From Blood and Ash

“I was forbidden to do anything but ignore. To never speak of the gift bestowed upon me by the gods and to never, ever go beyond sensing to actually doing something about it. Not that I always did what I was supposed to do. Obviously.”

The restrictions the Ascended place on Penellaphe’s gift reflect the restrictions placed on her individual, autonomous identity. She is supposed to continually fight against her inner nature and desires. Here, the reader sees her need to rebel against those restrictions.

“Dragging my gaze from the table, I noted that there were smiling and laughing women in the Pearl who wore no masks, hid no identities. They sat at tables with guards and businessmen, stood in shadowy alcoves and spoke with masked women, men, and also those who worked for the Red Pearl. They weren’t ashamed or afraid to be seen.”

Penellaphe longs to set her identity free. She yearns to be like the women who do not have to feel shame for showing their faces. Armentrout portrays Penellaphe as an outsider looking in on the activity at the Red Pearl.

“An independence I chased tonight, because masked and unknown, no one but the gods would know I was here. And as far as the gods were concerned, I had long ago decided that they had far better things to do than spend their time watching me. After all, if they had been paying attention, they would’ve already taken me to task over numerous things I’d already done that were forbidden to me.”

Penellaphe expresses a feeling of abandonment from the gods. This quote also identifies Penellaphe’s desire for independence and foreshadows her potential for self-liberation.