My brother loves history. War history, political history. Anything regarding the founding of America and how we became what we are today. I personally can’t stand history, but there’s no denying that understanding the past reveals present problems. So is the case in Marissa Meyer’s Cinder.
You’ll have to forgive me a bit here. It’s been a minute since I’ve read the book, and while it’s sitting beside me right now, I’ve been so swamped with work and personal deadlines that this post got pushed to the bottom of my list. I’m mainly going off memory and hoping I open the book to the right page without trying. Also hoping I don’t get sucked into the story and lose track of time.
See, the history of Cinder builds a rich world with so many moving parts that are continuing to evolve with every word. You might not know the dates and perpetrators like my brother, but the impressions of what once was and why people act and think the way they do stick. So here goes nothing.
A Princess Lost
The book kicks off in a moment of peril, then works backwards to understand exactly what’s going on. But first, some context. People live on the moon, but we can’t exactly call them human or alien. They’re just another race with a different culture. And similar to our present world cultures, they butt heads with those on Earth.
Through the story, we learn that the Lunars (that’s the people on the moon) had a royal family that offered some form of decorum and peace. They were betrayed and killed, now giving us Queen Levana. But we don’t discuss this, else we lose our heads at the queen’s command. We learn a lot about her plotting in later books, but we’ll stay broad here to avoid spoilers. What needs to be known is that Queen Levana is the present royalty and is forcing the Earth to figure out some treaty so she not only rules on the moon but also on Earth.
Before we shift from here, there is a rumor to explore. Though if you’re reading the book, you may know this is Prince Kai’s obsession and only hope. The former royal family was composed of a king, queen, and princess. While it’s said the whole family was killed, many believe the princess still lives and is in hiding somewhere on Earth. Again, relations between the moon and Earth are pretty similar to neighboring countries; when someone needs to hide, they cross the border. And in similar fashion, it’s really hard to figure out where those people end up.
A Disease Revealed
Now we’re going to shift into slightly present history and we’ll need a little more context: all the countries of the world work together. Not a united dictatorship or anything like that. Think of a UN that actually works; all the world leaders meet regularly and discuss strategies. The reason why I mention this is because I don’t quite remember what brought them together. It was either the Lunars or the letumosis.
After the fall of the king, loyalists and other Lunars crossed the boundary of space to seek asylum on Earth. And as I’m remembering, Lunars known as Shells also ran because the queen hunted and killed these individuals. Shells don’t have Glamour (the Lunar gifting) and can’t be affected by it. This Glamour allows Lunars to control people’s minds and make themselves appear more beautiful, so a very vain queen wouldn’t take kindly to Shells recognizing her true form. Anyway, point is you have a mass exodus from the moon to the Earth. The Lunars blend in to whatever city or village they chose, but their presence is recognized when sickness covers the Earth.
That’s letumosis. Little is known about it beyond its sudden appearance. People become very sick and shortly after die. Anyone near them or surrounded by these dying individuals can also fall ill. The spread is chaotic and unpredictable and many fear falling ill. The emergence of letumosis is blamed on the Lunars, whether they brought germs from the moon unknown to Earth or, perhaps for fringe individuals, it was a plot by the queen to kill off humanity and takeover.
But the greater impact of letumosis is on cyborgs. At some point, scientists decided that cyborgs had an immunity of some sort that could be tested. Now this includes people with an entire leg replaced or just a wrist. The testing traditionally done is painful, and most of these cyborgs aren’t seen again. When they walk the streets, they’re seen as selfish half-humans who aren’t giving themselves to find a cure. They’re shunned and ignored because of overlapping events they don’t completely understand.
Cinder’s Lesson: History Impacts Even When We Forget
I mentioned the difference between my brother and me regarding history. He can spout all sorts of facts and will happily correct you without thought (as I assume someone will correct me in the comments). I, on the other hand, don’t need all the facts; I know what I need to know. But similarly to the people of Cinder who hate without question, sometimes my perception is based on tipped dominoes.
I read this book thinking everyone was stupid, but I slowly realized they weren’t; they were working with the information they’d been given and chose to believe. Marissa Meyer wrote a lengthy history (most of which we’ll probably never read). Wars, diseases, betrayals. Every little step, every little action was a domino tipped. Cinder the character lives in a world affected by the impression of history rather than the full truth. And because of this, her journey is a lot more complicated than it should be.