Shadow and Bone

Learning to navigate romance is part of Alina’s coming of age. Though love can be empowering, it can also take away one’s power without healthy boundaries. Alina’s relationships with both Mal and the Darkling highlight this theme. For Alina, her love for Mal is a powerful motivator and causes her to suppress her powers. It’s only when she believes Mal no longer cares for her that she is able to embrace her power. Letting her love for Mal consume a part of herself keeps her from discovering her true strengths.

The boundary between Alina and the Darkling is also muddled by their attraction. The Darkling encourages Alina’s gifts, giving her “power beyond all dreaming” by offering her a place by his side (323). However, this power is intertwined with the Darkling’s own, allowing him to manipulate her. As the Darkling is a living amplifier, his kiss calls to Alina’s powers: “The moment his lips met mine, the connection between us opened and I felt his power flood through me” (220). Alina feels attracted to this power, and her desire to belong with the Darkling causes her to accept his word without question. The Darkling’s manipulations intensify with the stag amplifier. The collar allows the Darkling to take Alina’s power from her and use it for his own plans. Once again, Alina’s need to be loved threatens to consume her power and deprive her of her gifts. Accepting her strengths allows her to step away from the Darkling’s control.

Even though romances with both the Darkling and Mal cause Alina to lose sight of herself, ignoring her love for Mal is also not the answer. When Mal kisses her in Tsibeya, she realizes her love is equally a part of who she is. Suppressing her true feelings is no different than suppressing her power: “Whatever burned between us was just as bright, just as undeniable” (298-99). Alina’s strongest realizations about her power revolve around saving Mal’s life, showing love for others can be empowering. However, learning to love means Alina must first learn to fully embrace who she is without fear and love consuming her. Alina’s struggles with love allow her to better understand the boundaries needed to stay true to herself in her relationships.

Many characters make sacrifices throughout the novel, while other characters take what they want with no thought for others. Bardugo uses world building, symbolism, and character development to highlight this tension. Alina represents hope against injustices that have kept the common people suffering to feed the elite’s greed.

Rising from the First Army to the Second Army, Alina toes the line between the peasant world and the elite. Her observations highlight discrepancies between the two lifestyles. Everyday Ravka citizens have been forced to sacrifice certain products. For examples, there are rations on foods like sugar, while this is a normal staple at Grisha meals. The First Army has less supplies than the Grisha, who wear bulletproof keftas and lodge in lavish tents at the Kribirsk military camp. The King and Queen of Ravka spare no expense on their own lifestyle, regardless of the war’s drain on supplies and its impact on their struggling subjects. An impoverished market town surrounding the lavish capital symbolizes how Ravka’s peasants are drained to support the wealth of those in power.

The tension between sacrifice and greed is personified by Alina and the Darkling. The Darkling’s greed for power manifests as darkness and monstrosity. His greed created the Shadow Fold, dividing Ravka with a stretch of darkness and turning people into monstrous volcra. As the Darkling expands the Fold by controlling Alina’s power, his greed is a threat to the people: “His darkness would consume the world” (341). In contrast, Alina is willing to make sacrifices and be merciful, which gives her the power to control light and battle darkness. While the people of Ravka fear the Darkling and the Grisha, Alina’s suffering and sacrifice make her a relatable figure. Light literally shines from Alina and illuminates the darkness as she realizes the strength of her mercy towards the stag: “Light exploded from me, pure and unwavering, flooding over the dark place where Mal had stood only moments before” (344). As Alina learns the power of the light and good nature inside, she is able to battle against the Darkling. In this battle between good and evil, the Darkling represents the Ravka royalty and elite in their greedy desire for luxury and power. Alina represents the people of Ravka and a promise of hope after their years of sacrifice.