Amren is one of the most powerful characters in Sarah J. Maas’A Court of Thorns and Rosesbooks - and they actually drop all the clues you could need about her true form. One of the mostpowerful characters inA Court of Thorns and Roses, Amren is introduced as something of a mystery. Although she looks like a Fae, she is something far older, and infinitely more powerful. As Rhysand contemplated total war, he speculated thatone day he would “find a way to break the spell on Amren and unleash her on the world” as a last resort.
This remark proved to be blatant foreshadowing forA Court of Wings and Ruin, when Amren finally revealed a little more about her origin - before being unleashed against the forces of Hybern. The books never explicitly state what Amren really is, in large part because she is something beyond the experiences of the Fae; they don’t even have the right word for her. But it is possible to spot the clues - and here, I’ll walk you through them…
Amren Is An Eternal Being - In The Classical Sense
It all begins withA Court of Wings and Ruin, the closest Maas' books come to telling us Amren’s secrets. There, she explains how she escaped the Prison; she made herself mortal. “Immortal as you are,” Amren clarifies to the Fae, “but… mortal compared to - to what I was.” Perhaps sensing her friends' confusion, she then explains a little more:
“I did not feel, the way you do. The way I do now. SOme things - loyalty and wrath and curiosity - but not the full spectrum. I was perfect, according to some. I did not regret, did not mourn - and pain… I did not experience it.”
I recognized this idea;Amren is describing the idea of “impassivity,“that the eternal is by nature outside of time and not subject to human emotions. This concept originates from Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle, and it was absorbed into Judeo-Christian thought. The doctrine of the impassivity of God was challenged in the 20th century, with many arguing that a God who could look on the Holocaust and notfeelwas unworthy of worship. It’s become more popular in recent times, especially in Reformed circles.
A Court Of Thorns And Roses: Everything We Know About The ACOTAR Adaptation
A Court Of Thorns And Roses seeks to adapt the bestselling fantasy novel series, but the project has hit some snags that put it in serious doubt.
Amren’s comments took me aback. I knew what she was describing, and I also knew it is a peculiar feature of the Abrahamic faiths (albeit a contested doctrine).This immediately suggested to me that Amren was somehow drawn from a Biblical source- and, as a result, it wasn’t hard to figure out what she is.
Amren Is An Angel Tied To Sodom And Gomorrah
Amren goes on to explain how she found her way to Prythian, and the account she gives helps place her even more precisely. According to Amren, she and her “brothers and sisters” had been agents of a wrathful god who were sent to lay waste to “twin cities”; they “smote them wholly into rubble on the plain.” Immediately afterwards, a gateway opened - one that Amren’s brothers and sisters fled from, but that she entered, curious.
This particular speech is something of a giveaway for Amren, because it places her in a very specific Biblical context;she’s an Old Testament angel. No, not the famous cherubic beings, but the ones that looked like lightning; the messengers of God who are sometimes described as a heavenly army, and who wage war on His behalf.The two cities on the plain? They are Sodom and Gomorrah, cities subject to God’s judgment, consumed with fire and brimstone.
“Messenger” is a very common Biblical designation for angels.
I’d already figured it out at this point, but Maas offered one final clue. The scene ends with Nesta outright asking Amren what she was before she clothed herself in flesh. She explicitly states that she was “a messenger and soldier-assassin for a wrathful god who ruled a young world.” “Messenger” is a very common Biblical designation for angels. Meanwhile,Amren said some of her kind had already “fallen,“developing feelings because they placed their own needs first - an account of the origin of demons, who the Bible considers fallen angels.
Amren Is An Angel Unleashed
Amren is unleashed at the end ofA Court of Wings and Ruin, and she sweeps across the battlefield, destroying Hybern’s forces. Given the setup,I wasn’t particularly surprised to see reference to her leaving behind “fire and brimstone.“The language used is even more Old Testament, and Amren is said to “pass by” - a theophany, a moment when the divine sweeps past the mortal, revealing itself. She is an angel unleashed.
There’s One Way To Make A Court Of Thorns & Roses' Night Court Editions Better
The Night Court editions of ACOTAR have sparked some controversy as a special release for the series, but there’s a way to increase interest.
Only after finishing the book did I check online, and I was delighted to learn that Maas confirmed this. The original paperback of theCourt of Frost and Starlightnovellacontains over 30 pages of content, including an interview with Sarah J. Maas. “Okay, so Amren is basically an Old Testament angel,” Maas explained. “Not one of those angels with the pretty white wings - hers are more like wings of raging fire. Think the Angel of Death - that sort of angel.”
In the Biblical story of the Exodus, the Angel of Death passes over Egypt visiting a terrifying judgment upon the nation because Pharaoh would not free the Israelite slaves. The firstborn of every household died, and the Israelites were spared because they daubed blood on their doorframes. This is why Maas portrays Amren as eating blood, and the people of Velaris even put out blood to satisfy her when she is on the hunt. The clues were there all along;A Court of Thorns and Roses' most mysterious character is an angel.
