Symbols Blood and Ash - 06 - The Primal of Blood and Bone Jennifer L. Armentrout

The Cliffs of Sorrow: Symbol Analysis in The Primal of Blood and Bone

What Are the Cliffs of Sorrow?

The Cliffs of Sorrow are a rocky outcropping of the Elysium Peaks in Iliseeum, overlooking the Shadow and Sun Temples. In the story, they are the site where Sotoria—Poppy’s past-life incarnation—fell to her death after being pursued by Kolis. The cliffs are described as having a meadow of pink and violet wildflowers near the edge, a small lake below, and tall elms at the base. The location carries a weight of tragedy and obsession, recurring throughout Book 6 as a place where Poppy is drawn against her will and where she later seeks a connection to her buried memories.

Where the Symbol Appears

The Cliffs of Sorrow appear in several key scenes across the novel:

  • Chapter 9 (Dream Sequence): Poppy dreams of a field that transforms into the Cliffs. She encounters a woman with her own face—Sotoria—who warns her about Kolis. The cliffs are filled with wailing cries and withering grass as Death approaches.
  • Chapter 28 (Sleepwalking): After the grul attack, Poppy sleepwalks to the window of her chamber, staring at the Cliffs in the distance. Casteel observes this with growing unease.
  • Chapter 30 (Trance Initiation): Poppy enters a sleepwalking trance and initiates sex with Casteel while her gaze remains fixed on the Cliffs of Sorrow visible from the window.
  • Chapter 41 (Return from the Vault): Poppy returns from crushing the Star diamond and finds herself staring at the Cliffs again, unable to resist their pull.
  • Chapter 44 (Voluntary Visit): Poppy consciously goes to the Cliffs to feel a connection to her past as Sotoria. Instead of sorrow or anger, she feels only numbness and annoyance, questioning why she came.
  • Chapter 59 (Casteel’s Perspective): Casteel sees mortals and wolven jumping to their deaths from the balconies of Wayfair, drawn by Kolis’s singing—a dark echo of Sotoria’s fatal leap.

Shifting Meanings

The meaning of the Cliffs changes as Poppy’s awareness grows:

  • Compulsion and Loss of Agency: In early appearances, the Cliffs represent an uncontrollable pull—Poppy sleepwalks toward them, her body moving without her will. This mirrors how Kolis’s obsession with Sotoria once drove her (and now Poppy) toward a predetermined fate.
  • Revelation and Identity: During the dream in Chapter 9, the Cliffs serve as a bridge between Poppy and Sotoria. The place where Sotoria died becomes the stage where Poppy first directly interacts with her past self, forcing her to acknowledge the truth: “I was her.”
  • Numbness and Disconnection: By Chapter 44, when Poppy deliberately visits, the Cliffs fail to deliver the emotional resonance she expects. She feels “nothing”—a moment that highlights the gap between knowing a past life and living it. The meadow is peaceful, not sorrowful. This disconnect deepens her crisis of identity: she is Poppy but was Sotoria.
  • Echo of Tragedy: For Casteel in Chapter 59, the Cliffs become a symbol of Kolis’s dominion over life and death. The same site that claimed Sotoria now claims innocents through suicidal compulsion, linking Kolis’s past crime to his present tyranny.

Character Connections

Poppy Penellaphe Balfour Daneer

The Cliffs are the physical manifestation of Poppy’s buried past. Her sleepwalking trances reveal a subconscious loyalty to Kolis’s pull—something she fears. Her later attempt to feel a connection ends in numbness, poignantly illustrating her struggle to integrate Sotoria’s trauma into her own identity. When she finally confronts a Revenant at the Cliffs in Chapter 47, she forces Kolis to speak through it, claiming agency over the very ground where Sotoria died.

Sotoria (Poppy’s Past Self)

The Cliffs are literally where Sotoria died. Her ghostly appearance in Chapter 9 warns Poppy not to let Kolis “touch” her again. The location embodies Sotoria’s tragic end and her lost autonomy. Poppy’s inability to feel sorrow there suggests that Sotoria’s emotional weight has been exhausted or that Poppy has not yet fully reclaimed that part of herself.

Kolis

The Cliffs are a monument to Kolis’s obsession. He calls Poppy “so’lis” (my soul) and reveals he fed on her blood as an infant. The cliffs are the site where he failed to save Sotoria, and he now uses the memory to lure Poppy. In Chapter 47, he speaks through a Revenant at the Cliffs, taunting her with the meaning of Sotoria’s name: “my pretty flower.”

Casteel Hawke Daneer

Casteel becomes increasingly alarmed by Poppy’s sleepwalking fixation on the Cliffs. He sees them as a threat—a doorway through which Kolis can reach her. In Chapter 59, when people begin leaping to their deaths, the Cliffs become for him a symbol of Kolis’s irresistible will, and he feels Poppy’s absence with terror.

Thematic Links

  • Identity and Transformation: The Cliffs force Poppy to confront the question of whether she is Poppy, Sotoria, or both. Her numbness there underscores the difficulty of integrating past-life trauma into a present self.
  • Love and Sacrifice: Sotoria’s death was a sacrifice she did not choose. Poppy’s visits to the Cliffs highlight how love (Casteel’s for her, her own for her people) may require her to return to that site of sacrifice on her own terms.
  • Power and Corruption: Kolis’s power to compel Poppy’s sleepwalking shows how corruption uses obsession to dominate. The cliffs are the physical territory where his primal authority is felt most acutely.
  • Prophecy and Fate: The pull of the Cliffs represents the prophecy unfolding—Poppy is drawn toward the site of Sotoria’s doom, as the “end will come from the west.” Yet her conscious choice to go there in Chapter 44 shows her trying to reclaim fate as agency.
  • Trust and Betrayal: Poppy’s sleepwalking trances strain her trust in herself and her bond with Casteel. He watches her stare at the Cliffs and wonders if she is being drawn back to Kolis, testing the trust between them.

Study Questions with Answers

  1. Why does Poppy feel numbness instead of sorrow when she visits the Cliffs of Sorrow in Chapter 44? Poppy visits the Cliffs expecting to feel a connection to her past life as Sotoria, but experiences only numbness. This emotional void reflects her internal struggle: she knows intellectually that she was Sotoria, but the memory remains distant and intellectual rather than visceral. The numbness also indicates that the trauma of Sotoria’s death has not yet been fully integrated into Poppy’s current identity. The peaceful meadow contrasts with the agony of Sotoria’s fall, underscoring the gap between knowing and feeling.

  2. How do the Cliffs of Sorrow function as a symbol of Kolis’s control over Poppy? The Cliffs act as a beacon that draws Poppy involuntarily during sleepwalking trances. Kolis’s will is projected through the location—he calls her with a humming song, and her body responds even when her mind resists. In Chapter 47, Kolis uses a Revenant at the Cliffs to speak directly to Poppy, reinforcing that the place is a conduit for his obsession. The cliffs represent the primal bond he forged by feeding on her blood as an infant, making her unable to fully escape his influence.

  3. In what ways do the Cliffs of Sorrow connect to the theme of prophecy in the novel? The Cliffs are geographically west of Wayfair, linking to the prophecy verse “for the end will come from the west to destroy the east.” Poppy’s repeated sleepwalking toward the Cliffs fulfills the ominous prediction, positioning her as the Harbinger whose destiny is tied to that location. Yet her conscious choice to go there in Chapter 44 shows her trying to take control of the prophecy, transforming a symbol of fate into a site of agency—even if she finds only numbness there.

  4. How does Casteel’s perspective on the Cliffs of Sorrow change from Chapter 28 to Chapter 59? In Chapter 28, Casteel watches Poppy sleepwalk and stare at the Cliffs with unease, suspecting Kolis’s involvement but suppressing his rage. By Chapter 59, when people are jumping to their deaths at the same location, Casteel’s fear turns to terror. He feels Poppy’s absence and realizes the Cliffs are a direct channel for Kolis’s power over life and death. The shift is from protective anxiety to desperate helplessness, showing how the Cliffs evolve from a personal threat to Poppy into a battlefield where Kolis exerts control over everyone.

For further exploration, see the book page or related themes like identity and transformation and love and sacrifice.