine, and the sex that made her feel nothing" in order to obtain a small moment of release from the power that was roaring inside of her (Maas 15). She blames herself for the death of her father and is torn over how she should feel as "she had still hated her father in those last moments" (Maas 14). She has continuous dreams, like the other victims of PTSD in the novel, of her and Elain being taken into the Cauldron and the snapping of her father's neck. Nesta's blood boils anytime she thinks of the queen, Vassa, because her father had "been the father she needed---but for someone else" who had "a sad tale of betrayal and loss" (Maas 125-126). She admits to Cassian her confusion of why he named a ship after her and sailed it into war after she had been so awful to him. Nesta confesses that "[she] was so lost in [her] grief and rage and sorrow, that [she] wanted him to feel a fraction of what [she] did" and that it never occurred to her that even though he could not do much, he was still trying to care for them in the little ways (Maas 565). Nesta's rage has controlled most of her life and has impacted her relationships as she does not allow herself to get close to others. She thinks so little of herself and confesses that to Cassian as she states that he is "everything [she] has never been, and will never be good enough for" which led to her pushing him away (Maas 607). Even so, Cassian never gives up on her and continues to reach out his hand in any way he can to help her. Through her training with Cassian and her friends, she was able to discover herself and the healing she needed.

While people are capable of healing on their own, it is better to heal surrounded by people who love and care for about you. For Emerie, Gwyn and Nesta, they find this love in each other through the friendship they build. The girls set out on their journey to become Valkyries in order to heal their minds, bodies and souls through determination, hard work, and friendship. Nesta establishes this group because she knows above all else this is what she is meant to do. She no longer wanders down a lonely road but instead walks the path to healing with two women she loves and cherishes and as she makes a wish over their friendship bracelets she says, "I wish for us to have the courage to go out into the world when we are ready, but to always be able to find our way back to each other. No matter what" (Maas 619). Nesta knows that they will each heal in their own time but that what is most important is that they always can come home to each other.

Nesta's growth from being a lost woman throwing herself into anything that can give her a moment of relief to a woman who has learned what it means to have a family and to accept help when it is needed, has been a long road traveled. None of her journey was easy and for a lot of readers, they find themselves in her as they find their way back from their own trauma. Nesta's story is truly one that demonstrates how anyone can come back from rock bottom if they find within themselves the will to heal.

Work Cited

Maas, Sarah J. A Court of Silver Flames. Bloomsbury, 2021.