Themes

[ochiengjr01]

As for me tradition, religion and love are the dominating themes in the book. As for tradition theme, women were to be inferior before men as seen in Roman women.

[CBCollinsReview]

I think one of the primary themes of this book was family loyalty versus love. You see this in nearly every relationship within the novel. Catlin is obligated to spy on Marcellus to find out information about the Romans and Marcellus is to do the same. However, both forsake their original assignments when they fall for one another. Likewise, Mor chooses love over loyalty by ignoring her politically arranged marriage and sleeping with one of her father's soldiers. Even the queen had children with one of the King's guards, yet her devotion to her family clearly takes priority over her love interest.

[Theresa Moffitt]

I thought there were so many different themes in the book but I agree the main one was family vs love interest. It did seem that family came secondary once they fell in love. Another interesting theme was women’s roles in society in general as well as between the two cultures. I thought it was an interesting book.

[Gotyourbakula]

Yes! I didn't think of that, and Marcellus is constantly compared to his ancestors and how he doesn't want to end up making the same mistakes as them.

Children paying for the sins of their parents at their parents' own hands. And isn't Marcellus pretty much messing up in a similar way...letting love (or more likely sex) guide his decisions. Of course, he seemed ready to leave Catrin behind the minute she didn't roll over about going back to Rome with him.

Totally letting base instincts drive decisions.

[rubinelli]

One of the main themes of the book was desire vs responsibility, or wants vs. needs. This is a basic concept that is in nearly every story. In Apollo's Raven, this theme is very apparent in Catrin conflict between sacrificing her love for her family and country.

I also liked what other people are saying about expectation from one's parents. Surely nearly everyone has experienced parents who have had certain expectations for their children. Catrina and Marcellus are certainly forced into certain roles by their parents. Catrin's parents raised her to be the independent women that we see, but still expect her to follow their orders and marry for their sakes rather for love, like Catrin wishes. Marcellus is often compared to his namesake, which haunted Marcellus when he was young. he did not want to die young like his ancestor had. This theme was certainly present in the book. I wish that Marcellus' fear was expanded on in the book. It seemed like his fear was mentioned, but we never really saw proof of that fear. I would've liked to see Marcellus cower from challenges or avoid conflict because of this fear. Then the book could show how Marcellus's relationship with Catrin made Marcellus more confident and he could grow to become more brave. I think that would have made him a much more interesting character.

[mamilla93]

Well there is mysticism. And the romance between Catrin and Marcellus. The dark negative characters. The political intrigue plays a major role.

[sush_destiny]

The romance between Catrin and Marcellus. The dark characters like Marcellus. The political intrigue plays a major role. And, of course, the mystic elements of magic, god and shape shifting

[Jennifer Donovan Smith]

Forbidden romance, loyalty to family, coming of age, doing better than one's parents have done...there are so many great themes in this book.

[Rayah Raouf]

Of course romance. I guess it's more forbidden as mentioned above. You can sort of align it with 'Romeo and Juliet'. but I'm sure the outcome here will be different.

[Gandhi_D 1st]

The theme employed in this novel were Deity, Politics, Women's roles, and ancient culture.

[photosynthesis19]

The main themes I observed in this book were: loyalty, betrayal, family, power, and love. These themes were intricately intertwined and made for a gripping plot. The hunger for power led Marrock and Rhan to betray their family and create the curse that is controlling King Amren and Catrin's fates. Catrin's decisions were driven by her loyalty to her father and her love for Marcellus, resulting in tragic outcomes. Catrin's eventual rise to power over the Cantiaci kingdom will be ruled by these themes as she will need to choose whom to trust and whom to fight against.