A Thoughtful Offering

On Feyre

Feyre Archeron is an overpowered Mary Sue of a character. I’m sorry Feyre fans, I know that’s not what you want to hear. But really, consider her. She’s canonically refused dresses because she’s ‘not like the other girls’, she’s got every power of the High Lords, she walked into the Night Court and became Prythian’s first ever High Lady at the ripe age of twenty because a tall dark and handsome man bought into feminism for her. She couldn’t read when the series started and now she presides over a court. Not to over-hate, but she’s basically a fan-fiction protagonist.

But here's the thing- we still keep reading, don't we? As stereotypical of a protagonist as she is, we keep reading from her POV. It's undeniable that the plot of ACOTAR has thus far been told mostly through her lens, and with all of the above in mind we really should want to stop reading but we don't. So what is it about Feyre Archeron that keeps us reading?

Feyre's Character

Feyre Is Growing

I think one of the things that makes Feyre more easily stomached than some other protagonists in her vein is that in spite of her drastic circumstances, she doesn't claim to immediately be an expoert- and she isn't a natural at everything. Maybe the universe threw an abnormal amount of power her way in an unnatural span of time, but she has to actually learn to wield it. That's at least more bearable than the very common alternative

Feyre is Strong

Let's not mistake this for when she's playing tough, because we all know sometimes that leads to decisions that has us shaking our heads and asking 'why?'/ But she is strong. As much as we all love Nesta and Elain now, the truth of the matter is that she grew up in a situation she should not have survived. She was a child that had to provide for herself, and when it mattered she kept her wits about her and fought tooth and nail not only for herself, but for them. She puts the people she loves before herself and she fights for them at her own expense, which is the truest strength of all.

Feyre and the Reader

Living Vicariously

Here's the thing- in spite of all the crazy, insane things that Feyre Archeron has going for her, she's somehow relatable enough that most of use find ourselves living vicariously through her... and liking it. Let's be brutally honest with ourselves, who doesn't wan an OP Mary Sue moment? Now I think part of what helps with that is the First-Person POV we get a lot from Feyre, which is particularly helpful for fantasizing during particular scenes. But the point stands- she is still relatable enough to us that we geuinely feel like she live vicariously through her.

Lost and Found

Here's the thing: Feyre's story calls to all of us. It's universal. At some point, all of us have felt lost and we have craved to be found by someone who sees us for who we are. That's what Feyre got, and that's what we all seek. And yeah, this counts a little under the point of living vicariously, but more standalone. Feyre gives us what we want, no matter how absurd the circumstances to get there are.

The Verdict

Maybe sometimes Feyre feels like she belongs more in a fanfiction than a popular YA novel, but there is good cause as to why we love to read what she has to say. There's a little Feyre in all of us, whether some of us want to admit it or not. And I, for one, hope we see some more Feyre POV in the future. It would be lovely to get a more personal sense of how she's growing like how we did at the beginning of the series. What are your thoughts? Why do you like Feyre? Let us know!

Ophelia Knox