The Queen of Nothing

The novel’s protagonist and its only point-of-view character, Jude Duarte is a human born in the mortal world, but now High Queen of Elfhame. Jude has survived a traumatic childhood and adolescence to grow into a resourceful, ambitious, and brave young woman. When she and her twin sister, Taryn, were seven, Jude witnessed the murder of her mother, Eva, by Eva’s ex-husband, Madoc. Madoc killed Jude’s father as well and whisked the children away to Faerie. In the world of Faerie, Jude was often bullied and mocked for her mortality, as when one of Madoc’s guards bit off Jude’s finger. The missing finger is the one distinguishing mark between Jude and Taryn. Jude is described as brown-haired and brown-eyed and with a fuller figure than most Faerie folk, who tend to be tall and willowy. Jude doesn’t consider herself beautiful because of her curvy physique and mortal frailty, but others, like Cardan, view her differently.

Jude’s ambiguous attitude toward her appearance and abilities is formed by a complex mix of feelings of inferiority and ambition. This is understandable, given that at the time the series opens, Jude is only 17. Thus, she represents young women in the real world finding their individual selves through the maze of tough societal expectations. Jude has been told that she is weak because she is mortal, but she pursues her dream of being a knight and a ruler despite these warnings. She is not above deploying Machiavellian means to achieve her ends; in a previous book, she controls Cardan with a vow. The Queen of Nothing marks a pivotal journey in Jude’s character arc. The title alludes to Jude’s state of exile at the start of the book. The novel’s narrative can be seen as her journey to recover her queendom—this time, not through manipulation but through savvy and courage.

Jude achieves these goals through many significant changes. She suspects that her love for Faerie has magically tied her to the land, and the land heals her. Until now, Jude “had half-convinced myself I was faking being the High Queen” (137). The land’s acceptance of Jude gives her a renewed sense of purpose and confidence. Throughout the series, Jude has expressed the fear that her search for power may turn her cruel, like Madoc. In The Queen of Nothing, this doubt is put to rest, with Jude bravely resisting the temptation of immoral or punitive Power and Control (as in the golden bridle). Jude learns that though she has learned many things from Madoc, she is not Madoc. She shows Madoc mercy and tells him, “You raised me to be uncompromising, yet I learned mercy” (300). By showing Madoc mercy on her own terms, Jude proves she is her own person. She also saves Cardan from his curse, acting as his knight in shining armor and reversing gender stereotypes. Jude is a dynamic character as she grows into adulthood, and the novel ends with her discovering a new way to be both human and a Faerie ruler, finally uniting her two realities.