The Wicked King

The “Queen of Mirth” is a game characteristic of the faerie folk that illustrates the divide between them and mortals: “Steal away a mortal girl, make her drunk on faerie wine and faerie flattery and faerie kisses, then convince her she is being honored with a crown—all the time heaping insults on her oblivious head” (101). In this instance, they know their target in Jude is fully aware of her situation, giving the game a new layer of meaning.

The crown, built of branches and mushrooms, becomes an inversion of the High King’s crown, the one Jude has worked so hard for and controls in secret. It is meant to be a symbol of ridiculousness, and it shows Jude a mirror image of her hopes and ambitions. The experience of being crowned also shows how Jude is beginning to grow and learn how to play the long games of faerie kind. Though tempted to rebel, Jude embraces her new role and takes control of it, turning the game upon Cardan. Instead of turning and leaving, as she has the power to do, she stays and plays her part, attempting to do so in a way her audience does not expect.

In Faerie, the High King’s crown is the ultimate axis for the events of the plot. In the Queen of Mirth game, even a symbolic crown has power. Jude relies on its symbolism within the boundaries of the revel to direct the music and take control of her circumstance. And while the High King’s crown represents politics and luxury and enchantment, the crown of the Queen of Mirth represents a wilder order that is just as much a part of faerie kind. This scene serves as both foreshadowing and foil to the book’s major turning point: Jude becomes High Queen of Faerie, and yet has no power at all—a direct inversion of her role as Queen of Mirth.