58 pages • 1 hour read
Sarah J. MaasThrone of Glass
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2012A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 51-55Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 51 Summary
Dorian has suspicions, but he cannot prove that the King or Perrington knew about the poison. The King agrees not to punish Chaol for killing Cain, but he wants to send Celaena back to Endovier because she did not recognize that her wine had been poisoned. When Dorian stands up for Celaena, he reveals to the King how much he cares for her. To make up for this mistake, Dorian channels Nehemia by finding symbolic ways to resist the King: He convinces the King to reject Perrington’s plan to use Nehemia as a hostage in the war with Eyllwe.
When Nehemia returns the Eye of Elena to Celaena, she explains Celaena’s recent experiences with magic. Bloodbane allowed Celaena to see “beyond the veil” of reality because it could sense her lost powers. The royal family of Eyllwe all practice Wyrd magic in secret, so Nehemia has been finding and destroying the ridderak Cain has been summoning. During the duel, Nehemia used Wyrdmarks to open a portal so that Elena could appear. She also placed Wyrdmarks under Celaena’s bed, for her protection. Nehemia can’t explain how Cain knew about Celaena’s parents, or what the Wyrdmark on Celaena’s forehead means. Nehemia at last admits that she came to Rifthold to spy on the King for the Eyllwe resistance. The two women promise to be friends.
Chapter 52 Summary
Dorian visits Celaena as she recovers from her injuries. He apologizes for not stopping the duel, but Celaena assures him there was nothing he could have done. Dorian knew from the moment he saw Celaena at Endovier that she would win, and that he is grateful that Celaena is in his life. Celaena and Dorian kiss.
The King ponders whether Celaena is a risk to him because of her friendships with Dorian and Nehemia. The King is pleased that Dorian stood up to him, showing strength. Although the King is “well-versed in Wyrdmarks” (388), he has never seen the symbol on Celaena’s forehead and wonders what hidden powers Celaena might have. The King asks whether Perrington used the black ring’s power on Kaltain. Perrington had to stop manipulating Kaltain supernaturally because of her increasingly debilitating headaches. Although displeased that Perrington exposing Kaltain as the poisoner at the duel, the King is glad to see that Perrington’s mysterious powers allow physical (Cain) and mental (Kaltain) manipulation, and he admires his own matching black ring. The King plans to manipulate Kaltain further after a stint in the dungeons. He tells Perrington to lay low in the meantime.
Chapter 53 Summary
A week after the duel, Chaol finally visits Celaena. She blushes to be wearing only a revealing nightgown, but Chaol is more preoccupied by her bandaged wounds than her bare skin. Celaena tells Chaol that he saved her life—by killing Cain and by encouraging her during the duel. Chaol is haunted by how easy it was for him to kill Cain. Celaena expresses her gratitude again and embraces Chaol. They only break their long hug when Dorian enters the room. Chaol leaves.
Dorian’s father has prepared the Champion contract for Celaena to sign, so Dorian is glad Celaena will stay in Rifthold. Celaena tells Dorian that it is impossible for her to have a real relationship with the Crown Prince while she works for the King. She refuses Dorian’s offer to be together in secret. Whatever their feelings for each other are, any long-term relationship is likely to fail. Celaena would like to stay friends. Dorian is disappointed but agrees.
Chapter 54 Summary
Chaol wants to explain to Dorian that his hug with Celaena was innocent. Instead, Celaena explains that she ended things with Dorian. Chaol approves, surprised that the news makes him so happy. Chaol feels hopeful that the act of killing has not destroyed his soul. Chaol and Celaena toast to her eventual freedom, as he wonders if four years will be enough time with her.
Celaena dreams that she is back in the tombs with Elena, who tells Celaena that she could “rattle the stars” if only she weren’t afraid of her own potential (399). Celaena must be the King’s Champion to wield power to help others, not just dominate them. Someday, Celaena will understand that there are countless people who need her help. Celaena thanks Elena for her help, and Elena notes that they are bound to each other by blood.
Chapter 55 Summary
Celaena signs her contract as Champion with a foreboding feeling before the King on his glass throne. She is apprehensive about what the King will demand of her during her service. The King demands unquestioning obedience and threatens to harm Chaol, Nehemia, and Nehemia’s family if Celaena ever fails him. Chaol finds Celaena afterwards, and the two walk from the throne room arm in arm.
Chapters 51-55 Analysis
Celaena’s rejection of Dorian centers self-actualization, and not romantic success, as true victory in the novel. Celaena’s ending her relationship with Dorian is consistent with her character arc—she has been on a journey of self-reclamation. Before she can enter an authentic romantic relationship, Celaena must regain total agency and an independent sense of self. Dorian must also grow before he can be a suitable romantic partner, continuing the path he has set out on by openly defying his father for the first time.
Chaol’s struggle to define a more nuanced moral code is thrown into crisis when he takes a life for the first time. Like Celaena, he finds hope through emotional intimacy. When he finally musters the courage to visit Celaena after the duel, Chaol finds the “hope that he had not lost his soul in the act of killing” (397). He is now on a par with Celaena, whose previous life as an assassin has not fully tainted her as evil. The shift of perspective allows Chaol to see morality as a spectrum, rather than a binary. He accepts that Celaena and he are redeemable and that he does not need to resist his feelings for her.
Celaena ends the novel with hope and resignation. She leaves the King’s throne room on “feet both heavy and light” (403), indicating that while she has succeeded so far, she knows that it will be hard to face what will follow.
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By Sarah J. Maas
