55 pages • 1 hour read
The Prisoner's Throne
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 6-9Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 6 Summary
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of animal death, graphic violence, and death.
Oak awakens on the cold prison floor to the presence of Bogdana, who brings him a revolting meal and accuses him of using a servant girl, Fernwaif, to aid his escape, though Oak insists he acted alone. Bogdana reveals that Wren intervened to protect the servant and warns Oak that there will be dire consequences if he tries to escape again.
Hours later, Oak is awakened by guards. Fearing another round of torture, he fights against them despite his injuries. He only stops when Hyacinthe tells him Wren has summoned him for dinner. He stops fighting, and Hyacinthe leads him out of his cell. As they walk together, Oak warns Hyacinthe about Valen’s ambitions and Bran’s murder, suggesting that Valen is plotting something. Hyacinthe also tells Oak that Wren’s unbinding magic, which she used to break the curse on the Stone Forest and destroy Lady Nore’s army, is taking a toll on her. Each time she uses her power, it weakens her physically and mentally. Nevertheless, she is under pressure from Bogdana to keep doing so. Hyacinthe urges Oak to persuade Wren to let him go or, failing that, to escape and take the political conflict away from the Citadel.
Hyacinthe leaves Oak in a room with fresh clothes and a key, hinting that he might escape during the shift change at dawn. Oak also notices a dried stalk of ragwort hidden in a book left for him, which he could use to fly away. Once changed, the guards lead him to the dining hall. Oak notes Wren’s regal but fragile appearance. He also notes defensiveness in her stance, as though she fears his anger toward her. Wren confronts him about the origin of his injuries, and Oak cannot stop himself from quipping back at her.
Chapter 7 Summary
During the dinner, Wren remains guarded and cold. Bruised and wary, Oak attempts to navigate her moods, still unsure whether he is dining with a potential ally or someone who sees him as a dangerous pawn.
As the meal progresses, he tries to reason with her and offers to negotiate with the High Court on her behalf if she removes the bridle from him. Wren, however, distrusts his intentions and accuses him of trying to twist words in his favor. When Oak expresses his genuine feelings for her, she reacts defensively, fueled by the fear of being vulnerable and betrayed once again. Her magic flares uncontrollably, melting parts of the table. She questions how she should rule, asking if she must follow the brutal examples of other queens, such as Lady Nore or Jude. Oak reassures her that she can make her own path.
The dinner ends with Wren instructing Oak to return to his room, saying she may summon him again. As he leaves, Oak impulsively kisses the back of Wren’s hand, surprising her. She confesses, in a rare moment of vulnerability, that the rage and emptiness inside her have consumed her. Oak replies that he doesn’t believe that’s all she is, though he does wonder how much of her old self remains.
Before returning to his room, the guards lead Oak past the Great Hall, where he is shown Valen’s dead body hanging from the ice wall, his throat slit and clothes stiff with dried blood. Oak realizes that Wren already knew who was responsible for his injuries and took action. While he has seen plenty of violence in Elfhame, Valen’s body being displayed reminds him that Wren, shaped by far greater cruelties, is learning to become the very thing she once feared.
Chapter 8 Summary
Oak reflects on his childhood and his complex relationship with his foster father, Madoc. He recalls his time living in the mortal world with Vivi and Heather. Despite being surrounded by family and friends, he missed his old life in Elfhame. Oriana finally took Oak to visit Madoc. In a sparring session on the cemetery lawn, Madoc pushed Oak, saying that fighting was not about skill alone, but about shedding hesitation and mercy. In battle, one must abandon guilt, shame, and fear to become wholly committed to victory until all enemies are dead. Oak, however, struggled with the idea of hurting his father or anyone else. Despite knowing how to fight, he lacked the drive to inflict harm. Madoc, frustrated, continued to press him, escalating the intensity of their sparring.
When Oak finally threw down his sword in frustration, declaring that he didn’t want to fight, Madoc coldly reminded him that unwillingness to fight would lead to his death. Overwhelmed, Oak managed to overcome his father, his blade nearly at Madoc’s throat before he even realized what had happened. Madoc, bloodied but pleased, told him, “Good […] Again” (106).
Chapter 9 Summary
Oak returns to his tower bedroom only to be fussed over by two strange servants who insist on dressing him for bed. Despite their efforts to make him comfortable, Oak is restless and weighed down by the gravity of the situation: Elfhame’s army is approaching the Citadel, and war seems inevitable unless he acts.
He takes the key Hyacinthe left him, wraps himself in a blanket, and sneaks into the freezing night. When he climbs to the parapet, he spots Elfhame’s soldiers marching toward the Citadel. Oak knows that if he flees to them with the bridle still on his face, they will assume he is under Wren’s control and attack regardless.
After weighing his limited options, he decides to risk everything. He uses his gancanagh power and promises of freedom from a longstanding debt to convince a nervous servant named Daggry to deliver a message to Elfhame’s army. Once Daggry departs, Oak puts on regal clothes he scavenged from Lord Jarel’s old belongings, arms himself with a hidden dagger, and heads to the Hall of Queens to meet Hyacinthe. There, he persuades Hyacinthe to remove the bridle in exchange for a future favor: Finding and punishing the person responsible for Liriope’s murder.
With the bridle finally off, Oak then heads to the Great Hall. Wren is there, holding tense negotiations with ambassadors from Elfhame, including the Ghost, Randalin, Tiernan, and Grima Mog. To everyone’s shock, Oak enters and announces his engagement to Wren, sliding the ring he took from the snake onto her finger and claiming that she accepted his proposal.
Chapters 6-9 Analysis
With the opening chapters having laid the introductory groundwork, the plot begins in earnest by cementing the dynamics between the different characters, especially the fraught relationship between Oak and Wren. The dinner scene centers around the continuing tension between them, invoking The Consequences of Betrayal and the Quest for Redemption.
The dinner becomes a symbolic battlefield, with the contrast between hot and cold courses reflecting the fluctuating emotional temperature of their interaction. The goblets carved of ice and the cold fish reflect Wren’s aloofness and Oak’s tentative efforts to navigate their interaction. Aware of the interaction’s delicate nature, Oak struggles to approach her without worsening the situation. Meanwhile, Wren is stiff and defensive. The line, “Am I to advise you how best to deceive me” (89) shows her inherent skepticism and distrust of him, suggesting that she views his every action and word as potentially manipulative. In contrast, the second course of grilled deer hearts introduces heat, symbolizing the rising emotional stakes. The hearts, a symbol of love and vulnerability, show that beneath their icy exteriors lie raw and unguarded emotions.
Both Wren and Oak also wrestle with The Exploration of Identity and Self-Discovery. Now a queen, Wren holds the upper hand, but her grip on power is tenuous, and she seems more exhausted than invigorated by her new role. Despite her outward control, Wren’s vulnerability seeps through. In response to Oak’s declaration of affection for her, she uses her power of unmaking to destroy part of the table setting, reflecting the dangerous instability beneath her composed exterior. Oak attempts to force her to confront her feelings, trying to assure her that she can choose what sort of queen she wishes to be instead of following patterns set by others.
Wren openly admits to the conflict she feels over her role and sense of identity, telling Oak, “I am not the person you believe me to be […] That girl you knew. Inside her was always this great rage, this emptiness. And now it’s all I am” (98). Her warning to him flips the gender on a familiar dynamic seen in many Young Adult fantasy romances, with one famous example being Edward’s warning to Bella about his nature in Twilight (2005). Here, the female character in the pair warns her male counterpart of her monstrous nature and the danger he is in should he continue to pursue her affections. This time, the warning also comes with a physical reminder in the guard’s body, displayed against the ice wall with his throat cut. Oak realizes that Wren is repeating the patterns of those who once oppressed her, distorting her original identity into a person she does not really wish to be.
These chapters also explore violence, war, and its effects on Oak, adding another dimension to The Challenges of Family Expectations. His flashback regarding his foster father, Madoc, and his exile after the Battle of the Serpent, are illustrative of Oak’s internal conflict regarding his family. Like many interactions with his family, Oak feels responsible for their sacrifices. Despite being a child when these events unfolded, Oak internalizes the blame for the war and its aftermath: “Without Oak, there would have been no war. No plan to steal the crown. No family at one another’s throats” (100). This belief, though irrational, shows the heavy burden Oak places on himself and his struggle with feelings of powerlessness. His sense of responsibility and guilt drive him to feel that he must not let his family down, even if he would prefer to choose another path.
Madoc himself is a symbol of war and the brutal realities of Faerie politics. The dichotomy between Madoc’s ruthless pragmatism and Oak’s reluctance to embrace violence reinforces the key conflict in Oak’s character: The tension between who he is and who others expect him to be. As the son of Madoc and a member of the Greenbriar family, Oak is constantly reminded of the legacy he must uphold. However, his reluctance to fully embrace this role sets him apart from his father and sisters. The section closes in the present with war looming again, this time with his family sending an army to liberate him from the Ice Needle Citadel. To protect Elfhame and Wren from unnecessary bloodshed, Oak announces his betrothal to her in front of everyone. By feigning a united front, he can buy time to negotiate a peaceful resolution instead of enabling further violence.
Unlock all 55 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 8,800+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
Related Titles
By Holly Black
