52 pages • 1 hour read
Ana HuangTwisted Games
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2021A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Royal Marriages Law
The Royal Marriages Law is a centuries-old Eldorran law that forbids people in the royal family from marrying someone who is not of noble birth. It was created at a time in which marriage was entirely political, and most people of Eldorra think that it means a monarch must marry before they take the throne, although this is not the case. The Royal Marriages Law permeates many personal and political issues in Twisted Games and is a symbol of the restrictions faced by royal characters like Bridget. Although she isn’t thinking about marriage at the beginning of the novel, Bridget has a vision for how her marriage will likely proceed. She says, “Maybe I would fall in love with a prince who’d sweep me off my feet, but I doubted it. Most likely, I’d end up in a boring, socially acceptable marriage with a boring, socially acceptable man” (17). In the beginning, the only realistic possibility for Bridget is a loveless marriage for political convenience.
The Royal Marriages Law restricts Bridget’s love life in the same ways that her status as a royal and a public figure restricts other aspects of her private life. However, whereas other restrictions are often only implied, the law has specifically decreed who Bridget can and cannot marry. She is keenly aware of how unfair this law is for royals, for she says, “While we, as a royal family, strive to represent the country and serve the citizens of Eldorra the best we can, we are also human. We love, and we grieve” (416). This statement is made as she advocates for the repeal of the law, and it reflects the deep anguish that she feels at the injustice of the situation even as she endeavors to humanize the royal family in the eyes of her people. This law also symbolizes her constant battle between love and duty, for she often sees the two as being incompatible. After Nikolai abdicates, Bridget knows that she cannot lose her family’s control of the throne for the same reason. While her brother chooses love over duty, Bridget knows that with the law as it stands, she cannot do so. Ultimately, the repeal of the Royal Marriages Law highlights Bridget’s decision to stand up for herself and choose the life she wants. She ultimately declares that she should not have to choose between love and duty, and the people of Eldorra agree.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica is both a setting and a symbol within the novel, representing freedom from the social restrictions and responsibilities that Bridget and Rhys face in their daily lives. In Costa Rica, both Rhys and Bridget are allowed to be their true selves because no one is watching or judging them. When Bridget says she wants to go somewhere where people do not know who she is, Rhys knows the exact place to take her, as this is also a place where he can escape from his past. In Costa Rica, Bridget indulges her whims and desires, doing physically and emotionally daring things that she could never experience as a crown princess. Similarly, Rhys is more himself in Costa Rica and develops a new openness toward her. They confide in each other about their love lives and their pasts, and while they inhabit this haven, their relationship is taken to the next level. After their separation, Bridget tries to remember what it was like in Costa Rica, because she sees it as one of the happiest moments of her life. When discussing a honeymoon location for Bridget and Steffan, the palace team brings up going to Costa Rica, and Bridget refuses outright. Her vehemence on this point implies that she still treasures her time with Rhys and does not want to tarnish it; the incident also suggests that her current “traditional” course of action is the wrong choice for her to make. At the end of the novel, when Rhys buys the house in Costa Rica as a present for Bridget and proposes to her, this scene shows how important the location is to them both, for the island has had a deep impact on their relationship. Overall, Costa Rica is a symbol of the most pure and natural side of Rhys and Bridget’s relationship, as it exists far from the social and political pressures that hold them back in the outside world.
Fairytales
Fairytales are frequently alluded to throughout Twisted Games and are often representative of the current state of Rhys and Bridget’s relationship. Huang dedicates her novel “To all the girls who said fuck Prince Charming, give me a scarred knight” (6), and this declaration sets the tone for the “twisted” fairytale motif before the novel even begins. As a whole, Twisted Games is reminiscent of a fairytale in and of itself. Its focus on a princess and a story of forbidden love between people of different classes is reminiscent of familiar fairytales like those of Cinderella or Snow White. Rhys and Bridget are familiar with these stories, and they reference them often, particularly when discussing the viability of their relationship. Rhys believes in the fairytale logic that he is not worthy of being with a princess, frequently repeating things along the lines of “women like Bridget weren’t meant for men like me” (233). Similarly, Bridget is faced with the Royal Marriages Law, which she compares to the archaic laws of fairytales. However, Bridget and Rhys eventually use the idea of fairytales and the forbidden love to sway public opinion in their favor when they try to repeal the law, convincing Eldorra that their love is like the romance in a fairytale. The last sentences of the novel echo this sentiment as Bridget says, “I wasn’t a storybook princess, and Rhys wasn’t Prince Charming. I didn’t want us to be. Because while what we had wasn’t a traditional fairytale by any means, it was ours” (468).
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