The Shadow King

All major characters in this novel live in the shadow of their fathers. The motif of fathers and their influence helps articulate The Role of Women in War and History, examining the role of socialization in perpetuating or halting violence and conflict.

Kidane, Fucelli, and Haile Selassie are connected to the business of war by their fathers, and their acts of violence are influenced by their fathers’ male-dominated, patriarchal, and (in Fucelli’s case) racist ideas of masculinity. In the examination of the role of women in war and conflict, Mengiste rejects the conventional narrative of war as a glorious and male-dominant enterprise, instead exposing the harsh realities of war, particularly on women.

Following his father’s advice to make Aster submit on their wedding night, Kidane employs sexual violence to maintain obedience and meet his father’s ideal of masculinity as dominant and commanding. Fucelli perpetuates violence against civilians to maintain his self-image as the conquering hero he believes would have impressed his distant and social-climbing father. Haile Selassie struggles with his inability to lead in war and is haunted by his failures to head the state. He has sacrificed his daughter Zenebwork by forcing her into a political marriage with a man who allows her to die in childbirth and who later betrays Haile Selassie to the Italians. Through these men who idolize their fathers and force women into subservient roles, Mengiste examines the connection between socialized racism and misogyny: Both are power structures that perpetuate war and sexual violence and erase the role of women as active participants in war and history.

Mengiste is careful not to blame fathers for the actions of their sons, however, and the contrasting figures of Hirut and Ettore’s fathers provide balance and moral complexity. Hirut’s father’s relentless drilling with the Wujigra connects Hirut to a positive identity and prepares her to resist the same misogyny and racism that other fathers have espoused for their sons. This allows Hirut to shift out of her expected role and take up arms for Ethiopia. In contrast, though Ettore’s father has given moral counsel and warned him against the corrupting influences of racism and misogyny, his influence does not guarantee Ettore’s adherence to morality. Rather than guiding his son, his memory only haunts Ettore with guilt as he complies with the atrocities of war and colonialism.

Finally, Aster’s fathers’ low opinion of her as a woman does not hinder or discourage her transformation into the soldier who will lead Kidane’s army after he falls. The misogyny, beatings, and use of her as a political pawn feed the rage that motivates her to take up arms. Aster, like Hirut, like Ethiopia itself, refuses to be defined by racist and misogynist narratives, and she carves out a role for herself and other women in the war despite her father’s and husband’s disdain.