Love vs Revenge in A Promise of Peridot: Kane Ravenwood’s Impossible Choice

The Core Thematic Claim

In Kate Golden’s A Promise of Peridot, the central thematic conflict pits love against revenge: Kane Ravenwood’s consuming desire to avenge his family by killing his father, Lazarus, directly opposes his growing love for Arwen. The novel argues that revenge, while seductive and seemingly just, ultimately destroys the very bonds that give life meaning, and that choosing love requires the greater courage—though it may demand catastrophic sacrifice. This tension drives Kane’s arc from a vengeance-fueled warrior to a man who must decide what he truly values.

Tracing the Conflict Across the Plot

1. The Prophecy and Early Conflict (Chapter 2)

The epigraph prophecy foretells a king doomed by his second son and a father and child meeting in war after fifty years. From the outset, Kane’s revenge is tied to the Blade of the Sun, which can kill Lazarus. In Chapter 2, Kane admits to Amelia and Griffin that his love for Arwen feels like a nightmare because it threatens his revenge. He drinks heavily to numb the conflict, revealing that his feelings for her undermine his decades-long mission. This early admission establishes the love–revenge binary: Kane believes he cannot have both.

2. The Origin of Revenge (Chapter 35–36)

Kane recounts to Arwen his failed rebellion fifty years prior. After his brother Yale and mother were executed by Lazarus, Kane’s revenge became the sole justification for his existence. He states, “Revenge was the only thing that could justify their sacrifice.” This backstory deepens the stakes: revenge is not just anger but a sacred duty to the dead. Yet in the same conversation, Kane confesses that meeting Arwen changed everything, marking the first crack in his monolithic purpose. The past trauma makes his love–revenge conflict not a simple choice but a betrayal of his fallen family.

3. The Confession and Temporary Resolution (Chapters 38–39)

In a pivotal scene, Arwen confesses her love to Kane and reveals the blade’s location. Kane responds with visceral relief, dropping the flowers he picked for her and kissing her. This is the moment love seems to win: he says, “Fuck the fucking blade,” prioritizing her over his revenge. However, the respite is temporary. The prophecy’s shadow—Arwen is fated to die—forces them both to acknowledge that love cannot erase the coming sacrifice.

4. The Ultimate Test (Chapters 46–47)

When Arwen leaps from the platform to confront Lazarus alone, Kane roars in grief. He witnesses Lazarus impale her, then vows three things: find the White Crow, hunt down Amelia, and kill Lazarus with the blade—then join Arwen in death. Here, revenge reasserts itself as the only response to loss. Kane’s vow transforms vengeance into a suicide mission; love survives only as a reason to follow his beloved into death. The contradiction is that even his final act of revenge is motivated by love (to avenge her), yet it extinguishes his own future.

Character and Symbol Connections

Kane Ravenwood: The dragon-child torn between fiery emotion (love) and cold calculation (revenge). His title as “dragon child” connects to his father’s taunt; both father and son share dragon-shifting Fae nature, but Kane’s heart is what Lazarus calls “ruled by emotion.” Love makes him vulnerable; revenge hardens him.
Arwen Valondale: The catalyst and sacrifice. Her love offers Kane a path away from revenge, but she also embodies the prophecy’s fatal requirement—her death is necessary to end Lazarus. She represents the cost of both love and revenge.
Lazarus: The villain whose existence justifies revenge. His cold manipulation (revealed in the epilogue) shows he played Kane and Arwen to acquire the blade, using their love against them.
Blade of the Sun: The only weapon that can kill Lazarus. It symbolizes both the power of revenge and the communal hope for salvation. Kane once used it to wound his father, but failed. Arwen’s discovery of it within her heart (per prophecy) ties love (her heart) to the instrument of revenge.
Bird Nickname: Kane’s pet name for Arwen (“bird”) suggests tenderness, freedom, and vulnerability. It contrasts with the harshness of revenge language like “hunt down” and “make her suffer.”
Lighte: Arwen’s healing magic. It represents her nurturing, love-driven nature, which is suppressed by lilium ribbon in the epilogue—symbolizing how love is imprisoned by Lazarus’s power.

Complexity and Contradiction

The novel resists a simple “love trumps revenge” message. Kane’s love for Arwen does not erase his need for vengeance; it redirects it. After her apparent death, revenge becomes the only way he can express his love—by destroying those who harmed her. Moreover, Arwen’s own choice to sacrifice herself is an act of love intended to spare Kane and the realms, yet it plunges him deeper into vengeful despair. The epilogue shows Lazarus imprisoning Arwen, forcing her to bear heirs—a horrific inversion of love turned to breeding. This complexity suggests that love and revenge are not opposites but intertwined: where love is attacked, revenge thrives; where revenge is pursued, love is lost.

5 Study Questions and Answers

How does Kane’s past trauma with his brother and mother shape his view of revenge as a duty?
Kane witnessed his brother Yale and mother executed after his failed rebellion. He blames himself and feels that only revenge can honor their deaths, making it an obligation he cannot abandon.
In what way does Arwen’s confession of love in Chapter 39 temporarily resolve the love–revenge conflict?
When Arwen says “I’m in love with you” and reveals the blade’s location, Kane drops his revenge plan. He kisses her and says “Fuck the fucking blade,” showing that for that moment, love outweighs vengeance.
How does the Blade of the Sun function as both a symbol of revenge and a symbol of sacrificial love?
The blade can kill Lazarus, serving revenge; but Arwen discovers it “within her heart” per prophecy, linking it to her love and her eventual sacrifice. Kane originally wielded it against his father, but fails; Arwen’s love may complete the task.
Why does Kane revert to revenge after Arwen’s supposed death, and what does his vow to “join her in death” reveal about his emotional state?
Grief overwhelms his capacity for hope. His vow shows he cannot envision a future without Arwen; revenge becomes a proxy for love, but a destructive one that aims for his own annihilation.
Does the epilogue suggest that love ultimately fails or that revenge is inescapable? Explain.
The epilogue shows Lazarus imprisoning Arwen, forcing a betrothal, and destroying the blade. Love appears trapped and powerless, and revenge (Kane’s hunt) has not yet succeeded. This suggests the conflict remains unresolved, with both forces in stalemate.