60 pages • 2 hours read
Pierce BrownIron Gold
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Verisimilitude Through Mythological and Historical Reference
In Iron Gold, author Pierce Brown builds a science fiction universe, but one that is based in the history of Earth and humankind, framing the narrative as a plausible continuity of real life. Brown’s dystopian world is predicated upon the idea that, at some point in a fictional future, Earth has been colonized by the Society. By placing his fictional narrative in the context of real-life history, Brown adds a sense of verisimilitude to the story. One of the ways that he creates this impression is by using mythology and historical references throughout the novel to develop characterization, establish the epic scale of the narrative, and create the sense of history as both fated and cyclical.
Brown uses the names of his characters to hint at their cultural heritage, adding a layer of historical reference to deepen their characterization. Some characters, like Pax, Cassius, Romulus, Diomedes, or Apollonius, for instance, are named after Ancient Greek and Roman figures. Other names, like Wulfgar, Volga, and Alexandar, are inspired by Germanic and Nordic cultures. The characters also reveal their heritage when they speak, such as Wulfgar wishing “Odin’s fortune” on Darrow, or Alexandar citing the Aeneid: “Then, even then, Cassandra’s lips unsealed the doom to come: lips by a god’s command never to be believed or heeded by the Trojans” (425). Apollonius also evokes Christian mythology when he speaks to his soldiers: “Such shame is upon me that only Lucifer himself would know the depths of my pain. We have lost our halos, my children, fallen from the grace of heaven through the fabled clouds and landed here in a boiling hell of debauchery and defilement” (490). Lysander, in particular, draws a parallel between his name and his legacy that informs his narrative arc: “I was named for a contradiction: a Spartan general who had the mind of an Athenian. Like that man, I was born into something that is both mine and not-mine, a heritage of worldbreakers and tyrants” (62). With these strategies, Brown develops his characters by building on a long historical tradition.
These references to mythology and history also contribute to the narrative’s epic scale. The characters are likened to ancient heroes in Norse sagas, Greek myths, and religious allegories, lending the novel the grand scope of these legends. Diomedes’s élite fighters, for example, are called the Olympic Knights. This title raises connections to Olympic athletes, the gods of Olympus, and even, with the reference to knights, the legend of King Arthur. References like these ground Brown’s worldbuilding in a cultural and historical context that adds depth and credibility to the narrative.
These parallels also emphasize the cyclical nature of history and the universality of myths. For instance, Darrow struggles to reconcile his duty to his people and his love for his family, a dilemma that is underlined by Apollonius’s question: “Would Athena stay Odysseus’s hand when he returned to Ithaca?” (434). With mythological and historical references like these, Brown creates a sense of ineluctable fate. This heightens narrative tension and frames the characters’ struggles as deeply, and almost tragically, human. By placing Iron Gold along a real-life historical continuum and referencing mythology, Brown places the characters and world of the novel in the much longer timeline of human history, deepening meaning and creating a more nuanced narrative.
The Ethical Challenges of Power and Governance
Iron Gold begins after the Society’s empire has fallen and Darrow has replaced it with a democratic system, the Solar Republic. The novel examines the aftermath of a regime collapse, both individually and on a larger scale. Through the characters of Darrow and Lysander, the novel explores the difficulties and consequences of leadership and governance, especially in times of transition.
Over the course of the novel, Darrow struggles to reconcile his personal and his political identities: “Men call him father, liberator, warlord, Slave King, Reaper. But he feels a boy as he falls toward the war-torn planet, his armor red, his army vast, his heart heavy” (xviii). He is tired of conflict and wishes for peace, which is why he later sets out to vanquish his enemy once and for all. However, by the end of the book, Darrow realizes that he is turning into the same tyrant he sought to overthrow when he finally confronts the Ash Lord: “How few people left breathing could understand this man? How many men know what it is like to give a command that kills millions? I swallow, my hatred for him quieted by the wretched thing he’s become, and my fear at heading down the same broken road” (562). While his intentions are good, his actions are condemned by the Senate, and particularly by the Vox Populi. The leader of the movement, Dancer, states: “We also have a solemn duty to make those worlds better than they were before […] Tell me, what is the purpose of victory if it destroys us?” (92). Darrow’s arc exemplifies the unending cycle of violence or, as he states, the fact that “Death begets death begets death” (89). He is overwhelmed by the fear of becoming the next tyrant, and through his character, the novel explores the cyclical nature of the rise and fall of power through his anxieties about his future and role in history.
Through Lysander, a character who struggles with his role as a leader, the narrative further illustrates the difficult task of leadership from a very different perspective. As a Gold and heir to House Lune, he has been conditioned to believe in the Society’s strict hierarchy. Although sensitive and idealistic, Lysander seeks to reclaim his family’s legacy by waging war against the Republic. He is particularly inspired by the Raas’s strict adherence to the rule of law, which he views as highly moral. Dido states: “Our rules are harsh, but we obey them from Gold to Red. Romulus […] has replaced subjugation with participation. Given a reason to sacrifice for the betterment of all” (358). Lysander adopts this ideal as his own, despite conflicting feelings about it, showing the ethical quandaries that leadership can lead to.
Although Lysander and Darrow’s political goals are at odds, each of them illustrates the ethical challenges of governance in his own way. By the end of the story, Darrow decides to reclaim his identity as the Reaper, a famed warrior and leader. Lysander also sets out to wage a war by joining Dido’s cause. Although their perspectives and experiences are very different, both characters support the novel’s contention that good intentions are not sufficient to govern effectively and ethically. Both leaders are preparing to repeat the cycle of violence that they set out to break, illustrating both the cyclical nature of power and the conflicting demands of governance.
The Tension Between Family and Duty
The tension between family expectations and the pressure of cultural or political legacy is one of the main struggles of Iron Gold’s characters. Darrow, Lyria, and Lysander all experience conflicting impulses and moral dilemmas that drive their character arcs and explore the difficult choices that leaders must make.
Darrow resents the war that has taken him away from his family but refuses to abandon his duties as a leader and a warrior. He repeatedly emphasizes his love for his son and laments his failures as a father:
As I drive us back over the lake and feel [Pax’s] heart beating against my back, I sense the yawning distance growing between us, the stretching of the years and the passing of time and life we can never have back, and I know there’s one thing I can do to stop it. Stay. But I won’t. I can’t. And I hate that this is who I have to be. Worse. I hate that this is who I’ve allowed myself to become, but still not enough to change (187).
Darrow also envies Sevro’s closeness to his own children and fantasizes about a peaceful life with his family. However, despite his love for Virginia and Pax, he eventually chooses to become the Reaper again. At the end of the novel, Darrow symbolically rejects his identity as a husband and father by taking off Pax’s pendant. This suggests that he has not found a way to reconcile his family and his duty, and when forced to choose between them, chooses his duties as a leader.
Although it begins very differently, Lyria’s emotional journey follows a similar path. Throughout the novel, Lyria is highly dedicated to her family, from trying to protect them on Mars to taking care of Liam after he is orphaned. Lyria resents the Sovereign for abandoning her family and her people and therefore antagonizes characters with social and economic privilege. When she meets Pax, for instance, Lyria gets angry at his naïvety and obliviousness. In the end, however, Lyria eventually decides that the best way to honor her family is to take a more political role and support the Sovereign’s efforts toward building peace. Unlike Darrow, Lyria’s love for her family is what drives her to consider her larger legacy and becomes the reason that she chooses duty.
Lysander’s growth over the course of the narrative is also significantly impacted by his family—in his case, his desire to live up to his family name. He initially struggles to find purpose while traveling with Cassius. He comments, “I was born into something that is both mine and not-mine, a heritage of worldbreakers and tyrants” (62). The young man’s quest for meaning reaches a climactic point when he meets the Raas, a family that values legacy, honor, and duty above all else. Lysander’s dilemma comes to an end when he fully embraces his family legacy: “I know who I am, or at least, who I want to become. And with that realization, […] I feel my father’s calm, Aja’s love, my grandmother’s brilliance, Cassius’s honor, and even the faint heartbeat of my mother” (586). Lysander’s family legacy is bound up with duty, and when he accepts his duty, he feels the connection with his family that he has been seeking.
Throughout the narrative, many of the characters are driven by their love for their family or by their sense of duty. Sometimes, those two values are at odds and lead to emotional conflict, as when Darrow is forced to choose between the two. Other times, they align and drive a character to embrace their family history to secure their legacy, like Lysander and Lyria. Through the dilemmas these characters face, the narrative explores the deeply human pressure of reconciling love and duty.
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