The Struggle for Self-Determination Against Divine and Imperial Control in So Let Them Burn

In So Let Them Burn, Kamilah Cole stages a collision between the individual will and the twin forces of divine expectation and imperial legacy. The novel’s central claim is that self-determination is not the simple rejection of external control, but the painful renegotiation of one’s relationship to power—whether that power comes from gods, nations, or family bloodlines. Through Faron Vincent, Elara Vincent, and even Queen Aveline, the story shows that true agency emerges only when characters refuse to be passive instruments of prophecy, even when that refusal costs them everything.

Divine Control and the Chosen One’s Rebellion

Faron’s arc begins with a small act of defiance: she cheats in a footrace by summoning the sun goddess Irie, using divine power for a trivial personal gain. This moment establishes her uneasy relationship with the gods—she wields their magic, but she does not revere them. The fossilized dragon egg in the town square, which she climbs after the race, serves as a monument to her past victory over the Langlish Empire, but also as a reminder that her identity is bound to a role she did not choose. The egg is a symbol of the prophecy that defines her, a fixed point in a life that others expect to follow a predetermined arc.

The tension escalates when the gods demand that Faron exterminate all dragons, including her sister Elara, who has become a Rider. In Chapter Fifteen, the gods tell Faron that Elara’s soul is “tainted” and that death is the only mercy they can offer. Faron’s refusal is visceral: she shouts that she will not kill her sister to save anyone, and she storms out of the temple. This is the first major rupture between her and the divine will. The gods, who once helped San Irie win its revolution, now appear as another form of imperial control—they demand obedience and sacrifice, and they withhold information to manipulate Faron’s choices.

Faron’s rebellion deepens in Chapter Twenty-Three, when she confronts the gods about the Gray Saint and the possibility of breaking Elara’s bond. The gods admit they have been hiding the truth about the Empty and the First Dragon, and they insist that Faron must “meet her destiny” by exterminating the dragons. Faron’s response—asking what about Gael, what about her sister—reveals her refusal to accept a binary of obedience or destruction. She begins to seek alternative paths, even if that means trusting the mysterious voice of Gael Soto, who offers a different kind of power. This is not a simple rejection of divine authority; it is a search for a third way, one that honors her love for her sister over the gods’ abstract “greater good.”

Imperial Legacy and Political Pressure

The theme of imperial control is not limited to the gods. The Langlish Empire’s legacy looms over San Irie, and the novel shows how that legacy constrains even the victors. In Chapter Five, Faron and Aveline arrive at Port Sol to find protesters chanting “No mercy to imperialists” and demanding an end to the Peace Summit. The crowd’s anger is directed at the queen, who must navigate between her people’s trauma and the pragmatic need for trade agreements. Aveline’s position is precarious: she rules only by the grace of her people, and her attempts to open the airfield to public scrutiny backfire. This scene illustrates how imperial history—the memory of occupation and loss—becomes a form of control over the present, limiting the queen’s options and forcing her to perform a role that leaves little room for personal choice.

Aveline’s struggle continues in Chapter Thirty-Eight, when she confronts Faron during the dragon attack. She is “sick of being looked at as a child playing at ruler,” and she declares that the fight “ends today.” Her outburst reveals that even the queen, who holds political power, is trapped by the expectations of her lineage and the weight of her people’s suffering. Aveline’s self-determination is not about rejecting her role—she has already accepted it—but about asserting her authority on her own terms, rather than as a puppet of either the gods or the mob.

Elara’s Negotiated Self-Determination

Elara’s path offers a different model of agency. In Chapter Thirty-Nine, the gods appear to her and demand that she defeat Lightbringer, imprison Iya, and kill Faron if necessary. Elara refuses. Instead, she offers herself as the next Empyrean, a role she does not want but is willing to take on to save her sister. This is a radical act of self-determination: she does not simply defy the gods; she renegotiates the terms of her relationship with them. By accepting the Maiden Empyrean’s power, she transforms herself from a passive victim of circumstance into an active agent who chooses her own sacrifice.

Elara’s choice is complicated by her earlier desire to enlist in the Sky Battalion and her fear of her family’s reaction. In Chapter Two, she considers revealing her plans but decides to wait. This hesitation shows that self-determination is not always a clean break; it is often a negotiation with family expectations and personal fears. Elara’s eventual decision to become the Empyrean is not a rejection of her family but an extension of her love for Faron. She uses the divine power not to obey the gods, but to protect the person she values most.

The Final Choice: Faron’s Leap

The climax of the theme occurs in Chapter Forty, when Faron confronts Iya in the Victory Garden. Iya, who is Reeve Warwick’s soul trapped inside the first Empyrean, offers Faron his hand. Faron chooses to go with him, hoping to find Lightbringer’s weakness and save both Reeve and Gael. This decision is the ultimate act of self-determination: she rejects the gods’ plan, the queen’s expectations, and even her sister’s pleas. She chooses a path that is uncertain and dangerous, driven by her own judgment rather than any external authority.

The Victory Garden, where this confrontation takes place, is a symbol of growth and cultivation—a space where life is nurtured. Faron’s attack on Iya there, and her subsequent choice to leave with him, transforms the garden from a place of peace into a site of rupture. It is where she breaks from the past and embraces an unknown future. The fossilized dragon egg, which appeared in the opening chapter, is now a distant memory; Faron is no longer the child who climbed it, but a young woman who must define herself outside the shadow of prophecy.

Complexities and Contradictions

The novel does not present self-determination as an unqualified good. Faron’s defiance of the gods leads her to trust Gael, who is revealed to be Iya, a being who has manipulated her from the start. Her choice to go with him may be a mistake, and it leaves Elara heartbroken. Similarly, Elara’s decision to become the Empyrean could repeat the cycle of divine control, as she now bears the same burden that Faron sought to escape. The gods themselves are not monolithic villains; they genuinely believe that exterminating dragons is necessary to save the world, and they are willing to sacrifice individuals for the greater good. The novel thus complicates the idea that rebellion is always righteous. Self-determination often comes with unintended consequences, and the characters must live with the costs of their choices.

Study Questions

How does Faron’s use of divine power in the opening race establish her relationship with the gods?

Faron’s decision to summon Irie to win a footrace shows that she treats divine power as a tool for personal gain, not as a sacred obligation. This sets up her later refusal to obey the gods’ commands, as she has never fully internalized their authority.

In what ways does the fossilized dragon egg symbolize the tension between prophecy and personal choice?

The egg is a monument to Faron’s past victory, but it also represents the fixed role she is expected to play. Climbing it is an act of claiming that role, yet Faron’s later actions show her desire to move beyond it. The egg becomes a reminder of the burden she must shed.

How does Elara’s offer to become the Maiden Empyrean differ from Faron’s rebellion?

Elara does not reject the gods outright; she negotiates with them, offering herself as a substitute for Faron. This is a more pragmatic form of self-determination, one that works within the divine system to achieve a personal goal, rather than fighting it directly.

What role does Queen Aveline play in the theme of imperial control?

Aveline is caught between the legacy of Langlish occupation and the demands of her own people. Her struggle to assert authority in the face of protests and her frustration in Chapter Thirty-Eight show that even political leaders are constrained by history and expectation.

Does Faron’s final choice to go with Iya represent a triumph of self-determination or a tragic mistake?

The novel leaves this ambiguous. Faron’s decision is a clear rejection of external control, but it also aligns her with a manipulative figure who may be using her. The ending suggests that self-determination is not always wise, and that the cost of freedom can be isolation and uncertainty.