Okay, I feel I really need to address this since I've already seen a few comments talking about the next arc and how "hot" Maxi and Riftan’s reunion will be. I'm not apologizing in advance for this as I've grown tired and frustrated by fans that reference the "banquet scene" in the novel as if it were some romantically erotic display of raw passion. I'm genuinely concerned by how several of you were somehow able to read that scene with seemingly zero self-awareness and walked away thinking it was even remotely "hot."
From chapters 118–123, Riftan essentially rapes Maxi out of possessiveness and jealousy, all because she wore a provocative dress after being encouraged by her mage friends to live a little and to demonstrate what Riftan stands to lose if he continued to push Maxi away. Just think about that for a moment.
No, seriously. Let’s put things into perspective:
• Maxi left Anatol to study magic for 4 years, partly to protect her husband from losing his knighthood after he beat her abusive father half to death. Unlike what Riftan believes, Maxi's decision wasn't an act of abandonment or some frivolous decision. She made a considerable personal sacrifice with his well-being in mind. *The choice to leave had placed heavy emotional and psychological stress to Maxi as well, not just Riftan.*
• Instead of actually understanding his wife's circumstances, Riftan throws a tantrum over her accepting Princess Agnes' terms, accusing both women of conspiring behind his back. His hypocrisy is especially glaring here, considering that he had *also* made a significant decision to essentially abandon Anatol behind Maxi's back—his own plan proving to be a far worse decision compared to what Agnes had proposed.
• After Maxi returns, Riftan spends months emotionally avoiding and neglecting her, leaving her to navigate her insecurities and their deteriorating relationship largely on her own.
• Then comes the banquet. Maxi wears a revealing dress, dances with another man, and finally gets to experience being appreciated for her beauty. Keep in mind that Maxi's reason for doing this was due to Riftan's *SIX MONTHS* of emotional neglect after their reunion. Riftan responds by cornering her and initiating sex. Although Maxi initially gives in, considering how touch starved she was, what follows is NOT consensual. He literally confines her in a room, (straight up telling her "you're not leaving this room," and "you're going to see the fullest extent of my feelings *whether you want to or not"*) disregards her repeated expressions of fear and discomfort, ignores her requests to stop—telling him multiple times to stop while he openly mocked her by responding that he "couldn't hear her," and continued forcing himself onto her despite her obvious exhaustion, to the point that Maxi repeatedly passes out throughout the week-long assault.
The mirror scene has to be my least favorite moment in these chapters. He literally forces her to watch as he sexually violates her, despite her obvious mortification and distress. Hell, Maxi had fainted right before this moment, only to wake up to find him still sexually engaging with her. Riftan was still *fully inside* Maxi by the time she woke up. How anyone can summarize this simply as Riftan being jealous because his wife looked beautiful and subsequently having hot sex with her for days is beyond me, but that is such a gross simplification of what really happened.
And before anyone brings up the ridiculous excuse of Maxi's physical responses being "evidence" that she enjoyed herself, please fucking educate yourselves on sexual assault. Physiological arousal, lubrication, and even orgasms can occur involuntarily during unwanted sexual contact. **A bodily response is not consent, people.** It doesn't matter whether the victim experiences physical pleasure during certain moments. It doesn't retroactively make the assault consensual. I can't believe I have to explain this to an audience largely comprised of women and teenage girls.
I also find the repeated use of Riftan's childhood trauma to defend his behavior incredibly disgusting and frustrating. Yes, his abandonment issues help explain his emotional difficulties. But why does that explanation so frequently take precedence over Maxi's *own trauma?* Why is his suffering treated as something that warrants endless understanding, while Maxi is expected to accommodate *his* anger, insecurity, possessiveness, and emotional volatility? His trauma does *not* entitle him to fucking punish his wife. His jealousy does *not* entitle him to control her. His desire for intimacy does *not* entitle him to her body.
And I don't think I can stress this enough, but I'm not against flawed romantic leads, nor do I expect fictional characters to behave perfectly or be a "generic Disney prince," or whatever. But there's a difference between portraying an emotionally complicated character and *romanticizing sexual violence.* You can sympathize with Riftan's past *without* defending his actions. You can acknowledge his feelings without minimizing Maxi's suffering.
And frankly, Maxi wearing a revealing dress and dancing with another man should not be treated as some sort of justification for what happened to her. I mean, honestly. Do you have any idea just how borderline misogynistic that sounds? A woman seeks acknowledgment and affection from her abusive and negligent husband, so she decides to wear a lovely dress and dance with a man more willing to admire her for more than just her body, only to be sexually assaulted and humiliated by her husband, whose response is subsequently romanticized as heated, spur-of-the-moment passion. What the actual fuck.
***Maxi is allowed to be beautiful, independent, ambitious, and desirable without having to suffer sexual punishment for it, so stop excusing Riftan's actions just because he lacks self-control and emotional awareness.***
Okay, I feel I really need to address this since I've already seen a few comments talking about the next arc and how "hot" Maxi and Riftan’s reunion will be. I'm not apologizing in advance for this as I've grown tired and frustrated by fans that reference the "banquet scene" in the novel as if it were some romantically erotic display of raw passion. I'm genuinely concerned by how several of you were somehow able to read that scene with seemingly zero self-awareness and walked away thinking it was even remotely "hot."
From chapters 118–123, Riftan essentially rapes Maxi out of possessiveness and jealousy, all because she wore a provocative dress after being encouraged by her mage friends to live a little and to demonstrate what Riftan stands to lose if he continued to push Maxi away. Just think about that for a moment.
No, seriously. Let’s put things into perspective:
• Maxi left Anatol to study magic for 4 years, partly to protect her husband from losing his knighthood after he beat her abusive father half to death. Unlike what Riftan believes, Maxi's decision wasn't an act of abandonment or some frivolous decision. She made a considerable personal sacrifice with his well-being in mind. *The choice to leave had placed heavy emotional and psychological stress to Maxi as well, not just Riftan.*
• Instead of actually understanding his wife's circumstances, Riftan throws a tantrum over her accepting Princess Agnes' terms, accusing both women of conspiring behind his back. His hypocrisy is especially glaring here, considering that he had *also* made a significant decision to essentially abandon Anatol behind Maxi's back—his own plan proving to be a far worse decision compared to what Agnes had proposed.
• After Maxi returns, Riftan spends months emotionally avoiding and neglecting her, leaving her to navigate her insecurities and their deteriorating relationship largely on her own.
• Then comes the banquet. Maxi wears a revealing dress, dances with another man, and finally gets to experience being appreciated for her beauty. Keep in mind that Maxi's reason for doing this was due to Riftan's *SIX MONTHS* of emotional neglect after their reunion. Riftan responds by cornering her and initiating sex. Although Maxi initially gives in, considering how touch starved she was, what follows is NOT consensual. He literally confines her in a room, (straight up telling her "you're not leaving this room," and "you're going to see the fullest extent of my feelings *whether you want to or not"*) disregards her repeated expressions of fear and discomfort, ignores her requests to stop—telling him multiple times to stop while he openly mocked her by responding that he "couldn't hear her," and continued forcing himself onto her despite her obvious exhaustion, to the point that Maxi repeatedly passes out throughout the week-long assault.
The mirror scene has to be my least favorite moment in these chapters. He literally forces her to watch as he sexually violates her, despite her obvious mortification and distress. Hell, Maxi had fainted right before this moment, only to wake up to find him still sexually engaging with her. Riftan was still *fully inside* Maxi by the time she woke up. How anyone can summarize this simply as Riftan being jealous because his wife looked beautiful and subsequently having hot sex with her for days is beyond me, but that is such a gross simplification of what really happened.
And before anyone brings up the ridiculous excuse of Maxi's physical responses being "evidence" that she enjoyed herself, please fucking educate yourselves on sexual assault. Physiological arousal, lubrication, and even orgasms can occur involuntarily during unwanted sexual contact. **A bodily response is not consent, people.** It doesn't matter whether the victim experiences physical pleasure during certain moments. It doesn't retroactively make the assault consensual. I can't believe I have to explain this to an audience largely comprised of women and teenage girls.
I also find the repeated use of Riftan's childhood trauma to defend his behavior incredibly disgusting and frustrating. Yes, his abandonment issues help explain his emotional difficulties. But why does that explanation so frequently take precedence over Maxi's *own trauma?* Why is his suffering treated as something that warrants endless understanding, while Maxi is expected to accommodate *his* anger, insecurity, possessiveness, and emotional volatility? His trauma does *not* entitle him to fucking punish his wife. His jealousy does *not* entitle him to control her. His desire for intimacy does *not* entitle him to her body.
And I don't think I can stress this enough, but I'm not against flawed romantic leads, nor do I expect fictional characters to behave perfectly or be a "generic Disney prince," or whatever. But there's a difference between portraying an emotionally complicated character and *romanticizing sexual violence.* You can sympathize with Riftan's past *without* defending his actions. You can acknowledge his feelings without minimizing Maxi's suffering.
And frankly, Maxi wearing a revealing dress and dancing with another man should not be treated as some sort of justification for what happened to her. I mean, honestly. Do you have any idea just how borderline misogynistic that sounds? A woman seeks acknowledgment and affection from her abusive and negligent husband, so she decides to wear a lovely dress and dance with a man more willing to admire her for more than just her body, only to be sexually assaulted and humiliated by her husband, whose response is subsequently romanticized as heated, spur-of-the-moment passion. What the actual fuck.
***Maxi is allowed to be beautiful, independent, ambitious, and desirable without having to suffer sexual punishment for it, so stop excusing Riftan's actions just because he lacks self-control and emotional awareness.***