What is There Not to Love: Inej Ghafa sheds the feathers of her past in ‘Six of Crows’
In “What is There Not to Love,” columnist Ashley Diaz ’29 explores the depiction and perpetuation of gender stereotypes in popular fantasy novels.
Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.
I have a confession: I have been sitting here trying to think of “what is there not to love” about the “Six of Crows” duology by Leigh Bardugo, but simply can’t. Well, that’s not exactly true. I do hate that the series isn’t a trilogy, but I fear that is the extent of my hate. So, just like my “Throne of Glass” review, I will rant about how badass Bardugo’s female protagonist is.
The “Six of Crows” duology, featuring “Six of Crows” (2015) and “Crooked Kingdom” (2016), is set in the city of Ketterdam, which is filled with crime, gangs, merchants and a hunger for money — the worst of the worst. There are the poor, the rich and no in-between. The city is ruled with an iron fist by The Merchant Council, men who believe slavery, corruption and prostitution are acceptable.
In this patriarchal and misogynistic world lives Inej Ghafa, a 17-year-old spy and assassin, known as the “Wraith” for her stealth and ability to remain hidden. As a child, she was abducted from her family by slavers and forced to work in a pleasure house called the Menagerie. Kaz Brekkar, the male protagonist and informal gang leader of the Dregs, buys Inej’s indenture (what she “owed” the pleasure house for her freedom), and she works for him until she can pay her way out. Serving as an assassin for Kaz goes against Inej’s religion and morals, and as the duology progresses, we see her internal conflict as she struggles with doing what it takes to protect herself and the people she cares about.
Although the role, be it an assassin or spy, is the core characteristic that usually makes a female character appear tough, Inej’s strength extends beyond her role as the Wraith. In fact, she defies this world, full of monsters, by not letting them tear her apart. One particular monster is the cruel female owner of the Menagerie, Tante Heleen. Inej recalls: “There is no freedom… Heleen’s girls never earn out of their contracts. She makes sure they don’t.”
The only reason Inej escapes Heleen’s vice-like grip is that Kaz Brekkar paid off her indenture. She is still indebted to Kaz, but Inej considers working for Kaz as having more freedom than she had in the Menagerie, which she would have eventually died in. Yet, Heleen still haunts her and later threatens Inej, saying: “I can bide my time, little lynx. You’ll wear my silks again.” At that moment, Inej is terrified and fears returning to her past.
As the duology progresses, Inej learns to face her traumatic past and not let it govern her life. During a later encounter with the Menagerie owner, Bardugo writes: “Inej looked down at [Tante Heleen’s] fingers digging into her flesh … every horror came back to her, and she truly was a wraith, a ghost taking flight from a body that had given her only pain. No. A body that had given her strength … Inej seized Heleen’s wrist and twisted it hard to the right.” Inej relives her traumatic past, faces it and decides to reclaim her strength, after Tante Heleen tries to take it away from her.
What I love about Inej is her growth in learning to heal from the past, not letting a patriarchal society govern her, or hurt her more than they already have. She takes the vice-like grip they have on her and twists it on them. Inej reminds us that, as Stanford students, out in the world trying to make a life for ourselves, we may encounter people who have tried to control us, but we should not let anyone spin our narrative to their liking. Only you know your story, and only you should tell it how it happens.
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