The main purpose of this arc is to depict a woman wrestling with her station as a woman, chafing at the leadership of men, and ultimately finding peace and fulfillment through embracing her natural role as a woman.
Nivana’s beef is with men, but the surface theme of the arc is magic.
At first glance this seems like a disconnect, but they may work well as two layers. In the same way that violence was used as a metaphor for sex in the first book, perhaps magic can somehow be used as a metaphor for gender-conflict.
I think I’m getting too fixated on gender conflict. That isn’t the root issue here.
The root problem is Nivana wants to live a life that is different than the one given her. She isn’t submitted to God, and is striving to realize her own agenda.
I’ve been trying to come up with all sorts of emotional vectors to accentuate these dynamics, but I don’t need them—they’ve just been getting in the way. Nivana wants something and can’t get it, simple.
So what does she want?
Look at the Adelle storyline, what have you struggled the most with not letting her have? Adventure. It’s so much fun to have her and James going on adventures, but there is something off about that.
Marloth has multiple settings, and here I have gotten too hung up on the Jane Austen setting for Nivana. She may still start out in that setting, but where she wants to be is in the fantasy gamer side of Marloth.
But Nivana wanting to go on adventures sounds too childish and romantic for Nivana. Can the tone be shifted? Something more grown-up?
Maybe fighting evil? Monster hunting?
While Nivana isn’t sentimental, she is passionate. She cares deeply for things and doesn’t do anything half-way. She’s obsessive and driven.
And she’s very judgemental. She may joke about morality but at heart she sees the world black-and-white.
Nivana is a fixer. She wants to fix things.