How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of child abuse.

Transformation is a powerful theme in fairy tales. Where magic is involved, especially with the fey themselves, it often takes a literal form—leaves and dirt transformed temporarily into gold or a spurned lover cursed into the shape of a bird for seven years. However, transformation can also be a voluntary, metaphorical act of maturation or character development. Someone can grow and change or remain in a constant, stagnant stasis. These ideas are explored in How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories.

Literal transformation establishes the story as a fairy tale: Jude and Cardan ride horses made of transformed ragwort stalks when they travel to the mortal world, Cardan pays for his purchases at the gas station with glamoured faerie gold, and Aslog’s false welcome transforms into a pit trap when Cardan confronts her in the woods. These metamorphoses do not just happen superficially but reveal personality traits of each character. Magic-less, human Jude likes to take risks—if the ragwort spell fails in midair, she would plummet to her doom. Cardan, though more generous as an adult than he was as a child, still prefers clever trickery over direct interaction, and Aslog is determined to have her vengeance no matter what.