Crown of Midnight

The most prolific motif in Crown of Midnight is loyalty. Ironically, loyalty harms the characters more often than it helps them. Chaol’s loyalty to the king means he puts Adarlan over his friends and their safety. When Chaol learns someone has made a threat against Nehemia, he keeps it to himself out of loyalty to the king. Then, when he knows the king intends to question Nehemia, he ignores his intuition and faithfully assumes the king would never hurt the princess. This prevents Celaena from protecting the princess, and Nehemia dies. Celaena may not have been able to save Nehemia even if she had known—but because of Chaol’s decision, she never got to try. Chaol’s loyalty to the king destroys the trust Celaena had in him. When she wakes up in the dungeon after attacking Chaol for betraying her, she thinks, “[Chaol] was so stupidly honorable and loyal to the king that he didn’t even think that she could have done something to prevent this” (241).

Even before Nehemia’s death, Chaol’s obsession with loyalty prevents him from deepening his relationship with Celaena. The day after Chaol feigned sleep to resist crossing the line with Celaena, “Chaol [is] glad he controlled himself. Crossing [the line] could call into question his loyalty to the king before him—not to mention the way it would impact his friendship with Dorian. […] Without his loyalty, he was no one. Without it, he’d given up his family, his title, for nothing” (149-50). Chaol is an honorable man with strength and courage, but he’s stifled by clashing loyalties, which causes him to fail at crucial moments.

Other characters are also negatively affected by loyalty. Dorian is torn between honoring his father, the King of Adarlan, and doing what’s right, which puts him in danger. Nehemia is loyal to her country and family and willingly gives her life to ensure their freedom. Celaena is loyal only to herself and her pursuit of freedom, which puts others in danger and prevents her from saving them.

Despite the pain loyalty inflicts, these conflicts do sometimes change things for the better. Dorian begins to stand up to his father, rejecting familial loyalty despite the consequences. Nehemia’s sacrifice ultimately drives Celaena to extend her loyalty beyond herself, and she promises to save Nehemia’s people. Chaol remains heavily conflicted, torn between his identity as a loyal follower of the king and his feelings for Celaena; what path he will choose remains to be seen.