A Court of Mist and Fury

Maas’s faeries live in strict social hierarchies akin to the class systems of medieval Europe—lords, their subordinates, and laborers. Before The War that pitted faeries against mortals, the humans, born without magic, were enslaved by the High Fae and used to build their grand cities. Humans, considered inferiors to faeries because of their mortality and lack of magical ability, were easy to enslave. Maas indicates that even five centuries before her novel takes place, faeries were aware of this injustice. Rhys fought on the side of humans 500 years before, an early indication of his inclusivity. Maas contrasts faerie compassion for humans with the disdain of the High Fae for the lesser faeries. Tamlin expresses guilt and shame over his family’s enslavement of humans before the war, yet he sees no hypocrisy in his demeaning treatment of the water wraith who cannot pay the Tithe. Tamlin, despite professing tolerance, embraces his privilege within the social hierarchy of Prythian without question. Feyre, who has occupied both upper- and lower-class roles in both Prythian and the mortal realm, is more attuned to the unnecessary suffering which sustains social inequality in the novel.

Unjust social systems appear throughout Prythian. Illyrian culture prizes its males and devalues its females to the point of mutilation. Among the High Fae elite, female sexuality is stigmatized, and females must be virgins to be considered worthy of a mate. Maas critiques traditional gender roles through Feyre’s pursuit of agency, and through Mor’s rebellion against repression. While Maas celebrates resistance to unfair social structures, she also examines the risks of resisting cultural norms. When Mor takes control of her sexuality, she is brutalized and abandoned until she is rescued by the like-minded Rhys. Though Feyre does not experience physical violence, Tamlin and Ianthe respond similarly to her insistence on a greater role at the Spring Court; they intimidate and manipulate her into conforming to societal standard. Ianthe and the High Priestesses complicate the stereotypical gender dynamics of Prythian. Though Ianthe occupies the highest possible political position for women in Prythian, she allies herself to the King of Hybern in pursuit of greater power. Ianthe understands that she cannot attain greater power within the existing social structure, so she is willing to endanger her world to establish a new order. Simultaneously, Ianthe is willing to enforce misogynistic beliefs upon Feyre because the subjugation of the other woman reinforces her existing power. Maas portrays social stratification as maintained by enforced cultural beliefs which give the dominant race (or gender) tacit permission to oppress the other. As long as these hierarchies place one race above another, or males above females, injustice will inevitably follow.