Scarred

Many of the novel’s characters take actions that illustrate the moral implications of revenge, offering a nuanced portrayal of the unforeseen issues that can arise in the process of enacting new violence to address past wrongs. As both Tristan and Sara hunt down their enemies and seek vengeance for the deaths of their respective fathers, the author delivers a cautionary tale about the hidden pitfalls of dark plans that hinge on violence and destruction.

Within this framework, it is clear that Tristan’s pursuit of revenge is driven by a complex mix of emotions, including anger, resentment, and a longing for justice for both his father’s murder and Michael’s abusive treatment over the years. While Tristan’s desire to avenge the wrongs done to him and his father is based on his innate sense of justice, his actions also raise important moral questions, and McIntire avoids crafting a narrative that fully justifies her protagonist’s violent actions. As Tristan pursues his quest, he ironically perpetuates a cycle of violence and suffering, and several innocent victims are caught in the crossfire. By declining to definitively condemn or exonerate Tristan, McIntire conforms to the conventions of the dark romance genre, which often explores challenging topics and refuses to provide neat solutions.

While Tristan doggedly pursues vengeance and has a wealth of solid reasons for doing so, his actions also create a ripple of violence that causes untold suffering, both to his family and to the subjects whose welfare he is charged with safeguarding. For example, when Michael holds Sara hostage, Tristan begins burning down the entire city and then proceeds to destroy the castle as well, utterly disregarding the fact that his actions are ruining the homes and threatening the lives of thousands of people. Because he fails to fully acknowledge this fact and remains caught up in the throes of his need for personal vengeance, McIntire uses Tristan’s inherent moral failings to imply that revenge is a selfish endeavor that will ultimately fail to satisfy those who seek it. When Tristan finally pushes his brother off a cliff, he expects to feel “happiness, relief, or some type of enlightenment” and is disconcerted to realize that he can feel nothing more than “disappointment” (329). After all of his fantasies about getting even with his brother, the moment of his revenge proves to be anticlimactic at best.

Sara’s arc also examines the moral implications of revenge, as she only travels to Saxum to avenge her father’s murder, and her every action is saturated by this goal. However, since she does not realize that her vengeance has been misdirected, her quest offers a different slant on the theme. Uncle Raf told Sara that King Michael hanged her father, but his accusation is merely designed to hide his own guilt since he is the one who is responsible for the death of Sara’s father. This difficult truth suggests that vengeance becomes doubly dangerous when it is directed at the wrong people. Sara herself falls prey to this dynamic when she murders Lord Takan; when she finally realizes that the Faasas were not responsible for her father’s death, she must contend with the fact that she has killed Lord Takan for no reason. However, because the conventions of dark romance allow for protagonists who embody the traits of the anti-hero, the novel never fully addresses the question of whether Sara or Tristan feel guilty for the harm they cause to the innocent people caught in the crossfire of their revenge.

Sara’s final contemplations highlight and even celebrate this moral ambiguity; as she states, “Through it all, we survived. Even though […] our souls are stained in black, Tristan somehow makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the world. And I guess, in a way, I am. Because my heart belongs to the scarred prince” (332). Ironically, when Sara alludes to her soul being “stained in black,” she views this price as worthwhile because she has Tristan. Ultimately, her thoughts create a nuanced portrayal of revenge and its implications, suggesting that even morally ambiguous characters can find a sense of redemption through their connections with others.