Nona Character Analysis: The Amnesiac Protagonist of Nona the Ninth

Overview: A Life Six Months Old and Already a Mystery

Nona is the amnesiac protagonist of Nona the Ninth, the third book in Tamsyn Muir’s Locked Tomb series. She wakes into a world she does not remember, living with three adults—Camilla Hect, Pyrrha Dve, and Palamedes (who inhabits Camilla’s body)—on the thirtieth floor of a refugee-filled building in a city under siege. Her entire conscious life spans only six months, and she was named Nona because her first words were a refusal: “No, no.” The name also means “Nine,” a number of significance in the series. Nona does not know her real name or the identity of the body she inhabits, but she knows it belongs to one of two people. This uncertainty drives the novel’s central mystery: who is Nona, and what does her existence mean for the fate of the Nine Houses and the Emperor?

As the point-of-view character, Nona offers a fresh, unburdened perspective on a world torn by necromantic politics, refugee crises, and the looming threat of the Resurrection Beasts. Her innocence and curiosity make her an unlikely hero, yet her actions—and the secrets buried in her body—prove pivotal to the story’s climax. The novel gradually reveals that Nona is tied to the Tomb and to Alecto, the being who lies within it, making her not merely a lost girl but a cosmic anomaly.

Plot Role: The Heart of the Mystery

Nona’s role in the plot is twofold: she is both the emotional anchor of the story and the key to its largest enigma. On the surface, she is a sheltered young woman learning to navigate a dangerous world. She attends school, befriends a gang of children led by Hot Sauce, and cares for a dog named Noodle. But beneath this domestic routine, her body is a battlefield for souls. Palamedes and Camilla believe she is one of two people, and their attempts to identify her drive much of the narrative.

As the story progresses, Nona becomes a target for Blood of Eden, the Cohort, and the Emperor’s forces. Her regenerative abilities—she heals from gunshot wounds and even a bullet to the head—mark her as something other than human. When she is captured and brought before Prince Ianthe Naberius, the truth begins to surface: Nona is not Gideon Nav, as Palamedes initially theorized, but rather the body of Alecto, the original Resurrection Beast and the Emperor’s lost cavalier. This revelation reframes the entire series, positioning Nona as the living vessel of a being who predates the Nine Houses.

Motivations and Traits: Shown Through Action

Nona’s motivations are simple and deeply human: she wants to belong, to be loved, and to understand who she is. These desires manifest in her actions throughout the novel.

• Loyalty and love: Nona repeatedly risks her safety for her found family. When Camilla is threatened by Merv Wing soldiers, Nona shouts a warning and takes a bullet for her. She also refuses to leave the city for a farm, even when offered a safer life, because she cannot abandon the people she loves.

• Curiosity and self-awareness: Despite her amnesia, Nona is intensely interested in her own body and identity. She admires her reflection, kisses it, and asks endless questions of Palamedes and Camilla. Her curiosity leads her to eavesdrop on adult conversations and to investigate the watcher in the green building, actions that sometimes put her in danger.

• Empathy and kindness: Nona is drawn to the vulnerable—the children at school, the dog Noodle, and even the Angel, the tired science teacher. She comforts Hot Sauce after the girl’s trauma and tries to protect her friends from the violence around them.

• Resilience and bravery: Nona faces gunfire, imprisonment, and the horrifying revelation of her own nature without losing her spirit. When she is shot and regenerates, she does not panic but instead focuses on escaping and helping others.

• Vanity and playfulness: Nona is openly proud of her appearance, calling herself “gorgeous.” She enjoys games, jokes, and the simple pleasures of life, which makes her tragedy all the more poignant.

These traits are not stated but demonstrated through her actions, making Nona a vivid and sympathetic protagonist.

Chronological Arc: From Waking to Revelation

Nona’s arc follows a clear trajectory from ignorance to knowledge, from innocence to experience.

• Waking and early life (Chapters 1–2): Nona wakes with no memory, recording dreams for Camilla. She learns basic self-care and discovers her ability to speak any language by mimicking lip movements. She is told she is probably one of two people, and her amber eyes hint at a soul not her own.

• School and friendship (Chapters 3–8): Nona gains permission to attend school, where she becomes a Teacher’s Aide and befriends Hot Sauce and her gang. She learns about the Convoy, the threat of necromancers, and the city’s fragile peace. Her lookout duty and the mysterious watcher foreshadow larger dangers.

• Escalating violence (Chapters 9–16): The city descends into chaos as riots, burnings, and the arrival of the Emperor’s broadcast shake the community. Nona witnesses the broadcast revealing Prince Ianthe and Crown Prince Kiriona Gaia, whom she recognizes from her dreams. Pyrrha disappears, and Nona is forced to confront the possibility of losing everyone she loves.

• Capture and revelation (Chapters 17–23): Nona is captured by Blood of Eden, shot, and later prepared to impersonate Harrowhark Nonagesimus. In the barracks, she faces Ianthe, who taunts her and demands to know what happened after Mercymorn stabbed Harrow. Nona’s scream causes the lights to fail, and she collapses. The duel between Camilla and Ianthe ends with Ianthe’s fall, but the truth about Nona’s identity is only beginning to emerge.

• The Tomb and the truth (Chapters 24–32): Nona travels to the Ninth House with Pyrrha and the others, where she is recognized as the Sainted Reverend Daughter—though Kiriona Gaia insists it is only her body. The final chapters reveal that Nona is Alecto, the being from the Tomb, and that her body is the vessel for a soul that predates the Emperor’s reign.

Relationships: The Family She Chose

Nona’s relationships are the emotional core of the novel. She forms deep bonds with the adults who care for her and the children who accept her.

These relationships are not static; they evolve as Nona’s identity becomes clearer. Her bond with Camilla and Palamedes is tested by the revelation that she is not who they thought she was, yet their love for her endures.

Key Decisions and Consequences

Nona makes several pivotal decisions that shape the plot:

• Choosing to stay with her found family: When Camilla offers to take her to a farm, Nona refuses, choosing loyalty over safety. This decision keeps her in the city and leads to her capture and eventual revelation.

• Going to the square to watch the broadcast: Despite the Angel’s warning, Nona and Hot Sauce sneak out to see the Emperor’s message. This act exposes Nona to the truth about Kiriona Gaia and sets off a chain of events that leads to Pyrrha’s disappearance.

• Revealing her secret to Hot Sauce: Nona confides that she is not human, hoping for understanding. Hot Sauce’s rejection and subsequent gunshot to Nona’s head force Nona to confront her own nature and the fear it inspires in others.

• Choosing to live: In the final chapters, Nona contemplates letting go, but the thought of Noodle in the back of the truck spurs her to drive on. This decision to embrace life, even in the face of annihilation, underscores her resilience.

These decisions are not always wise, but they are always true to Nona’s character—driven by love, curiosity, and a stubborn refusal to give up.

Theme and Symbol Connections

Nona’s story resonates with the novel’s major themes, which are explored in depth on the themes page.

• The instability of identity: Nona’s amnesia and her body’s dual ownership embody this theme. She is simultaneously herself and someone else, and her struggle to define herself mirrors the novel’s broader questions about what makes a person.

• Love as a force that transcends death and selfhood: Nona’s love for Camilla, Pyrrha, and Palamedes persists even as her identity shifts. The novel suggests that love can survive the dissolution of the self, a theme explored in love as a force that transcends death and selfhood.

• Memory, forgetting, and the construction of the past: Nona’s lack of memory forces her to reconstruct her past through others’ stories. Her dreams offer fragmented glimpses of a life she cannot recall, highlighting the theme of memory, forgetting, and the construction of the past.

• The ethics of resurrection and manipulation of death: Nona’s regenerative abilities and her connection to Alecto raise questions about the morality of resurrection, a theme central to the ethics of resurrection and the manipulation of death.

• The betrayal of the many by the powerful: Nona’s story is set against a backdrop of political betrayal, as the Emperor and his Lyctors manipulate entire worlds. Her own body is a pawn in these schemes, reflecting the theme of the betrayal of the many by the powerful.

Symbolically, Nona’s amber eyes—the color of the sky at midday—link her to the sun and to Alecto, whose name evokes the Greek goddess of vengeance. Her braids, which Pyrrha carefully tends, represent the fragile bonds of family that she clings to. The recurring image of water in her dreams suggests both birth and drowning, mirroring her emergence into a world she cannot fully comprehend.

Questions and Answers

1. Why is Nona named Nona?

Nona is named because her first words were “No, no,” which became “Nono” and then “Nona.” The name also means “Nine,” a number of significance in the Locked Tomb series.

1. What is Nona’s true identity?

Nona is revealed to be Alecto, the being from the Tomb, whose body was created by John Gaius. She is not Gideon Nav, as Palamedes initially theorized, but rather the original Resurrection Beast’s vessel.

1. How does Nona’s ability to speak any language work?

Nona can speak any language she hears by mimicking the lip movements of the speaker. This ability is a result of her unique nature, though it is not fully explained until later in the series.

1. Why does Hot Sauce reject Nona?

Hot Sauce sees Nona die and regenerate, which terrifies her. She cannot accept that Nona is not human, and she kicks Nona out of the gang, even pressing a gun to her temple.

1. What happens to Nona at the end of the novel?

Nona travels to the Ninth House and the Tomb, where she is recognized as the Sainted Reverend Daughter. The novel ends with Nona driving a truck through a flood, choosing to live for the sake of Noodle and her friends, even as the world seems to end.

For a deeper dive into the ending, see the ending explained page, or explore common reader questions in the questions and answers section.