Ring Shout

Content Warning: This section discusses anti-Black racism and violence, enslavement, and hate crimes such as lynching.

The protagonist of the novella, Maryse, is most defined by her trauma and her ability to wield a magical sword. A key event in Maryse’s character arc was the death of her entire family by lynching when she was only 18. After surviving the attack, Maryse’s main motivation was vengeance, so she spent several years hunting Ku Kluxes. She ignored her humanity during these years, in part because the sword feeds off her need for vengeance and hatred. Maryse’s character shifts again in the present moment of the novella because she joins a group of resistance fighters at the farm of the seer Nana Jean. She is 25 at the time of the events of the novella.

While at the farm, Maryse begins to see herself as a part of a community that loves and supports her; despite this support, Maryse fails to address her trauma, making her vulnerable when the antagonist Butcher Clyde appears. Her inability to rely on others is her character’s major flaw. Another pivotal moment in her arc comes in an encounter with the Night Doctors.