#i think about how feyre was treated again and i get angry. she deserved betterrrrrrrrrrrrr

[bookishfeylin]

I saw a post of a pro Rhysand and Feyre, it said that “people say that Feyre only gets respect because she is Rhysand’s mate and it’s not true.” I am like that is literally the truth. None cared to tell her of her being Rhysand’s mate nor her pregnancy risk. They don’t care for her. Their respect for her only goes so far. Mor having the power of truth is laughable because she didn’t tell Feyre the truth.

:/

*sigh*

At this point in the series, it is correct to say that Feyre is respected solely because she's Rhysand's mate. That DOES NOT MEAN she doesn't have amazing accomplishments (breaking the curse and saving Prythian, fixing the Cauldron, etc.) but she is not respected for those. You can tell because her most popular title is High Lady (an empty title Rhysand gave her) rather than Cursebreaker or, idk, Cauldron-fixer or something (titles earned from her own actions). By the end of the trilogy, Feyre is viewed as merely an extension of Rhysand--merely as his "High Lady" and not as her own person.

This in part is due to Velaris being the main setting of ACOMAF and beyond--remember prior to coming to Velaris Feyre was tired of people worshipping her as Cursebreaker, and she loved that no one in Velaris treated her differently?--as Velaris was a secret city and no one was dragged UTM to suffer, so in the beginning they had no reason to worship and respect her like the people of the Spring Court and the rest of Prythian did, and had all the reason to respect Rhysand for ruling over them for centuries and protecting them from Amarantha.

But even after the trilogy, after gaining the title Defender of the Rainbow from her actions in Velaris, after saving the world... ACOSF still happened. Her own doctor consulted her husband about her health and allowed her husband to dictate health decisions about her body. So any "respect" she got from breaking the curse or defending Velaris or fixing the Cauldron only went so far, apparently. The people of the Night Court ultimately defaulted to respecting Rhysand more than her. Because RHYSAND is the High Lord. Rhysand is the one chosen by magic, Rhysand is the one with a deep psychic connection to the lands of the court itself and to every single member of his citizens, because RHYSAND ultimately is the highest authority in the Night Court. Not Rhysand and Feyre as equals. Just Rhysand.

And this is worse with the Inner Circle, though arguably more understandable. They've been friends for 500 years! No wonder they prioritize him. But even then... it's clear they aren't the perfectly happy little found family Sarah tries to sell them as, because Feyre's pregnancy aside, even in ACOMAF they all go along with keeping Rhysand's secret that Feyre's his mate (despite that being something Feyre SHOULD KNOW. She can't trust any of her experiences and feelings towards Rhysand, such as ultimately deciding to trust him, because they're all influenced by MAGIC. Everyone knowing magic is going to make you like someone regardless of their actual character but refusing to tell you that is a HUGE betrayal of trust, and I hate that its literally NEVER discussed) and in one ACOSF bonus chapter, Rhysand forbids Azriel from going after Elain. They heed his authority for everything, no matter how small... and no matter how large. Like dying in childbirth. If they truly respected Feyre, no secrets would've been kept from her, in ACOSF or ACOMAF. But they didn't because Rhysand asked them not to.

Feyre is only respected as an extension of Rhysand, as his mate, and the minute the "respect" being Rhysand's mate affords Feyre conflicts with Rhysand's interests, that "respect" miraculously disappears. It did so in ACOMAF with the mating bond, and it did so again in ACOSF with the pregnancy.