Powerful: A Powerless Story

“Every inch cheering for each contestant they chose to represent Loot. […] They have done nothing more than send Mundanes and Defensive Elites to their deaths.”

Makoto’s cynicism indicates that he understands something about the structure of his society that the cheering crowds around him do not. The outcome of the Purging Trials always reifies the existing power structure in Ilya, and by sending their heroes to these Trials, the people become complicit in their own oppression, highlighting the narrative’s thematic interest in The Struggle for Personal Autonomy Within Oppressive Systems.

“‘And that is when I saw you, jumping and waving at her like she was your everything.’

‘That’s because she is,’ I whisper.”

Makoto’s description of Adena’s behavior shows how little empathy he initially allows himself to display at this point in the story. By contrast, Adena’s reply is brief and starkly honest, exposing her vulnerability, reinforcing how high the stakes are for Adena and supporting the story’s theme of The Impact of Adversity on Relationships.

“I just might crack her, seeing that I may be her worst nightmare—her opposite. But I’d be doing her a favor, really. Widening her range of emotions.”

Makoto’s thoughts about his treatment of Adena demonstrate how his own unhappiness translates into a condescending and callous attitude toward others. This moment also foreshadows the ways in which Adena and Makoto will change one another via their romantic relationship.

“I refuse to be ashamed of my softness. Gentleness is the strength that fragility lacks.”

Adena’s reflection demonstrates that her “softness” and “gentleness” are not “weakness,” but rather a deliberately chosen approach to life that reflects her values, summed up in the aphorism: “Gentleness is the strength that fragility lacks.” Adena’s Struggle for Personal Autonomy Within Oppressive Systems centers the belief that her environment does not define her.

“What a terrifying realization, to admit one’s admiration for another.”

Makoto’s thoughts after Adena leaves for the evening make it clear that he has closed himself off from Adena due to his own fears of intimacy and connection. Being open to her cheerful gentleness makes him feel too vulnerable and threatens his sense of safety and personal autonomy.

“Just because I’m a lover, doesn’t mean I can’t admire the fighters.”

When Makoto teases Adena about her reaction to his knife-throwing, she reminds him that although she is not a fighter herself, she can still understand what makes fighters worthwhile, underscoring the opposites-attract element of their relationship—while their fundamental orientations toward the world may be different, they can still appreciate and admire what makes the other person special.

“Adena deserves a fairy-tale fate, a life worthy of her light. And that means I should stay as far away from her as possible.”

Makoto’s feeling that he visits tragedy on everyone he gets involved with nuances his prickly personality and incorporates a common romance trope: the feeling of unworthiness that causes one lover to reject the other. The specific wording that he uses in this comment— “a fate worthy of her light”—also foreshadows her eventual fate.

“You have clothes to sell. Now even those living in the slums can starve in style.”

Makoto’s facetious remark callously dismisses the importance of the skill Adena has devoted herself to for many years. His distaste for the imbalance of power and opportunity in Ilya is so deep that he disregards the impact his remark is likely to have on Adena’s feelings. This both characterizes Makoto and supports the text’s thematic arguments about The Pursuit of Power Versus Personal Integrity.

“You have no idea what I’m willing to do for the people I care about!”

The hurt and betrayal Adena feels when she learns Makoto’s real reason for wanting to get into the castle reveals the strength of her feelings for him. Her words foreshadow the tragic end to her efforts to help Paedyn survive the Trials.

“It’s the first time in days that I’ve allowed myself to acknowledge the burden of it all, the sheer suffocation of power.”

Makoto feels weighed down by his own abilities, because he can sense and wield the powers of any person he encounters. His reaction to power—feeling burdened by it rather than craving it—sets him apart from the king and other ruling-class Elites and emphasizes the text’s exploration of The Pursuit of Power Versus Personal Integrity.

“I’m not used to so much electricity, running water, soft mattresses. I could get accustomed to living in a castle. I could get used to truly living.”

For the first time, Adena really confronts the power and resource disparities in Ilya. Now that she knows what life is like outside of the slums, she sees how much better her life could be and feels her first glimmering of dissatisfaction, highlighting the novella’s thematic interest in The Struggle for Personal Autonomy Within Oppressive Systems.

“I think you’re kinder than you let on.”

Another common romance trope is the idea of the lover who understands the beloved in a way that no other person can. Here, Adena demonstrates that she understands Makoto better than anyone else—perhaps including Makoto himself.

“Her words are gentle, as though she’s speaking to a spooked animal. And in a way, that’s a fair comparison.”

Makoto’s description of Adena’s tone highlights how well she has come to know him in the short time they have been together—supporting the central theme of The Impact of Adversity on Relationships. Where she once saw sharpness and anger in him, she now sees fear—and she responds with an appropriately gentle compassion.

“He shrugs slightly, as though these deaths mean little to him. […] ‘Oh, and the Veil girl from the slums. Though that was unsurprising.’”

The king is so secure in his power that he feels free to openly admit that some Trial deaths are unsurprising—in essence, that the Trials are structured in the same way as Ilya’s society in general, to offer unfair advantages to some at the expense of others. His callousness shows how little the people mean to him. This characterization of the king supports the story’s exploration of The Pursuit of Power Versus Personal Integrity.

“Right…you’re all brooding and gruff with your sharp knives and lack of smiles.”

Adena’s characterization of Makoto is, by this point in their relationship, more fond teasing than actual criticism. Her association of him with “sharp knives” reflects a repeated symbolic motif that helps to characterize him throughout the novella.

“I tense at the feel of it. […] I’m so unused to someone wanting me. Choosing me. Finding me worth the effort.”

As Makoto’s character arc progresses, he transforms, gradually coming to believe that he might be a worthwhile person because of Adena’s love for him. Still, he struggles with feelings of unworthiness and has trouble being vulnerable to his feelings for her after so many years of protecting himself with a shield of cold indifference.

“I kiss him like it’s the end of a fairy tale.”

Adena cannot know that, weeks ago, Makoto resisted his feelings for her because he felt he could not give her the “fairy-tale” ending she deserves. Ironically, she now sees their romance as exactly that fairy-tale ending. Roberts contrasts the happiness of this moment with the novella’s tragic climax.

“I stride to the door with a blissful smile. ‘I’ll be back for the Trial tomorrow; don’t worry. Even though I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to stomach watching.’”

Given Adena’s upcoming role in the final Trial, Roberts frames her words as ironic—although she doesn’t yet know it, she will be present for the entire Trial, as she will be forced to participate in it as a target. The juxtaposition of this foreshadowing with the diction “blissful smile” as Adena anticipates the night with Makoto that will never happen creates a bittersweet tone that heightens the tragedy of her fate.

“Hera is likely already forgotten by the people, just another victim of the Trials she had no chance of winning.”

Makoto’s thoughts about Hera’s death reflect the text’s larger engagement with The Pursuit of Power Versus Personal Integrity. In oppressive conditions like those created by the rulers of Ilya, life can seem cheap. The people around Makoto have no interest in or understanding of how deeply he mourns the relationship he has lost with Hera.

“What, they just throw you in here for no reason? It’s not like you’re an Ordinary or somethin’.”

The prisoner that Adena meets in the castle dungeon, despite his own incarceration, still believes that the rulers of Ilya operate according to just principles. He does not see that, in fact, they are often arbitrary—and that even when they offer justifications for their actions, their reasoning is often founded on lies. Ilya’s propaganda supports its power structures, underscoring the ways the text grapples with The Pursuit of Power Versus Personal Integrity.

“My shout is swallowed by the roaring crowd.”

Makoto cries out when he realizes that Adena is the “criminal” at the center of the Pit, waiting to be killed in the final Trial. His individual despair is “swallowed up” by the crowd’s very different reaction, advancing the text’s interest in The Impact of Adversity on Relationships by making it clear that the social context in which Makoto and Adena live offers them no support: The crowd is not just indifferent to the plight of the young lovers—it is eager for Adena’s death.

“I just want to wake up so I can see the stars.”

Adena’s longing to wake up from the “nightmare” of what is happening in the Pit and see the stars reinforces the motif of light associated with her as a character throughout the story and foreshadows her death. In her fear, she yearns for Paedyn, the source of comfort and protection she has turned to for many years. That her yearning is specifically focused on the stars foreshadows what will happen to her after her death.

“In a way, she’s always been the sun. Always the brightness that existed despite the presence of such darkness.”

After Adena’s death, the text’s metaphorical comparisons of Adena to light become more literal than figurative. She has functioned as a bright spot in the dark lives of people like Makoto and Paedyn throughout the story—and now she has quite literally gone to shine among the stars.