Vampire Academy

“Feeling Lissa’s emotions was one thing, but slipping into her was something we both despised. She saw it as an invasion of privacy.”

Rose’s understanding of the bond between her and Lissa at the beginning of the novel parallels the way in which Lissa initially rejects her own powers. As the novel continues, both friends will have to learn how to navigate this bond—and Lissa’s spirit powers—as they realize that ignoring a problem does not make it go away.

“Miss Hathaway is expendable.”

This callous comment from Rose’s principal, Kirova, shows that Rose fulfills the “best friend” trope rather than the “chosen one” trope that Lissa occupies. However, the novel provides an inversion of this trope by making Rose the protagonist of the novel, rather than a side character. Richelle Mead also builds on this inversion by illustrating the ways in which Rose is crucial to Lissa’s survival. Thus, the novel is designed to both embrace and challenge the long-standing narrative patterns common to this particular subgenre.

“[The novices] were an easygoing bunch, less focused on pedigree and politics than the Moroi students.”

In this passage, Rose experiences the advantages of being a “lower class” dhampir as opposed to a royal Moroi like Lissa. Rose’s estimation of the novices illustrates her perspective toward her best friend’s royalty and implies that she has a certain degree of discomfort for the widespread class differences that permeate the school. Although she recognizes that this power gives Lissa a certain amount of privilege, she also recognizes the responsibilities that her friend must also uphold, and she therefore does not envy Lissa’s social position.

“A funny feeling settled over me. I’d gotten so used to being her primary blood source that the thought of returning to the Moroi’s normal routine seemed strange. In fact, it almost bothered me. It shouldn’t have.”

Upon returning to St. Vladimir’s, Rose struggles with the fact that she is no longer the central social connection in Lissa’s life. This feeling of loss is compounded by the social stigma of blood-drinking between Moroi and dhampirs and the stigmatization of the addiction that can result from repeated blood donation.

“What’s wrong with you? Why should you miss it? You only did it once every other day. You aren’t addicted, not like this. And you don’t want to be.”

Rose’s comment that she doesn’t “want to be” addicted to Lissa’s bite suggests that she holds internalized prejudices against human feeders, who willingly exchange their freedom for the repeated high of Moroi bites. This dynamic offers nuance to her complicated view on blood donors, which varies between acceptance of the necessity inherent in her earlier arrangement with Lissa and revulsion for the coerced situations endured by dhampir women who lack any other way to survive. Her views are further complicated by her instinctive scorn for the human feeders, whose services are nonetheless vital to the Moroi vampires’ survival.

“It was ironic that dhampirs had such an allure here, because slender Moroi girls looked very much like the super-skinny runway models so popular in the human world. Most humans could never reach that ‘ideal’ skinniness, just as Moroi girls could never look like me. Everyone wanted what she couldn’t have.”

Rose’s comments here suggest the arbitrariness of mainstream beauty standards. Her contemplations allow Mead to deliver a pointed social commentary, asserting that these standards are based not on any specific body type but on the concept of exclusivity. As Rose points out, that which is least attainable in a community becomes the most desirable.

“No one cared if teenage dhampirs dated or if adult dhampirs had flings. But a long-term relationship? Particularly one that involved them running away? A complete waste. And a disgrace.”

Rose’s comments here indicate how she sees dhampirs, her own species, as having lesser emotional importance than the Moroi. This question of the value and importance of long-term romantic attachment will continue to be explored as Rose’s attachment to Dimitri deepens throughout the novel and the broader series.

“I did manage to steal a little attention here and there […] I couldn’t help it. I liked flirting, I liked groups, and I liked making smartass comments in class.”

Rose’s bright and rebellious nature resists her relegation to the more circumspect limitations of her role as a guardian and as the embodiment of the “best friend” trope, and she bristles at being relegated to the outer edges of Moroi society. Despite the necessity of remaining unnoticed, she finds herself unable to resist drawing attention. However, it is important to note that the novel presents this dynamic not as a flaw in Rose, but as a flaw in the organization of Moroi society.

“Dimitri hovered over us, alert and ready for any threat, his body coiled to attack. I felt safe with him beside us.”

Rose’s realization that she feels safe with Dimitri highlights her growing attraction to him and emphasizes the burden that Rose has felt over the need to keep others safe. This passage therefore stresses that, as a teenage girl, Rose may also need or desire protection and care as well.

“You have no idea what Strigoi are like. The school tries to prepare you, but until you’ve seen how strong they are and how fast…well, you can’t even imagine.”

In this passage, Dimitri comments on the differences between the controlled environment of in-school experiences and the greater dangers inherent in lived experiences. Although he does not reject the value of formal education, he frames life at school as lacking the depth of real exposure to life-and-death circumstances.

“‘You probably need some primary sources, but we don’t have any here.’

‘Primary what?’

[Mason] scoffed, a smile breaking over his face. ‘Do you do anything but pass notes? We just talked about them the other day in Andrews’ class. They’re books from the actual time period you want to study.’”

The novel here briefly takes on a pedagogical role, explaining the difference between primary and secondary sources. By framing this concept in an explanation that another character provides to the protagonist, rather than having the protagonist explain the concept herself as part of a narrative “info dump,” the novel creates a connection between Rose and any readers who also do not understand this distinction. Thus, some conversations take on the purpose of delivering necessary exposition.

“Besides, after living among humans and elected leaders, I didn’t think much of stiff royals.”

Rose reveals that her idea of the “human world” is restricted to certain contexts, namely those with democratically elected leaders: a position that reflects her experience as a citizen of the United States. Calling royals “stiff” implies that she finds the Moroi’s monarchic system to be archaic at best, even if it is a partially democratic one, with rulers elected from within a selection of royal families.

“‘Yes,’ Tatiana continued, ‘you are doubly named with power. Your names represent the finest qualities people have to offer and hearken back in time to deeds of greatness and valor.’ She paused a moment. ‘But, as you have demonstrated, names do not make a person. Nor do they have any bearing on how that person turns out.’”

Tatiana’s comments invoke the long literary history of connecting the nature of a thing to its name. Although Tatiana’s comment stresses the difference between nomenclature and nature, Lissa’s status in the novel suggests that over the course of the series, Tatiana will turn out to be incorrect in her assessment.

“Dimitri looked up. ‘I was raised in a dhampir commune. They aren’t as bad as you think […] There’s a lot of love there, no matter what stories you’ve heard.’”

Dimitri’s background suggests that the demonization of dhampir women who share blood as a part of their sexual practices is an unfair assessment of their character. Although Rose knows, on some level, that these framings are unfair, this moment forces her to face the depths of her prejudices against these women.

“‘Probably some guardians coming […] Want them to know you were beating up on a girl?’

Miles and Anthony exchanged glances […] When they were gone, I turned on Mason. ‘Beat up on a girl?’

‘You’re welcome,’ he said drily.

‘I didn’t need your help.’

‘Sure. You were doing just fine on your own.’”

Mason, who has a crush on Rose, is framed as a kind and helpful character in the novel, for he and Rose have a genuine friendship that is characterized by mutual respect. Given his genuine respect and affection for Rose, his casual invocation of sexist attitudes toward girls’ ability to fight illustrates the depths of these misogynistic convictions within vampiric society.

“‘This isn’t any of your business,’ he hissed. ‘She’s just lunch.’ Referring to feeders as meals was about the only thing worse than calling dhampirs blood whores.”

This scene deepens the novel’s depiction of the complex relationship between Moroi and those who provide them with blood. Although human feeders have a low status in this society, they are still recognized as being deserving of respect. Furthermore, given that this scene is followed by an attempted sexual assault, the novel suggests that abuse of blood-giving is akin to sexual violence, building on the literary connection between vampirism and sex.

“‘Lissa,’ I exclaimed. ‘Stop it. Make him stop.’

‘He should have stopped earlier.’”

When Lissa uses compulsion against the Moroi student who is attempting to sexually assault a human feeder, she sees this as a fair form of retribution; because the student was willing to use someone else’s body for his own purposes, he should be forced to suffer his body being used for someone else’s purposes. Rose, who is more clearheaded, argues that this form of punishment makes Lissa just as bad as the student and urges her to stop.

“There was another part of her, a desperate part that had wanted for so long to know that she wasn’t a freak, that she wasn’t alone. Even if the news was bad, at least now she knew there were others like her.”

Lissa’s feelings about being a “freak” illustrate the negative side to being a “chosen one” figure. To be special, the novel argues, is also to be isolated, and Rose struggles with this as she recognizes her friend’s burden but cannot alleviate it.

“‘You lost your parents too. Both of you saw them die.’

‘She saw hers die. I saw mine murdered.’

I flinched. ‘I know, I’m sorry, it must have been…well, I don’t have any idea what it was like.’

[…] ‘It was like seeing an army of Death invade my house. […] My parents were scary, yeah, but they still looked like my parents […] Then the guardians came.’”

The conversation between Christian and Rose emphasizes the moral quandary that Rose faces as she prepares for a life dedicated to killing Strigoi. Although Strigoi are violent and lacking in morality, they were once human, dhampir, or Moroi and retain some of the characteristics of those origins. The question over whether it is ethical to kill them remains unresolved by the end of the book, foreshadowing a deeper discussion on this point in the subsequent installments of the series.

“I’ll try to talk to her. But honestly…if you really want to help her…well, I know I’m supposed to be all anti-establishment, but you might get the best help talking to somebody else. Kirova. Your guardian guy.”

In this scene, Christian emerges as a voice of reason. His exhortation to Rose to seek aid for Lissa bears even more emphasis because he is “all anti-establishment” but nevertheless realizes that it is important for Rose to invoke the help and guidance of an appropriate authority figure. In addition to illustrating the seriousness of addressing mental health concerns, the moment also shows that a character who acts contrary to their typical ways can deliver more emphasis within a narrative.

“I suddenly understood why [Dimitri] and I had this weird attraction, good looks aside. I’d never met anyone else who took being a guardian so seriously, who understand all the life-and-death consequences.”

In this passage, Rose frames her perspective toward her responsibilities as being more important than her chronological age when it comes to her identification with and attraction toward Dimitri. Though this mutual understanding is important, the novel does not frame their age difference as immaterial; at the novel’s conclusion, they agree to keep their relationship platonic to avoid unwanted complications.

“You didn’t know [Andre]. I’m sure he was nice to his baby sister; I’m sure he loved. You. But in school, with his friends, he was just as much a jerk as the rest of the royals.”

Christian’s assertion that Lissa didn’t know the way her brother behaved around others alludes to the two-faced nature of many of the Moroi royals. The events of the novel also prove that the Moroi may be kind to those they care for or who can help them, while remaining cruel to those they consider to be “beneath” them; Victor is a prime example. In this scene, Christian pushes Lissa to reexamine the brother she has held up as an idol. This separation of herself from the memory of her family is an important step in Lissa’s development.

“I’m not guilty exactly…just sad sometimes. All of them used to be human or dhampir or Moroi. It’s a waste, that’s all, but as I said before, it’s something I have to do. Something we all have to do.”

Dimitri expresses his understanding of Rose’s conflicted feelings about having to kill Strigoi. However, unlike Rose, who is unsure that she would be able to kill a Strigoi in the moment, Dimitri has already worked in the field and knows himself to be capable of making this decision. This knowledge leads him to a greater certainty in the project.