Serpent & Dove

Content Warning: This section contains references to violence and bodily harm.

“He didn’t move. ‘You’re a woman […] Why are you dressed like a man?’

‘Have you ever worn a corset?’ I spun around to face him, reattaching my mustache with as much dignity as I could muster. ‘I doubt you’d ask such a question if you had. Trousers are infinitely more freeing.’”

Lou and Reid meet while Lou is in disguise, having just come from The Belle Rose. Reid is surprised to find she is a woman because his prejudices about women don’t allow for their autonomy or strength. Lou’s response shows her quick-wittedness and humor. This helps set up the theme of Opposites Attract.

“Porcelain skin sagged once more, and raven hair withered back to thin wisps of silver. No longer the beautiful pregnant woman. Again the hag. She winked at me. The gesture was chilling on her haggard face. ‘We must do this again soon, handsome.’

I couldn’t speak. Never before had I seen such black magic—such desecration of the human body. But witches weren’t human. They were vipers. Demons incarnate. And I had almost—”

This is the first time Morgane le Blanc appears in her shapeshifting forms of maiden, mother, and crone. Reid is horrified by her magic, and particularly by his attraction to her maiden form. Morgane’s power, magical abilities, and ruthlessness as the leader of the Dames Blanches are hinted at here. Reid’s association of witches with snakes helps establish the novel’s serpent symbolism, which will complicate as Reid’s views on witches grow more nuanced.

“With each word, the cord between him and the lock pulsed brighter. But—no. I moved before I could reconsider, twisting my forefinger sharply. Pain lanced through my hand. Through clenched teeth, I watched as the cords vanished, returning to the land in a whirl of golden dust. Savage satisfaction stole through me as the lock clicked open in response.

I’d done it.”

Lou hasn’t done magic in a while and is unsure of her capabilities. Mahurin shows that her magic demands a price: one of her fingers or being cruel to her former lover, Bas. She chooses to be kind to Bas even as this harms her. This selflessness is a hallmark of Lou’s character that her reactions to Monsieur Bernard and Estelle later confirm.