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A Reaper at the Gates
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Themes
The Danger of Revenge as Motivation
Most of the central characters in A Reaper at the Gates have a hunger for revenge, driven by their need to see their enemies suffer. The book begins with a chapter about the Nightbringer in which he vows vengeance on anyone who endangers his family, saying, “I would destroy any who dared hurt you” (3). This proves to be true, since the Nightbringer orchestrates the suffering of the Scholars and plans to set the jinn free so that they may get their revenge for their imprisonment as well. Laia asks the Nightbringer how, having lived through the devastation of his own people, he could arrange for the Scholars to experience the same cruelty. To that, the Nightbringer replies, “The Scholars deserve destruction” (410). The Nightbringer is driven by his hatred, unable to see how his hunger for revenge makes him a hypocrite; by doing to the Scholars what was done to his own people, he is behaving as monstrously as the Scholar King did.
Significantly, not only does the Nightbringer enact his own revenge, but he also uses other people’s desire for revenge to his own advantage. Keris, who is also motivated by vengeance, helps the Nightbringer, ensuring that both their plans progress.
Like the Nightbringer, Helene wants revenge on Marcus, who killed her family brutally. Helene also despises him for continuing to abuse Livia. However, unlike the Nightbringer and Keris, who are purely motivated by their desire for revenge and power, Helene has other motivators and aspects to her personality; she has a keen sense of duty to the Empire, she is compassionate toward the Plebeians, she has immense empathy for everyone, and she is loyal to her friends and family. When Marcus is dying at the end of the book, Helene could have left him to suffer, since she had been hoping for his downfall and suffering: “How long have I waited for this? How long have I wanted him to die? And yet, when I see him pinned like an animal killed for sport, I feel only pity” (406). However, Helene allows her compassion to lead her, killing Marcus as a mercy to end his suffering, both physical and emotional, since Marcus wants to die and be with his brother: “‘Do it, Shrike,’ he whispers. ‘He waits for me’” (408).
Similarly, Laia is also driven by revenge, wanting to hurt and defeat the Nightbringer for his betrayal of her, and for destroying her people. At times, Laia’s need to defeat the Nightbringer borders on the point of obsessive. When Musa, who has been trying to gather information about the Nightbringer, tells her about Helene and the Martials, Laia says, “‘I don’t care about the bleeding Blood Shrike or Martial politics,’ I hiss. ‘I need to know whom else the Nightbringer is spending his time with’” (173). Musa points out that she sounds like an ex-lover, and Laia gets embarrassed; part of Laia’s obsession with the Nightbringer stems from his betrayal of her affections. However, mostly, Laia is angry at the Nightbringer for wreaking havoc on the Scholars; she repeatedly points out that saving Scholars won’t help if the Nightbringer is not defeated first: “The only thing that matters is stopping him. Because if we don’t, he sets the jinn free, and everyone dies—including all those we’ve saved” (226). Therefore, Laia’s revenge is not entirely personal, rather, it is tied in with her love for her people and her need to see them safe. Like Helene, Laia does not let her revenge control her; she excises compassion for innocent Martials when she gives the Serric steel to Tribe Sulud on condition, and at the end, when she allows Plebeians to join the Scholars as they are escaping Antium.
The Corrupting Nature of Power
Power, and the consequent corruption in the quest for power, is an essential theme in A Reaper at the Gates. Keris, especially, is defined by her desire for power in this book. She allows her greed for power to corrupt her out of any sense of morality. She allows Grimarr and his forces to repeatedly attack Navium, laying waste to the Southeast Quarter, primarily inhabited by the Plebeians who are the lowest in the Martial hierarchy, so that she can gain favor with the Illustrian Paters of Navium. She also orders the death of Admiral Lenidas, allowing an honest man to die for her schemes, further implying that she is ruthless when it comes to protecting her own interests. As the novel progresses, with help from Quin, Cook, Harper, and Dex, Helene figures out that Keris killed the Illustrians who killed Arius. Keris loved Arius, and his death made her feel powerless and vulnerable. Therefore, she took back her power by killing the people who killed the man she loved, furthering establishing her superiority over them.
However, Keris is not the only leader who is corrupted by the lure of power. Admiral Argus and Vice Admiral Vissellius also support Keris’s inaction in Navium, despite knowing that hundreds of innocent Plebeians will die because of their decision to not do anything. Many of the leaders in the book are shown to be corrupt, more interested in their own position and power than in leading and helping people. Realizing that nearly all the Paters in Navium supported Keris, Helene asks them, “War creates such opportunity for greedy, cowardly swindlers, does it not?” (223). Other leaders, such as Marcus, for example, is more concerned with maintaining his status as the Emperor; he tortures, kills, and manipulates people to ensure that he remains power. More importantly, the corruption of the people in power leads to suffering for the masses; the Scholars and the Plebeians are main victims of corruption because they are lower in the social hierarchy, which paints them as unimportant and expendable. During the war at Antium, Keris, and the Illustrian Paters, aware of the fate of the city and aware of their own betrayal, leave the city. They leave the soldiers, Scholars, and Plebeians to die for them against the Karkaun army, which indicates that they are not good leaders, since they do not view those lower than them in the social ladder as being important.
Even Helene is preoccupied with power through much of the novel, realizing that she needs to take back power from Keris to serve Marcus well and ensure Livia and the baby’s safety. However, Helene does not sacrifice her morals to gain power; she gains power through helping people. In Navium, Helene gains the Plebeians support by helping them and putting them first, which other leaders failed to do: “Make sure the flag of the Shrike and the flag of the Emperor fly wherever the Plebeians are offered shelter. If I’m right, we’re going to need Plebeian support soon” (214). Unlike the other leaders, who only think about themselves and their own interests, Helene uses her power to both help people and to garner support for herself.
The jinn were also a victim of corruption and greed. When their history is shown to Elias in the Waiting Place, it is revealed that the jinn were betrayed by the Scholar King, who imprisoned and killed them to gain access to the jinn’s knowledge and power. Therefore, the foundation of the conflict that afflicts the Empire now, the fight between the humans and the jinn, is based on the actions of the Scholar King and his corruption.
The Duality of Oppression and Resistance
The duality of oppression and resistance is another important theme and duality in the novel. While the people in positions of power in A Reaper at the Gates are corrupt and preoccupied with extending and expanding their power by oppressing the vulnerable, the oppressed gain back power through resistance. The Scholars and the Tribes are the first people who come to mind in terms of oppression and resistance. The book begins with Laia, Darin, and Tribe Nur helping to free Tribes people and Scholars who were wrongfully imprisoned by the Empire. The raids are a form of resistance against the Empire’s continued onslaught of attacks meant to oppress the Scholars and the Tribes by literally imprisoning them. By successfully taking part in the raids, Laia, Darin, and Tribe Nur undermine the power of the Empire, as noted by Helene: “If they learn that a Scholar rebel roams the countryside wreaking havoc, they’ll grow restive” (25-26).
Musa insists that Laia resurrect the Scholar’s Resistance and that Darin make Serric steel for the Scholars and, later, the Mariners, because that is also an important form of resistance. Weapons will ensure that the Scholars and the Mariners can also be on the offensive against the Empire, as opposed to constantly enduring and defending against the Empire’s attacks on them. Laia is able to convince King Irmand to be prepared for war and help the Scholar refugees in Marinn: “‘Your majesty,’ I say, ‘it’s a good offer. You won’t get a better one. The Martials certainly aren’t going to help you, and how else will you get Serric steel?’” (261). Similarly, the Tribes are seen being on the offense against the Empire by attacking Martial villages and attacking soldiers. When Laia shows hesitancy about resurrecting the Scholars Resistance, Musa persuades her that is the only way to ensure that their people have some power too. Since the Scholars are under a brutal oppression, where the people are enslaved and killed and imprisoned in Kauf Prison, their form of resistance against the Empire is also a brutal form of resistance, requiring violence. Similarly, the Tribes also respond violently to the Empire’s increasing brutality by going on the offensive and attacking villages and forming alliances amongst themselves.
The jinn too are an oppressed group in the novel. They were wrongfully imprisoned within the jinn grove because of the Scholar King’s greed for knowledge and power. However, over thousands of years, their oppression made them bitter. They can only resist by punishing those who wrongfully wander in the Forest of Dusk, and those who live there. They constantly taunt Elias, telling him that he will fail as Soul Catcher. They also forcefully show Laia the truth about her mother, and about what happened to her father and sister. Brutal oppression breeds brutal resistance in the novel, as everyone struggles to survive and take back their power from the other.
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