Raffaele’s True Feelings About Adelina
At the end of the novel when Raffaele reveals to Adelina that he had told Enzo to kill her from the very beginning, Adelina is devastated. In her words, “[Raffaele] was the last thread suspending [her] in the light” (Lu 2014 pp. 592). He was the one person in the world she believed she could trust unconditionally. The revelation that these feelings of trust were not reciprocated is paralyzing for her. For the reader however, we knew this confrontation was a long time coming. Because Lu switches around the point of view of the story, the reader was privy to the conversation Raffaele had with Enzo about Adelina earlier on in the book. We knew about Raffaele’s true feelings about Adelina before she did. This is a prime example of dramatic irony.
Violetta Being a Young Elite
Adelina is constantly comparing herself to her sister Violetta. Unlike herself, Violetta survived the blood fever unmarked. She is the epitome of unsullied beauty whereas Adelina’s beauty is imperfect. She receives care and attention from their father, while Adelina gets scorn and anger. Most importantly, Adelina sees her sister’s inner nature as the opposite of her own. Violetta is all goodness and innocence, while Adelina is darkness, ambition, and anger. It is therefore ironic that not only is Violetta a Young Elite, she also has been using her powers to suppress Adelina’s long before Adelina could become aware of her own powers. Violetta being a Young Elite upsets the clear-cut dichotomy between the sisters. It forces Adelina to reevaluate the matter of who her sister is, and what being a Young Elite can mean.
Teren Being a Young Elite
It is ironic that Teren is a Young Elite because he is so passionate about eradicating them from the earth. Rather than banding together with those that the blood fever also changed, he is the mastermind behind the planned genocide of the malfettos.
Maeve’s Powers
In the epilogue of the book it is revealed that Maeve is the fabled Young Elite that can bring the dead back to life. She brought back her brother Tristan from the depths of the Underworld. The ironic aspect of her powers is that the longer the resurrected person lives anew, the more of them slips away. In the first few years of his resurrection, Tristan was his normal self. As the years passed however, he began to change into an expressionless husk of who he once was. The irony of Maeve’s powers is by giving life she also takes it away.
