Alex (Princess Alexia Pyrogennetos) Character Analysis

Overview

Alex – later revealed as Princess Alexia Pyrogennetos – is the improbable protagonist of Joe Abercrombie’s The Devils. She begins as a street‑wise con artist and thief in the Holy City, surviving through quick wits, lies, and an iron instinct for self‑preservation. When Duke Michael of Nicaea identifies her as the long‑lost heir to the Serpent Throne of Troy, Alex is thrust into a world of political intrigue, sorcerous tests, and deadly familial rivals. Her journey from alleyway swindler to claimant empress forms the narrative spine of the book, forcing her to confront questions of identity, morality, and what it truly means to be a ruler.

Plot Role

Alex is both the catalyst and the central figure of the story. Her sudden elevation triggers a scramble for power among the four cousins – Marcian, Constans, Sabbas, and Arcadius – who each seek to eliminate or control her. She becomes the pawn and prize of the Church, represented by Cardinal Zizka and the secret Thirteenth Chapel, as well as the focus of Duke Michael’s campaign to restore the legitimate line. Despite her reluctance, Alex’s decisions – to accept the identity, to press on to Troy after the massacre at the inn, to confront the marriage proposal – drive the plot forward. Her presence exposes the rotten intersection of religious hypocrisy, dynastic ambition, and personal survival.

Motivations and Personality Shown Through Actions

Alex’s dominant motivation is survival. In the opening chapters, she flees debt‑collector Bostro through a fish market, and later negotiates her life with Duke Marcian by offering her true, lowly origins. Every action she takes is filtered through the lens of someone who has learned that trust is a weakness and that the powerful always look after themselves. She eats ravenously at Cardinal Zizka’s table because she knows hungry people cannot be choosy. When the papal bull confirming her identity is used against her, she immediately tries to bargain it away.

Yet beneath this pragmatic shell lies a latent sense of loyalty and obligation. After the attack at the inn, where Jakob of Thorn is nearly killed and Duke Michael wounded, Alex chooses to continue to Troy – not because she wants the throne, but because running would betray the people who risked everything for her. She mutters, “They want me dead? Well, fuck them! I’m going to Troy!” This outburst of defiance shows a person who, despite her better judgment, values commitment over safety.

Her pragmatism is also a key trait. In the marriage negotiation with Arcadius, she does not reject the idea outright based on romantic ideals; she tries to weigh the military, political, and personal costs. Her question “Is all this a sex thing?” to Duke Michael is perfectly in character – direct, unpretentious, and suspicious.

Chronological Arc

Alex’s character arc moves from passive victim to active claimant, though the transition is never complete.

• The Holy City: Alex is a cornered thief, moments away from mutilation. Duke Michael’s arrival changes her status instantly. She accepts the new identity because it offers safety from Bostro.

• The Oracle Test: In a purified chamber, blindfolded Oracles grasp her hands and spout prophecies. Alex does nothing – she stands inside a brass circle, terrified – yet the scene establishes her legitimacy. She passes by enduring, not by acting.

• The First Ambush: Duke Marcian kills her protectors and forces her to beg for her life. Alex stands tall only when death seems certain, discovering a shred of dignity she didn’t know she had.

• The Decision at the Inn: After the massacre, with Duke Michael injured and the party scattered, Alex could flee. Instead she declares for Troy. This is her first truly autonomous choice.

• The Abbey of Saint Demetrius: Duke Sabbas ambushes her and her companions. Alex shows growing confidence, trading insults and refusing to cower. She still relies on Sunny’s protection, but she no longer tries to disavow her identity.

• The Palace in Troy: Alex begins to exercise power. She lets the nervous nobles wait while she taps her finger on the armrest. She negotiates with Arcadius, hears arguments for marriage, and privately rebels against the loss of autonomy. In the secret passage with Sunny, she admits she is “not really the marrying kind” – a rare moment of vulnerability that underscores her desire to control her own body and future.

Relationships

Key Decisions and Consequences

1. Accepting the princess identity.
   Consequence: Immediate safety from Bostro, but lifelong danger from the cousins and the Church.

2. Going to Troy after the inn massacre.
   Consequence: Transforms Alex from victim to claimant; earns the loyalty of Sunny and Jakob; cements her enemies’ hatred.

3. Insulting Duke Sabbas at the abbey.
   Consequence: Provokes an immediate attack but establishes that Alex will not grovel. Reinforces her new identity to her companions.

4. Entertaining the marriage proposal from Arcadius.
   Consequence: Gives her time to consider political necessity, but forces her to confront the loss of personal freedom. The decision remains pending at the novel’s end.

5. Revealing her true self to Sunny in the secret passage.
   Consequence: Deepens their bond and gives Alex a rare moment of honesty. It reinforces the theme that identity is not a title but something you live.

Themes and Symbolism

• Identity and Deception: Alex’s entire arc is a lie made true by circumstance. She begins by selling fake relics and pretending to be a princess; the pretense becomes her reality. The half‑coin she wears is the physical symbol of a split identity – the thief and the heir.

• Survival and Pragmatism: Almost every choice Alex makes is the one most likely to keep her alive. Her refusal to follow romantic or idealistic impulses marks her as a survivor, not a hero. This is best captured in her realisation that “the right” fetches nothing on a pawnbroker’s table.

• Power and Corruption: Alex sees up close how the Church and the nobility use “saints and angels” as window dressing for ruthless politics. Zizka’s admission that the Church has “devils of our own” parallels Alex’s own use of lies and theft.

• Redemption and Guilt: Though she never expresses explicit guilt for her past crimes, Alex’s growing discomfort with the role of empress suggests she senses the weight of responsibility. The novel questions whether a person can be redeemed by becoming something they despise – a puppet in the same corrupt system that oppressed them.

Five Book‑Specific Questions and Answers

1. Why does Alex initially accept the princess identity so quickly?
   Because it saves her life. Moments before Duke Michael arrived, she was about to lose fingers to Bostro’s pincers. Any escape was better than none. Her survival instinct overrides her skepticism.

2. Does Alex ever believe she is truly the princess?
   She wavers. In Chapter 10, she tells Marcian she is a thief and a nobody. Yet by Chapter 12, she proclaims herself going to Troy. The novel leaves it ambiguous – the Oracle test provides confirmation, but Alex never fully embraces the role. She is more comfortable with the lie that became her truth.

3. What is the significance of the half‑coin?
   It is the physical proof of her identity, matching Duke Michael’s half. It also symbolises her fragmented past and the incomplete promise of her future. For Alex, it is a practical object she once tried to sell; for Michael, it is a sacred talisman.

4. Why does Alex resist the marriage to Arcadius?
   Not out of romance – she barely knows him. She resists because marriage would remove the last vestiges of control over her life. Having been a thief with freedom, the idea of being a dynastic broodmare is intolerable. Her comment “I’m not really the marrying kind” hints at a deeper, unnamed refusal.

5. Does Alex grow as a character by the end of the book?
   Yes, but not in a heroic sense. She learns to command a room, to bargain, and to trust a few people (Sunny, Jakob). However, she remains fundamentally pragmatic and uncertain. Her final decisions about the throne and marriage are left hanging, suggesting that growth is an ongoing, painful process rather than a single transformation.

Further Reading

• The Devils Main Page
• Religious Hypocrisy and Moral Compromise
• Identity and Deception
• Survival and Pragmatism
• Redemption and Guilt
• Power and Corruption
• Ending Explained
• Questions and Answers