Not a person, a desire for others

I was surprisingly disappointed by this book, though written in a time closer to ours it still has much of the same sexist beliefs as some of the others we have read in class. I know that with fantasy we should expect the women to be portrayed as only side characters and sexual beings but I had high hopes for a book written only a little more than 15 years ago.

I also was bothered by Lady Una’s role altogether in the book, she is treated like nothing but an object until and even so in the very end. She is to be traded to a woman Tristan prefers and used as a backup plan when that woman “gives her heart” to another. She wasn’t “the one” she was just good enough and that’s why I think Tristan ended up with her. I mean ended up as well, and the fact that Lady Una, though being of royal birth just went along with it was ridiculous in my opinion. She could have anyone she wanted at that time but chose to be with a man who aged and died while she did not. This book was entertaining but disappointing considering the time in which it was written. Though again this may just be my jaded opinion because of my difficulty in actually getting into the story in the first place. I may read it again in the future but with the lack of a strong female character I probably won’t. The star was nothing more than an object to give others what they desire not an actual person and that tares me up.