Author's Note: This is an essay about Ridley from the Beautiful Creatures series by
Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl where I discuss my opinion regarding Ridley's behavior. I try to comprehend her character and try to answer some questions I had.
Her golden yellow eyes seek havoc and destruction; they give away her true nature. She has the ability to influence others in the worst possible way. At one point in her life, the girl was a weakling, just a powerless, feeble, tiny mortal, not capable of what she is capable of now. Evil thrives in her heart, taking her over, but she didn’t choose this: her nature, emotions, life. She is Ridley, a dark Siren, in the Beautiful Creatures series written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. Due to her complex nature, is Ridley really affected by her maleficent heart chosen for her, or is it just her own decisions that makes her evil?
In the series, Ridley acts like nothing could stop her, or bring her down; she thinks of herself as invincible with the power to induce people to do her bidding, or even to fall in love with her. There’s a part in Beautiful Creatures, the first book, where she seduces the main character’s best friend, Link, with her Siren abilities. Though she really does love him, and he really loves her, Ridley ends up letting him go. According to physiology research, one who might be harsh to mortals and men, like her, may have had a traumatic past with them that could affect her decision. This is in fact, true, she does hate mortals, which comes to surface in Beautiful Darkness.
If Ridley used to be a mortal herself, why would she detest mortals so much? In one of the books her cousin, Lena, explains her and Ridley having a tough time in school when they were younger; the kids used to exclude them and treat them like freaks. Perhaps her hatred for mortals influenced her behavior towards Link, for he is one. Or maybe she’s had traumatic experiences with other men, that may have also impacted her leaving Link.
What if Ridley wasn’t evil, but good, and didn’t break off from Link? After all, her fate between being light or dark was chosen for her, her family’s curse. Perchance she could have been good, inasmuch that Ridley never wanted to be a sinister Siren, but perhaps it was fate; now Ridley can’t get enough power, what represents strength to her. She perceives mortals to be insufferable weaklings, once like herself, helpless and impotent. The authors never say if she was bullied in school, though if she was, it comes through in her personality at points in the book that show vulnerability.
She may act all strong and tough, but at her core, she’s vulnerable and willing to still love Lena and Link. The authors demonstrate that Ridley indeed possesses a susceptible side to her and there have been moments she hasn’t been malignant, but good hearted. If she wasn’t claimed for the dark, Ridley would be full of light and laughter. It’s just her powers that affect and morph her personality in to her Siren self so much that she is an unrecognizable great person hidden in the depths of her soul.
