Chapter 3

Darkness vs Light

Conflict is the innate part of daily existence. It haunts people from inside. In literature,

Karl Marx is the profounder of the conflict theory. Conflict theory speaks about the permanent

conflict due to the rivalry for limited sources and power. The aggression of conflict is

illuminated through different elements such as war, structural inequality, competition and

revolution. According to Boege “Many of the conflicts are called ‘new wars’ which are more

internal, non-conversational and cultural sensitive, conflicts having their origins in domestic

rather than systemic factors” (Boege). The central element of conflict, war is a frightening

subject that holds the life of human beings in threat. The term ‘war’ is derived from the late old

English words ‘wyrre’, ‘werre’. Carl Von Clausewitz defines war, as “War is nothing but a duel

on an extensive scale… Each strives by physical force to compel the other to submit to his will…

War therefore is an act of violence to compel our opponent to do our will.”(Clausewitz). The age

of the war is as old as the age of human civilization. Human beings believe that war with armed

weapons cause an immense misery to people. But the external conflict increases internal

throbbing. As a result, the haunting memories of Cold War, First World War and Second World

War remain a scholarly topic in the dais of discourse. War aims to capture the wealth, power,

land, freedom, knowledge and leadership of the challenger. The number of forces in the conflict

situation determines the livelihood of war. The consequences of war affect the social,

economical, cultural and political aspects.

War appears in Grisha Trilogy exposes both the internal and external war threat in

different aspects. Conflict can be defined as a process that begins when an individual or group
perceives differences and opposition between oneself and another individual or group about

interests and resources, beliefs, values, or practices that matter to them. The novel is based on

Russian culture and society. The term ‘Grisha’ is taken from the Russian word Gregory, which

means watchful. Grisha Trilogy is the famous YA fictional novel addresses the frightful

condition of the fictional nation Ravka under the hands of the Darkling. Darkling, the super hero

of the Grishas attempt to imbibe Ravka for his greedy food called power. History says that war

is not a sudden outburst of emotion but the result of the depressed antipathy for over years.

Similar, the nation of Ravka is threatened for war with the nations of Shu Han and Fjerdans for

over hundred years. Shu Han’s rule is totalitarian and their wealth is immeasurable. Grishas are

rare in Shu Han. Those who are discovered as Grishas become virtual slaves or burnt. When

Darkling with his Grishas stand as an upper class there comes a clause between upper class and

peasants.

According to Karl Marx “society doesn’t consist of individuals but express the sum of

interrelations, the relations within which each individuals stand” (Capital: A Critique of Political

Economy). The base of the conflict from the Aryan society still prevails in the twenty first

century. Do the society creates man or man creates society is a big question mark in human life.

The basis crisis in a society arouses due to class conflict. Classes are defined by property,

position, status and prestige. Class is not biologically determined but it is a form of social order.

Though, society is the living place for every humans some capitalist assume it as their home and

the rest as their servants. The strange Darkling is the unique capitalist. His birth disturbs the

peaceful nature of Ravka. Darkling is almost a deity with the light manipulating power. His

greed for supremacy forces him to lead a group called Grishas, who works as the slaves under his

feet. His construction of Shadow Fold takes him to the peak next to the king. Shadow Fold is a
part of Ravka fills with darkness and monsters volcra. He transforms “the green, good, fertile and

rich Ravka into dead and barren crawling with abominations. Darkling will push its boundaries

north into Fjerda, south to the Shu Han. Those who do not bow to him will see their kingdoms

turned to desolate wasteland and their people devoured by ravening volcra” ( Shadow and Bone

235). He acquires others property and use it for his personal. When his fame has been spread all

over Ravka people respects him because of fear. Darkling uses this situation in favor of him and

divides his Grishas according to their power or status. Bardugo designs Darkling as the Russian

capitalist, Stalin and the Grishas as the working class. In the eyes of Darkling, the person who

does not possess power is called Otkazatsya. They are the shopkeepers, labors and soldiers of

Ravka. In their own nation peasants struggles for a home whereas elites settle in the Little and

Grand Palace. Peasants love Saints and not Grishas. Grishas largely dismiss the stories of

peasants as superstition. When peasants try to capture Ravka and its wealth in the hands of

Darkling, he supplies them to the Volcra. Thus, society respects a man by his prestige than that

of his manners.

Class becomes a political force to protect one’s reputation, property and social relations.

According to Zedong “political power grows out of the barrel of the gun” (Zedong). Darkling

uses Grisha politics to safeguard his status and Shadow Fold. Even king of Ravka obeys

Darkling for his mysterious grisha power. In the current era, politics acts as a manuscript without

words. Leaders are selfish and corrupted. Politics supports the elites in the society than that of

the downtrodden people. Correspondingly, Darkling as a politician and his canon make Ravka

stinks. He uses Alina, the sun summoner and the innocent orphan as a political weapon to

destroy the village Novokribirsk to extend his dark Shadow Fold. He loses his human attitude,

mercy and obtains selfishness. The division of power, legitimate social and political groups and
institutions and ruling apparatus to widen the monopoly of power governs his dictatorship. Franz

L.Neumann classifies dictatorship into three types. They are simple, caesaristic and totalitarian

dictatorship. Darkling exercises both caesaristic and totalitarian dictatorship. As a caesaristic he

enslaves a mass number of Grishas to gain his power and strengthen it and being a totalitarian, he

holds his power apparatus to exercise his rule and government party. Politics and violene are

knotted in war. Achievement of political goals determines the success in war. According to Mao

Zedong “Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed” (Zedong).

Speech is the sharp sword of a politician, which makes him distinctive in the field of politics.

Like a strong politician, Darkling uses his speech as a powerful weapon to catch the attention of

Alina’s guiltless mind. Not only Alina even the readers believe him as a true freedom fighter of

Ravka. His outstanding speech to Alina is

My great-great –great-grandfather was the Black Heretic, the Darkling who

created the Shodow Fold. It was a mistake, an experiment born of his greed,

maybe his evil. I don’t know. But every Darkling since then has tried to undo the

damage he did to our country, and I’m no different’. He turned to then, his

expression serious, the firelight playing over the perfect planes of his features.

“I’ve spent my life searching for a way to make things right. You’re the first

glimmer of hope I’ve had in a long time.”… “The world is changing Alina.

Muskets and rifles are just the beginning. I’ve seen the weapons they’re

developing in Kerch and Fjerda. The age of Grisha Power is coming to an end.” It

was a terrifying thought. “But . . . but what about the First Army? They have

rifles. They have weapons.”. . . A divided Ravka won’t survive the new age. We
 need our ports. We need our harbors. And only you can give them back to us

(Shadow and Bone 81-82).

Privilages of upper class result from their dominance. When a person identifies that, his

actions makes others scared he continues to dominate them. In addition, people believe that if a

person is proficient of controlling the society can control the state and other organizations.

Therefore, super ordinate experiences the benefits from the labour of sub ordinates. According to

William Arthur Ward leadership is based on inspiration, not domination, on cooperation, not

intimidation. The positive side of dominance is leadership and the negative side of dominance is

dictatorship. Usually, men are known for strength. He exposes his power through physical

strength and dominance through non-verbal behaviour. The gestures are associated with animal

behaviour such as variable face expressions, high pitched voice and wide smiles. It is proved in

the approach of Darkling with the Grishas as “When the doors behind the Darkling’s table

opened and the doomed hall fell silent. . . . I rarely saw the Darkling, and when I did it was from

a distance, coming or going, deep in conversation with Ivan or the King’s military advisers”(

Ruin and Rising140,147). In the novel, Bardugo has introduced cultural dominance as an

instinct for war. The division between monarch and public divides Os Alta, the capital of Ravka

from Ravka. Os Alta is inspired by the culture of Europeans whereas Ravka is designed as a

Russian imperial style. The division between two distinct cultures divides their identities. These

differences make Os Alta as an enemy to Grishas.

Too much belief in something stimulates fear in the mind of a person. Similar, fear of

losing power drives Darkling to be alienated with the rest. When he discovers that Alina is a Sun

Summoner he fears that she will demolish the Shadow Fold using light. The relationship between

the significance of fear and power is evident in the plays of Shakespeare. In the play Macbeth he
shows how fear of losing power makes a war hero into a murderer. His mere lust to remain

powerful causes Macbeth to kill other people. It is not the power kills him but the lust to remain

powerful devastates his life. Correspondingly, Darkling loses his life in favour of holding power

in his pockets. Power is temporary phenomenon. No leaders in the world are immortal to enjoy

his power until eternity. Power never corrupts leaders but leaders corrupt power by lusting for

lavishness. A true leader does not have fear about losing power but on winning the hearts of his

people.

The English word ‘slavery’ comes from the old French word ‘sclave’, which means to

strip a slay enemy. It refers to a situation in which a capitalist controls a person’s life and work

for his benefits. Bardugo says freedom means a person is unobstructed in living his life as he

choose. Anything less is a form of slavery. History uncovers that slavery exists in so many places

for over decades. Romans, Greeks, Africa, America and India had slave system. Most of the

famous buildings, bridges, and railways are constructed by the hard labor of slaves. People who

possess power often exercise their power to oppress and marginalize the people who lack power.

Darkling, the capitalist arrests the freedom of the peasants so there comments a fight against

slavery. Slave labor is not an accident in Darkling’s regime but the integral and the future of

Darklinism. He gathers slaves for his Second Army to fight against Fjerda and Shu Han.

Darkling arrests his Grishas in the Little Palace. His method of slavery is unique. When a

Grisha’s talent is discovered, the child is brought to the Little Palace for training. Moreover, the

child spends the rest of his or her life for the welfare of Darkling. Unlike, other leaders in history

Darkling offers extravagance and mini power to his slaves. This luxury makes Grishas believe

Darkling as their God and Little Palace as their home.

 A Grisha member does not need a family to love him. It is seen in the words of Genya,

the servant of Queen. “I haven’t seen my parents since I was five. This is my home” ( S hadow

and Bone131). Darkling separates his labours on based on the colour of Kefta (dress) they are

wearing. The divisions of slaves in Darkling’s Palace are Corporali( the order of the living and

the dead) controls the heartrenders and healers, Etherealki( the order of summoners). Grishas

have partition on basis of their position. “First the Materialki, then the Etheralki, and finally the

Corporalki, so that the highest-ranked Grisha would enter the throne room first” ( Shadow and

Bone 101). The professions of the Grishas are kept secret. The training rooms are large, empty,

high-beamed rooms with packed dirt floors and weapons of every variety lining the walls.

Slavery can be existed in different forms. Chattel slavery is one of the traditional forms of

slavery in which an individual is forced to do work against his will. It is also named as unfree

labour. Alina and Genya struggle under chatter slavery in the monarchy of Darkling. Born as a

female both are exploited physically and mentally. Alina is an orphan, gifted with the light

summoning power. She is a stranger to Darkling but they are equally powerful. Her power

scatters the ambition of Darkling in fear. Therefore, he arrests Alina in the Little Palace without

her permission. To him Alina is a property to abuse and exploit. Alina’s desperate situation in the

Palace makes her utter “I gaped at him. What did these people expect from me? And what would

they do to me when they realized I couldn’t deliver? “This is ridiculous,” I muttered”. . . If the

Darkling wanted me to be patient, I would have to be patient” ( Shadow and Bone172).When he

finds Alina is innocent he chooses love, as a weapon to have her as a slave. His love indirectly

forces Alina to satisfy the will of him. Alina is forced to leave her childhood friend Mal. Her

feeling for Mal does not affect the psyche of Darkling. Using his magic, he reads the thoughts of

Alina. So Alina becomes the delicate prisoner to Darkling.

 Alina is the only person who can compete with Darkling’s power. Darkling wants to

keep Alina weak. Therefore, he seduces her without her agreement. Alina says, “My mind had

shut down, given itself over to the pleasure coursing through me and the anticipation of where

his next kiss would land” ( Seige and Storm221).To arrest her communication with other

members in the Palace she has given a separate luxurious room. When Alina struggles to find an

answer for his imprison in the Palace, Darkling gives other shock news to arrest her judgement.

The destinies of Grishas are designed by Darkling. By birth, Alina is a non-Grisha but Darkling

manipulates her as a Grisha for her power. Alina is often singled and watched by Darkling. He

chooses even her food and colour of her dress. Her privacy and freedom are in threat. When she

escapes from the Little Palace with Mal, Darkling wears Morozova’s stag as a necklace to

enslave her permanently. One of the myths of Russian’s says that Morozova is a beast whose

magical horn is powerful to control an individual.

Genya, the Grisha and the close friend of Alina is a slave in Darkling’s Palace at the very

age of five. She is a gorgeous Grisha with golden hair and flawless skin. She is the unique tailor

among Grishas. She could have a choice to be Fabrikator or Coporalnik but Darkling decides to

develop her as gift and makes her a present to the Queen. As a slave, she wears red and blue

kefta. The Queen orders her to stay in the Grand Palace as her pet. The King frequently abuses

her and the Queen envies her for her gorgeousness. But Genya handles both the abuse as her fate.

Freedom is one of the most precious gifts given to the human society by God. The idea of

freedom is complex. It varies from person to person. For over centuries men have fought and

killed for freedom and this is still continuing in the twentieth century. The right of freedom from

slavery is a fundamental human right. It is the right to do what one wants and live where he

wants, eats and learns what he likes and chooses the religion in which he believes without
harming others. Freedom of speech is the fundamental right of human because it is the intrinsic

thought of a person. It is the first condition of liberty. Iver Jennings says, “Without freedom of

speech, the appeal to reason which is the basis of democracy cannot be made” (jennings).

In Darkling’s Palace, freedom of speech is restricted. Everyday particular work schedule

is given to the Grishas to follow inside the Palace. Information other than Grisha and Ravka are

prohibited in the Palace. It is because Darkling fears that the truth regarding him will illumine.

Freedom of speech permits other rights to be sheltered and exercised. It is essential in making

decision. Fear of losing their life freezes them to utter a word against Darkling. So he shapes the

destiny of each Grisha. These restrictions inhibit one’s personality and growth. Ravka is a not

free country where political rights are absent and basic civil liberties are denied. The struggle for

free country hints the mind of Alina. She has swallowed many sufferings before attaining the

freedom of Ravka. In the last book of the trilogy, Ruin and Rising Alina is trapped in a church as

a saint by the Apparat of the King. Again, she experiences loneliness, and physically transformed

by her near death experience. With the help of Genya, Alina recovers her power. Now, despite

her weakness she is an active prisoner making plans to try to secure her freedom and Ravka. No

one’s strength is infinite in the world so Alina accepts the help of the Second Army and kills

Darkling. Genya poisons the King and spends the rest of her life with Alina.

Psychological slavery or mental slavery plays an importance role in the lives of the

slaves. The abuser as well as the victim is responsible for the consequences of this slavery.

Martin Luther King defines mental slavery, as “As long as the mind is enslaved, the body can

never be free. Psychological freedom, a firm sense of self-esteem is the most powerful weapon

against the long night of physical slavery”(Why we can’t wait). Perception of threat, isolation

from others, belief that one is unable to escape from a situation and appreciations of small act of
kindness by the user to the victim are the situations where psychological slavery occurs. Every

member in Grisha group is suffered due to psychological slavery. From her childhood, Alina

travels in the world of the internal threat. Being an orphan, she stays in Duke’s house and

befriends another orphan, Mal. Alina views everything through the eyes of Mal. Though Mal

assumes Alina as his sister, she has a hidden love towards Mal. She believes that Mal as her

parent, self-confidence, power and health. Darkling’s members separate Alina from Mal and

enslaves her in the Little Palace. She does not know anything apart from Mal so her spirit lies

down. In the Palace, her solitude doubles. “Where is Mal? The thought kept returning to me, the

only clear thought I seemed to be able to form” ( Seige and Storm39). She is always frightened

and hopes the help from Mal. Though, she has given luxurious life in the Palace her mind

struggles to accept the new world without Mal. Alina seems insecure and immature while Mal is

a strong leader who knows who he is. The lack of self-esteem prevents her to uncover her love

towards Mal.

A small act of kindness by the user to the victim awakens the mental conflict of the

victim. The kindness of the user may help the victim to forget the mischief of the user or

increases the conflict. It is seen in the relation between Darkling and Alina. When Darkling

imprisons and seduces Alina, she subjugates her emotions within her. But the affection of

Darkling starts confusion in the minds of Alina. She believes Darkling as the leader of Ravka. In

addition she argues Baghra, mother of Darkling as “ You’re lying. Only the volcra have kept the

Darkling from using the Fold against his enemies” ( Shadow and Bone238). The affection fades

when Alina encounters a fight with Darkling for the Morozava’s stag. Later, she becomes the

firm opponent of him to save Ravka.

 Inferiority complex is one of the major elements comes under mental slavery. It is a sense

of inferiority one have on themselves and others. Animals are framed with a set of functions for

their survival. Like animals, human also programmed with a set of functions but human have the

opportunity to select their goal. In order to reach the goal human should have creative

imagination and self-confidence. Unknowingly human develops inferiority from their

imagination. Mary Wollstonecraft in her book, A Vindication of the rights of Women speaks

about the complexities of women as

Every facet of their upbringing from the moment they enter the world is oriented

toward rendering them weak, docile, and dependent upon men. Women are

socialized to only want to be beautiful so they can attract men. They delight in

their own meekness and diminished bodily strength. They engage in rivalries with

other women. They are focused on no other concerns or duties because they are

confined to the private sphere. They cannot exercise reason or truly perfect their

souls since they linger in this dependent state. Mothers shape and mold their

daughters' characters, which are even further ossified into silliness when they

attend boarding schools. In their youth they are attracted to men of ill repute

because they desire gallant men and seek to indulge their fantasies and

sentimentalities. All of this is due to their upbringing; they rarely have any way of

breaking out of this structure of teachings. ( Wollstonecraft 56)

As a female protagonist, Alina wishes to be beautiful but her horrible look arouses her inferiority

over beauty and self-confidence. Even a servant in Duke’s Palace addresses her as an ugly and

bony creature. It hurts Alina. “I knew what they saw: a scrawny girl with stringy, dull brown hair

and sallow cheeks, fingers stained orange from packing jurda. . . . The women’s faces all said the
same thing: What was a boy like Mal doing with a girl like me?”( Shadow and Bone10-11). She

fears that Mal will not love her ugly face and innocence. So she did not reveal her love for Mal.

She envies Genya for her beauty. In the Palace, she hides her ugly face and does not accept her

identity as a Grisha. According to her “Grisha were beautiful. They didn’t have spotty skin and

dull brown hair and scrawny arms” ( Shadow and Bone77). Alina has the entire power to fight

against Darkling, but her lack of self-esteem blocks her to accept her as a sun summoner. She

never thought she was worthy. Her incapability of accepting her self-image makes her as a slave

under mental slavery.

External conflict occurs between the character and the antagonist. This conflict takes

place at the outside of the protagonist. Whether wars are waged between two countries or inside

countries, the effects are very harmful. Alina, Darkling and Mal are the victims of the external

war and its cruelties. Darkling invents the Shadow Fold but the Volcras inside the fold are the

spirits of the dead slaves. Even crossing over the Shadow Fold is dangerous to Darkling because

Volcra’s eat him. Alina’s first experience in the Shadow Fold makes her feel like a fish out of

water. Volcra’s is “more frightening than anything I had ever seen in any book, than any monster

I could have imagined. Shots rang out. The arches let fly, and the shrieks of volcra split the air,

high and horrible” ( Seige and Storm31). All these violence affects Alina severely. Animals and

mass number of people lose their life in the crossings. The bloodshed, cries of the people and the

dead Alexei haunt the memories of Alina. With the power of Alina, Mal luckily escapes from the

Volcra. Being not heal from these troubles Alina encounters a new war with Fjerdans. When the

leader of the Fjerdan tries to kill Alina, Darkling cut the person into pieces. The scattered body

makes Alina “scrambling away from the mutilated body, unable to get to my feet, unable to look
away from the awful sight, my body shaking uncontrollably” ( Seige and Storm70). Fear

surrounds Alina. She loses her faith in life and accepts herself as Darkling’s prisoner.

Bardugo’s Grisha Trilogy is set in an imaginary Russia. The beauty of the landscape is

filled with magic. According to the New York Times the novel is like “The Hunger Games meets

Twilight meets Lord of the Rings meets Game of Thrones; basically epic magical fantasy but

completely for grown-ups” (Shadow and Bone).The mixture of the scientific and technology in

the same universe tries to capture the primary conflict of the characters. The binary opposite of

technology is magic. The technology is the broad invention of human mind whereas magic is a

mystery emerges from the spells and enchantments. Magic is an ideology, which does not

follow any rules. In the novel, Bardugo stresses more about the magic and its consequences. The

Grishas are powerful practitioners known as small science. Magic is very real and existing thing

in the world of Grishas. They practice elemental magic to summon air, water, light, fire and

darkness. It is an innate gift that allows them to manipulate natural forces. But they deny the

term magic and call it as scientific development. When their magic fails to prevent the military

rifles of Shu Han and Fjerdans the conflict between technology and magic begins. Grishas are

blessed with some kind of power. Even Genya, the servant can change the petal of a rose as a

lipstick. Healers can heal the injuries of the victim like autumn leaves changing colour.

According to the Grishas,

Everything in the world could be broken down into the same small parts. What

looked like magic was really the Grisha manipulating matter at its most

fundamental levels. Marie did not make fire, she summoned combustible elements

in the air around us, and she still needed a flint to make the spark that would burn
 that fuel. Grisha steel wasn’t endowed with magic, but by the skill of Fabrikators,

who did not need heat or crude tools to manipulate metal ( Ruin and Rising 48).

Their collective skill like making weapons, summoning fire and healing wounds without

weapons make their presence so graceful in the Shadow Fold. Alina, the orphan and the

unnoticeable protagonist becomes the elite person in the kingdom because of her magical power.

Grishas were studying advanced theories, language and military strategy. Protagonist Alina is

not a Grisha but a low mapmaker in Ravka’s First Army. When she finds Mal’s life in danger

she unleashes a dormant power she never even knew existed in her body. In Grisha’s world

magic acts as a weapon to conquer their enemies. A hunt for magical objects will provide them

more power. They use amplifiers to gain the magic power. “Grisha should have only one

amplifier in his or her lifetime and that once a Grisha owned an amplifier, it could be possessed

by no one else: The Grisha claims the amplifier, but the amplifier claims the Grisha, as well.

Once it is done, there can be no other. Like calls to like, and the bond is made” ( Ruin and

Rising175). For the amplifier Ivan has to slay on Sherborn bear, and has killed a northern seal.

Darling’s wishes to have Alina as his slave on account of her power. He uses Morozova’s stag

to defeat Alina. When the stag is placed around her neck, she becomes the amplifier of Darkling.

It is evident that Grishas use magic to enslave his own cult. Without magic Grishas is the

wasteland. Though, Darkling enslaves Alina in the depth of his heart, he has fear over the First

Army. First Army has rifles, and weapons. Grishas cannot stand in front of rifles and the age of

Grishas is coming to an end.

Just as Darkling, who acts as the super hero of Grishas, Apparat stands as the firm

devotee of saints. Both the Grishas and Darkling accept Alina as a powerful summoner. Apparat

observes Alina’s calling up light to the religious experience.

 Light flooded the throne room, drenching us in warmth and shattering the

darkness like black glass. The court erupted into applause. People were weeping

and hugging one another. A woman fainted. The King was clapping the loudest,

rising from his throne and applauding furiously, his expression exultant... [later

one woman had tears in her eyes and asked me to bless her ( Ruin and Rising224).

The religious person, Apparat believes small science as religion. He trusts Alina as the saint and

seeks to have her as a tool to control others. But Alina escapes from the hands of the Apparat.

Alina suffers between the overwhelming gap between the small science and saints. Grishas hate

Saints. But peasants like Fjerdans and Kech love their Saints. They hunger for the miraculous.

And yet, the do not love the Grisha. Why would you think that is? I think is because the Grisha

do not suffer the way the Saints suffer, the way people suffer” ( Seige and Storm77). Grishas

believe Saints as peasant’s superstition. The belief in superstition destroys the human manners of

Apparat. There are certain common superstitions, which are shared by all the people in the

world. Belief in spirits ghosts and witches; the cries of certain birds like owl and ravens and

mewing of cats are superstitions followed all over the globe. It is also a common belief that

comets in humans that they portend the death of great man. A superstition is an irrational fear of

what is unknown or mysterious, especially in connection with religion. Consequently,

superstitious become an obsession to Apparat and make his life a real nightmare. It is because he

would notice superstitious everywhere around him.

The small science of Grishas represents ambition and power. There is no ordinary life for

the people who have magical powers. Though Ravka is a Christian society, the art of magic and

the power in their hands denounces their faith in God. Assuming Grisha as witch peasants starts

ammoniating weapons and defeats them using the First Army. In the war with First Army, many
of the Grishas are killed. However, Darkling is a respectful person and great magician among the

Grishas his life outside Ravka is distrustful. Technology takes the upper hand than that of the

magic. The growth of technology makes people to believe magic as a superstition. When

technology controls magic could not controls the world. Magic is something destined for

personal and technology stands for common use.

The fight between darkness and light is the central theme of the novel. Even in modern

literature theme of light and dark exists an important role. Darkness is a symbol of evil, mystery

and fear and death. It seems like a monster to swallow the lives of humans. The light is good

whereas the dark is bad. All wars and conflicts in this world arise due to dark against light. The

term ‘light’ and ‘dark’ shows the difference between two sides of good and evil. Too much light

and too much light are harm to the society. Being the exact opposites, there will never exist one

without other and they should balance each other. To represent the battle between darkness and

light Bardugo uses the characters Alina and Darkling. In one of her interviews at Entertainment

Weekly Bardugo explains about her inspiration in the series as

In most fantasy, darkness is metaphorical; it is just a way of talking about evil

(darkness falls across the land, a dark age is coming, etc.). So the question became

‘What if darkness was a place?’What if the monsters lurking there were real and

more horrible than anything you had ever imagined beneath your bed or behind

the closet door? What if you had to fight them on their own territory, blind and

helpless in the dark? These ideas eventually became the Shadow Fold” (Shadow

and Bone).

Ravkan life is immersed in darkness because of the Shadow Fold and Darkling.

Followers of dark have the pessimistic attitude. They study to use creatures that are not human
and control them with their eyes. Like Hitler, the leader of dark tries to conquer the world by

using his force. As the name suggests Darkling is cruel and dark. His dark mind creates the dark

Fold and destroys the hundreds of people. “The Darkling wasn’t known for mercy. . . . Darkling

had once ordered a Corporalki Healer to seal a traitor’s mouth shut permanently. The man’s lips

had been grafted together and he starved to death” ( Shadow and Bone46-47). His power is

summoning darkness. Darkness is a symbol of blindness. Nothing is apparent in dark. It shows

the identity of Darkling as dark. Darkling underestimates light but when he understands the

confidence of light in the battle, he starts to control Alina, the sun summoner. Darkling’s fear of

light exposes that he is in the doomed path to self-destruction. The venue of evils is darkness.

Thus, Volcra’s rest in the dark Shadow Fold and hunts the flesh of human beings. Through the

voice of Alina, Bardugo says,

Darkness some people afraid of it. Some people embrace it. It appears everywhere

there is an absence of light. Darkness is merely the absence of light, yet most

people don’t have light inside them it gets quite dark. And people spends too

much time being afraid of the darkness outside than the darkness within

themselves. It sits inside penetrating one’s mind and heart. Light upon it the

darkness will surely devour us ( Shadow and Bone 99).

The dichotomy between light and darkness had become quite complicated in the eighteen

century. It says that darkness symbolized the deprivation of light. Light is the symbol of truth,

enlightenment and safety. It stands for good and supports the person who leads an innocent life.

It illumines evil and overpowers it.

According to the Bible, “Jesus is the light of the world. Whoever follows him will never

walk in darkness, but will have the life of light” (John 8: 12). In the novel, Alina Starvok stands
for the truth. She has the power to summon light. She does not gather light for her personal but

for her love of Mal and Ravka. Though she is given luxurious life to control her power, she did

not accept it. The light of Alina shoots the evil nature of Darkling. Alina says, “Darkling’s black

kefta rippled in the evening breeze, and the light of the moon shone behind him, making him

look like a fallen angel” ( Seige and Strom 84). The identity of Alina is revealed as the saint of

Ravka. The Darkling is very powerful and his control over darkness and ability to amplify the

powers of other Grisha make him an intriguing enemy to Alina’s light. Her wish to master her

power and use it to support her country shows the fight between true heroism and dark villain.

This chapter deals with the different kinds of conflicts in the form of war. It clearly

describes that every human have dark side as well as good side. Every person has light in him.

But the self-confidence of a person determines his strength in the world. If a human fails to

recognize his strength and respects a capitalist, he will become a slave and a working class for

him.