62 pages • 2 hours read
Sarah J. MaasTower of Dawn (Throne of Glass, #6)
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2023A 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
Healing as a Multidimensional Process
One of the central themes in the novel is that healing is not just physical but also emotional and psychological. The narrative first depicts Chaol’s healing journey in the Torre Cesme as a purely physical quest. However, Chaol’s wounds go much deeper than he’d like to admit. The echo of dark magic in Chaol’s body feeds on his inner wounds, worsening his physical wounds. These inner wounds are rooted in the guilt, shame, and trauma he has carried throughout the series. As a healer, Yrene knows better than most that Chaol’s manner of injury is a long and complex process: “Spines were nearly as difficult as brains. Connected to them quite closely. With that sort of healing, it wasn’t a matter of letting her magic wash over them—that wasn’t how it worked” (46). Yrene helps Chaol understand that true healing requires confronting emotional scars as much as physical ones. What she doesn’t originally anticipate, however, is that their sessions will force her to confront her internal scars too.
Vulnerability is also an important part of the healing process. Chaol has always been a proud, strong, and independent character. Thus, he struggles with feelings of inadequacy and shame over his injury. His initial resistance to Yrene’s healing stems from his reluctance to expose these vulnerable emotions. In fact, after the first session, “some small part of him hoped Yrene would stay away, if only to avoid what she so heavily implied they’d also be doing: talking. Discussing things. Himself. He’d make it clear to her tomorrow that he could heal just fine without it” (116-17). Yet, as the narrative progresses, Chaol learns to appreciate the safe space Yrene provides for him to open up without fear of judgment or reproach. Embracing vulnerability allows him to accept her help and begin the journey toward recovery. Being vulnerable is a strength in the narrative, not a weakness, and is a necessary part of overcoming trauma for the novel’s characters.
Healing is also a route toward empowerment for Chaol. In previous installments, Chaol’s character underwent a negative character arc. He’s lost his sense of self and confidence and is stuck in a loop of inner turmoil due to his inability to forgive himself for his perceived failures. Physical rehabilitation, as well as an emotional connection to Yrene, allow Chaol to reclaim his sense of agency and purpose.
Worth and Strength Start From Within
An important theme in Tower of Dawn is the exploration of how internal strength, self-worth, and self-acceptance are the true sources of power, far more enduring than physical strength or external validation. At the start of the novel, Chaol views his wheelchair as a prison. He feels shame whenever he faces the guards at the palace in Antica and cannot even look them in the eyes. When Chaol first meets Prince Kashin, he notes that he “moved with the ease of a person confident in his body’s unfailing strength. How, Chaol supposed, he himself had once walked about the palace in Rifthold” (28). This assessment of the young Prince depicts how Chaol tends to see strength and highlights the strength he finds lacking in himself. According to Chaol, at the start of the novel, strength is directly correlated to the physical. He does not consider mental strength when evaluating himself.
In one of his earlier conversations with Yrene, Chaol mentions that there are choices in his past that he regrets. He hopes to move on and attempt to fix them, then fight to ensure they never happen again. However, Chaol believes he cannot do this while in a wheelchair. Chaol’s weakened physical state has completely changed his mindset on his capabilities. He views moving on and fixing his mistakes as something he must do physically when this is something that he must actually do internally. Regardless of whether it’s internal or external, however, Yrene responds to this statement by saying, “You certainly could do such things from that chair” (98). Chaol’s lack of response in this scene exemplifies that he’s not yet at the point in his journey where he believes in himself.
In Chapter 26, Yrene hits upon the truth of the matter:
‘This was your sanctuary,’ she said, gesturing to his honed body, the sweat on him. ‘When things got hard, when they went wrong, when you were upset or angry or sad, you would lose yourself in the training. In sweating until it burned your eyes, in practicing until your muscles were shaking and begging you to stop. And now you can’t—not as you’ (313).
Though Chaol believes that version of himself to be the real him, Yrene’s statements imply that he was using physical exertion as a distraction from the real work he needed to do internally. Consequently, without intense physical activity to distract Chaol from his thoughts, he now must face them. In facing them, he discovers his worth and identity outside of the physical strength that he has defined himself by for so long.
The Importance of Autonomy
With its focus on physical disability, female personal safety, and romantic freedom, the novel explores many aspects of autonomy and its importance. Yrene’s journey is one of freedom, empowerment, and autonomy. She suffered for a year at the mercy of her boss, Nolan, who kept her trapped in Innish when he continued to steal her tips and lower her pay. Mercenaries passing through also targeted her during these months. However, with the help of a mysterious female stranger whom she learns is Aelin Galathynius at the end of Tower of Dawn, Yrene learns self-defense and takes her future into her own hands. Yrene reiterates this sense of autonomy she discovered during a healing session with Chaol:
I once lived in fear of other people. I let other people walk all over me just because I was too afraid of the consequences for refusing. I did not know how to refuse […] The day I reached these shores, I cast aside that girl. And I will be damned if I let her reemerge. Or let someone tell me what to do with my life, my choices again (142).
Though Yrene has nearly completed her search for autonomy, this is something both Chaol and Nesryn must do throughout the novel.
Chaol uses Nesryn as a crutch both romantically and physically. Though Chaol subconsciously doesn’t appreciate it, he physically relies on Nesryn to provide him with aid in moving about after his injury. Doing so only allows him to wallow in his current state rather than push himself to recover in the way he needs to. Chaol’s true feelings on Nesryn’s handling of him only come to the surface after he witnesses the way Yrene treats him:
Chaol didn’t resist when [Nesryn] helped him into the chair, then wheeled him into his room. He tried and failed to lift himself into bed, and was only vaguely aware of her and Kadja hauling him onto it like a slab of meat. Yrene—she never did such things. Never wheeled him when he could do so himself. Constantly told him to move himself instead. He wondered why. Was too damn tired to wonder why (164).
Yrene believes in Chaol’s ability to move himself where he needs to be. Chaol notices and learns to appreciate this unstated belief, as it makes him feel empowered rather than useless, as Nesryn’s actions unwittingly do. This shift in perspective allows Chaol to recognize that support often comes not from enabling dependence but rather from encouraging resilience and self-reliance. This helps him understand that true autonomy comes from challenging oneself and striving toward one’s progress rather than relying on others to ease one’s challenges.
Related Titles
By Sarah J. Maas
