70 pages • 2 hours read
James IslingtonThe Will of the Many
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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Themes
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BetaThemes
Greed and the Corruptibility of Governance
This major theme forms a grounding for the novel’s exploration of sociopolitical structures, especially in a high fantasy world where the organizational nature of the setting is essential for its overall allegorical and symbolic meaning. The novel’s interior discourse on the role and nature of governance as an ideal is integral to this theme, as is its relationship to human qualities and flaws. The novel presents many opinions, asking Vis and the reader to compare and judge these for their value.
Several characters explicitly discuss greed and corruptibility many times in the narrative, providing the philosophical and ethical backbone of the plot. Vis’s father, the murdered king of Suus, has argued that “there is no form of government immune from mistakes or from corruption” (486) because every system is built and run by human beings who are inherently flawed. Therefore, even a system that is fair in the abstract falls apart in its application. Callidus says a similar thing when he tells Vis that “fair systems cannot exist where people are involved,” although his more extreme philosophy is less compassionate and more cynical (280). Vis echoes elements of these perspectives in his argument with Relucia about the Anguis’s plans, demonstrating his character’s ability to synthesize and judge the various attitudes that the novel presents.
Several characters argue that governance (leadership and power over populations and systems) inherently contains the potential for corruption, no matter how perfect a system appears to be. The narrative further supports this argument through character actions. For instance, the Republic slogan of “Stronger Together,” referring to a sense of community and protection, is idealistic in the abstract but proves hollow and hypocritical. Rather than displaying unity, politicians navigate a system of deception and treachery, and students who should be encouraged to work together are constantly pitted against each other in increasingly violent power struggles. Similarly, the Republic’s history of violent colonialist expansion betrays the facade to reveal the power-hungry greed and oppression beneath.
Greed is the defining characteristic of the Catenan Republic, according to several characters, including Callidus and Vis’s father. Vis’s father argues, “Greed is by definition the moral ruler of the Hierarchy, Diago. All decisions are based upon it” (486). Estevan and Relucia explicitly argue this when they try to recruit Vis. Relucia says that the weak and poor in the Republic know perfectly well that the system is wrong, but they accept the status quo because “they are driven by myopic self-interest and greed just as much as the senators…” (425). Estevan says something similar in his speech at the naumachia, accuses the general public of willingly handing the senators power in hopes of one day climbing to the top to join them. Thus, greed encourages the population to turn a blind eye to the atrocities of their government because they ultimately benefit from it, allowing the Republic to maintain its oppressive power.
These characters’ criticisms of the Catenan Republic lead the reader through the moral conundrums of the novel, helping to provide the narrative tension between the world as Vis finds it and how he wishes it was. They combine to present a critique of the novel’s power structures and, through the allegorical nature of high fantasy, the power structures of the real world.
The Power of Friendship and Loyalty
This theme is presented as a locus for hope and optimism, in contrast to the conspiracies and betrayals that feature so prominently in the novel. Vis’s relationships with a small group of close friends prove increasingly invaluable to his efforts and survival, demonstrating the significance of this theme. Part of the novel’s narrative journey and character development is driven by Vis learning who to trust as a loyal friend.
As part of this paradigm, the novel’s treatment of relationships alters as it progresses. Early examples of alliances, such as that between Lanistia and Ulciscor, center around a common goal. Vis (and the reader) only knows that Lanistia was close to Caeror and, following his death, she and Ulciscor are bound by an obsessive need to expose the truth and avenge his death. This shared goal is powerful enough to maintain their alliance but is based on pragmatic common interest. On the other hand, Vis’s friendships with Callidus and Eidhin, and to a lesser-extent Aequa, are less bound by common goals. Callidus and Eidhin remain unaware of Vis’s true goals or past throughout, but their friendship remains strong, built on a foundation of respect, empathy, and trust. Where so many other of the novel’s relationships rely on self-interest, they remain friends despite risks to their own wishes and safety. For instance, while Eidhin and Vis share a common enemy in their hatred of the Republic, their friendship also stems from similar styles of humor and competitive spirit.
Callidus is the paragon of true friendship within the narrative. He trusts Vis with his secrets even when Vis cannot share his own. He supports Vis in every scheme and task he undertakes. Even knowing that he risks death, he agrees to help Vis during the Iudicium, stating unequivocally, “If you’re going, of course I’m coming with you” (518). During the Iudicium, he demonstrates the extent of his capacity to trust, of which Vis is envious. Vis is painfully aware that Callidus is “a better friend than [he] deserve[s]” (539). For Vis, Callidus embodies the ideals of friendship: respect, trust, and unshakeable loyalty, but Callidus’s prioritization of friendship over self-preservation will lead to his death. The novel must showcase the ultimate self-sacrifice through Callidus, and Vis’s appreciation of it: Vis, as the narrative’s hero, cannot display such levels of altruism.
These friendships focus on Vis as the protagonist. They are crucial to Vis’s success and survival, such as Callidus’s warnings about the dangers of being in Class Three, Eidhin and Emissa’s help training Vis for his duel with Ianix, and Callidus and Aequa’s unwavering support during the Iudicium and subsequent Anguis attack. These incidents all attest to the true power and necessity of friendship in one’s life. However, the novel also warns of the dangers of placing one’s trust in others. For instance, Callidus trusts Belli to his detriment, and Vis is deeply hurt by Emissa’s betrayal. Worst of all, the trust Callidus places in Vis becomes his ultimate downfall, as he dies during the Iudicium just as he feared. This outcome forces Vis and the reader to question if friendship and loyalty is worth the risk, and the extent to which it can and should be limited.
Resistance and Complicity
This is most complex theme of the novel, underlying the decisions and moral values of Vis and the other characters. The balance between resistance and complicity is a prominent dilemma addressed in the novel through multiple discussions and situations, and is central to the novel’s allegorical high fantasy. This theme is explicitly debated by several characters, particularly Vis and Estevan, though it is touched on by others as well. The varying attitudes of the characters underpin the complex world of the novel, where the reader must parse the comparative value of characters’ stated opinions, behavior, and motivations.
During his encounter with Vis at the naumachia, Estevan explicitly explains his concept of resistance and complicity, arguing, “Silence is a statement, Diago. Inaction picks a side. And when those lead to personal benefit, they are complicity” (189). As the first theme has shown, he adds that the public, even those Vis calls innocent, are likewise complicit because they actively hand power to those at the top out of the belief that they will eventually benefit from the oppressive actions of the government. Therefore, anyone who does not actively resist oppression, violently if necessary, is automatically siding with the oppressor and carries the blame of their atrocities.
Relucia echoes this sentiment when she confronts Vis at the Festival of the Ancestors. However, other characters offer different views. For instance, Fadrique argues that “violence is no answer to grief” (479) and Vis recalls his father’s words that he has a duty to protect that applies to all life, not merely “to the people he thinks are worthy” (186). This does, of course, not forbid all resistance. As Fadrique states, “[p]ride and self-respect may mean [they] never give in” (479). However, returning violence with further violence is not a just or effective response.
Eidhin’s personal view of resistance is influenced by his upbringing in a society that values death over surrender and his father’s decision to compromise with the Republic. Though he was willing to fight to the death before, Eidhin now submits to his time at the Academy to keep his people safe. Yet, he warns Vis that every person must have a line, beyond which they will not compromise, no matter what the consequences. He thus straddles the divide between Estevan and Vis’s father.
These characters and the text itself ask difficult ethical questions about the role of violence in resistance, and one’s complicity within a system, without offering definitive answers. Vis struggles with these questions throughout the novel, such as when he is torn between his disgust for the crowds during the naumachia and the memory of his father’s call to protect people. His beliefs are complicated by feelings of futility when he sees the capital city for the first time and realizes that he is not powerful enough to “repay the pain and loss [he] owe[s] to Caten” (102). Resigned to the overwhelming strength of the Republic, Vis spends much of the novel hoping to simply escape. Yet, as his struggles and losses increase, so too does his anger and his sense of injustice. In the final chapter, he dreams of his father saying, “I know it will be painful, but you cannot give up now. [...] You have to fight” (606). He therefore decides to stay and join the government, though this may make him complicit in its action, in the hope that he might resist from within.
