74 pages • 2 hours read
Victoria AveyardRed Queen
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2015A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 13-14Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 13 Summary
After lunch, Mare meets her second instructor, Julian Jacos, who is the brother of the deceased queen (Cal’s mother). Compared to everyone else Mare has met in the palace, Julian has radical ideas, e.g., Silvers are wrong to treat Reds the way they do and hating all Reds or all Silvers on principle is a poor way to act. As they talk, Mare realizes there are no cameras in the room because Julian has the power to turn them off. He believes Mare is the kind of change needed to heal the broken relationship between Silvers and Reds, a “slow burn that will quench a revolution with a few speeches and smiles” (130). Mare isn’t convinced but listens to him because he might be her only hope for survival.
Mare’s days continue with the same pattern. One day at luncheon, women from various houses discuss how much Mare’s life has changed and how sorry the existence of a Red is. Mare forces herself to agree, all the while hating herself. A woman in military garb interrupts to ask what the king is doing about the Scarlet Guard and their many attacks. Elara explains that the rebels have only attacked once and gives reasons for the other incidents the colonel describes, but Mare can tell the queen is lying.
Throughout the first week, Julian tries to examine Mare’s powers, but Mare continuously fails to produce them. He finally suggests she stop trying. Her powers are new to her, like with children, which means she can’t yet control when she accesses them. Mare relaxes and feels the electricity in her blood. When it feels about to burst, she doesn’t force it. Instead, she relaxes into the sensation, and the power fills her with a feeling that’s “everything and nothing, light and dark, hot and cold, alive and dead” (137).
As she practices more, Julian realizes that Mare isn’t just manipulating electricity—she’s creating it, something no Silver can do. Unable to reconcile that she’s different from both Reds and Silvers, Mare runs out of a lesson and to a balcony, where two guards find her. They start to pull her back inside, but Maven arrives and orders them to leave her alone.
The guards leave, and Maven tells Mare everything will be all right. Mare snaps that he can’t possibly understand her, and he retorts with all the ways he’s a prisoner in his life: his mother checks his mind for disloyal thoughts and he’ll always be in Cal’s shadow. Mare admits he does understand and thanks him for sharing how alone he feels. Maven tells her Silvers are always alone because it keeps them safe. Mare says that’s stupid, and Maven darkly advises that she “better hide that heart of yours” because there’s no place for it among Silvers (143). Maven observes Mare is homesick and offers to help her see her family.
Chapter 14 Summary
Late one night, Maven brings Mare to Cal. At first, Cal refuses to help her out of the palace, but Maven convinces him to sneak Mare out. Mare finds herself feeling less hatred for the brothers.
Cal and Mare take his transport cycle to an empty stretch of road a half-mile from the Stilts. As they walk the rest of the way, Cal explains why he sneaks out. Rather than just believe his parents and advisors, he wants to see how people really live so he can protect everyone. Mare argues the Silvers don’t protect the Reds, and Cal explains the setup of the countries outside theirs, lands ruled by Silvers who wouldn’t hesitate to attack if Norta made Reds equal to Silvers. Mare challenges him with the idea that Norta could be the beginning of change, adding “you don’t know where freedom leads” (152). Cal has no answer.
At her house, Mare learns her brother Shade is dead. He deserted the army and was executed. Mare knows this is a lie and that the Silvers found out he was part of the Scarlet Guard and had him killed. Mare’s power flares with her anger, causing the lightbulbs to shatter. Kilorn arrives and manages to help her regain control, but sparks flicker around her hands, giving away her secret. She explains the truth of her situation. Her family understands and agrees to keep quiet, but Kilorn is enraged, quickly saying he’ll keep the secret before storming out. As Mare and Cal leave, Gisa tells Mare that her power is a gift and not to waste it.
Mare leaves Cal in the woods and goes to see Will. There, she pledges her allegiance to the Scarlet Guard, promising to avenge her brother and all Reds. Back where Cal left his cycle, Kilorn waits. He begs Mare to stay, but she refuses. He says, “I’ll tell Farley you said hello” (167), and Mare knows he’s going to join the Scarlet Guard.
Chapters 13-14 Analysis
Julian is the true turning point for Mare. He is the first person that makes her question her hatred for Silvers. He also gives Mare hope that she can survive her charade and even possibly bring change for the Reds. Learning to harness her power gives Mare confidence. She knows she is still inexperienced compared to the Silvers but knowing she can access her lightning at will makes her feel less afraid. The idea that she is different is solidified in these chapters. While Silvers can manipulate the world around them, they need an outside source of their power e.g., Cal and Maven can only use existing fire, not make fire of their own. Mare, by contrast, seems to have dormant electricity in her blood, which explains how she sparked the power to life at her house in Chapter 5.
Chapter 13 reveals the lies the Silvers tell amongst themselves. Queen Elara lies to the women at lunch about the Scarlet Guard attacks to preserve the appearance of power. The attitude toward Reds shows how Silvers have been misled, likely by the queen. They believe Reds live as they do because they have no other choice and because they are suited to such lives. They don’t realize how much Reds suffer and are denied basic comforts.
Maven also continues to lie to Mare in these chapters, saying everything he knows she wants to hear to endear himself to her. He is too good to be true, but Mare’s fear and desperation keep her from seeing the truth. By contrast, Cal is honest about his feelings. He fears change and how it might make things worse, which leaves him unwilling to entertain bettering the lives of Reds. Mare sees his inner conflict, but she can’t get past his uncertainty to see the honesty beneath. His unwillingness to agree Silvers are the ultimate enemy and responsible for Red misfortune keep her from seeing who he truly is.
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By Victoria Aveyard
