Kingdom of the Wicked

The Prince of Wrath is one of seven of the princes of Hell, who each personify one of the seven deadly sins according to Catholic tradition. He is the ruler of the House of Wrath, the representation of the sin wrath. He is characterized by the traits associated with this sin, including anger, violence, and desire for retribution; however, he also displays opposite characteristics, such as mercy and compassion. He is a complex character and is Emilia’s foil, emphasizing her steadfastness and naïveté through his deceptive tactics and more experienced outlook. His character is both a support to Emilia and her antagonist: He saves Emilia several times but ultimately acts according to his own selfishness. While Wrath and Emilia work together in the middle of the book, he ultimately fails to win her trust and happily leads her to marry his brother, Pride.

Wrath appears unexpectedly in the plot, which foreshadows his character’s unpredictability. His actions as interpreted by Emilia indicate wavering values: He saves Emilia from the Viperidae, the Aper demon, and the Umbra demons in the tunnel, yet he often misleads her and hides information. His inconsistencies culminate when Wrath does not deny that he “needs to deliver one more soul to gain [his] freedom” (309). This opposes Emilia’s strong commitment to her own values, and her sense of their budding relationship and mutual romantic feelings. The unresolved tension between them at the end of the book is indicative of their status as foils and suggests this dynamic will persist in the sequel.

Fratello Antonio Vicenzu Bernardo is a local human and monk in Palermo, and he is revealed to be the primary antagonist at the end of the book. He grew up with Emilia and Vittoria, joining the brotherhood after his mother died. At first, he is characterized as a gracious, placid servant of god without any conflict with others. The reveal in the final chapters that he is the murderer subverts his prior characterization, though it explains his sometimes convenient appearances, such as when he discovers Wrath and Emilia in Chapter 23.

Much of Antonio’s characterization in the book is limited by Emilia’s first-person narration. As Emilia transfers her attentions from Antonio to Wrath after she is bonded with the demon, very little is revealed about Antonio’s true character. He appears to be a caring but platonic friend. When he reveals that he is the murderer, his character is subverted as he reveals his true scheming and self-righteous intentions. The obfuscation of Antonio’s true nature helps to preserve the mystery of the murderer’s identity throughout the novel and contributes to a sense of surprise when the truth is revealed. Antonio’s hatred of witches symbolizes Christianity’s rejection of witchcraft, and his justification of the murders as necessary to religious purification alludes to historical violence against women accused of witchcraft, as led by various religious groups. Antonio is ultimately portrayed as weak when Emilia uses her magic on him in Chapter 48, easily overpowering him.

Nonna Maria is Emilia and Vittoria’s maternal grandmother. She is also a shadow witch and was a guardian of the Horn of Hades until Emilia and Vittoria were born. She has strong magical abilities and a wealth of knowledge that she teaches to her granddaughters, and her character serves as a mentor figure for Emilia. Her decision to hide the prophecy from Emilia until the gates of Hell had already started breaking open indicates that Nonna Maria may be protective over Emilia and Vittoria to a fault, inhibiting their ability to make their own decisions. Because she withheld pertinent knowledge and imparted an overly simplified notion of the Wicked to her granddaughters, Nonna Maria has left them to find the truth on their own.

Nonna Maria is characterized by her frantic warnings of bad omens. This renders her character flat at first, appearing to warn Emilia against an imagined evil. Once Emilia is threatened by Envy, Nonna Maria’s character adapts. The cimaruta spell she casts in Chapter 41 illustrates that regardless of Nonna’s opinions of how Emilia should act, she will always protect her family. This image of a strong, protective matriarch harkens to symbolism associating witches and women with agency.

Claudia is a witch and friend of Emilia and Vittoria. She is a secondary character who helps Emilia throughout the book. Because she practices the dark arts, her character offers different insight into the world of witches portrayed in this book. Claudia illustrates the principles of dark magic, another type of magical practice that relies on paying a price, and in doing so, she shows its potential dangers. When she loses her connection with reality, her character acts as a warning for what can happen when a witch travels between realms. Both Claudia’s knowledge and the mistake that leads to her downfall are instrumental in helping Emilia learn the truth about the curse and the Horn of Hades.

Three of Wrath’s brothers play crucial roles in the novel as secondary characters: the Prince of Pride, the Prince of Envy, and the Prince of Greed.

The Prince of Pride is both a prince of Hell and the devil himself who represents the sin of pride. He and his seven brothers each control one house in Hell, but Pride is the highest ranking among them, rendering him the ruler of Hell. His character primarily appears in this book in mentions made by others, as he is never physically present in the same realm as Emilia. This casts a sense of mystery around his character, which both distances him from readers who are uncertain as to his true characteristics and makes him appear scarier because he is unknown. By choosing Pride as the ruler among the other six sins, the author covertly argues that prideful actions are the most sinful compared to actions motivated by the other sins.

The Prince of Envy is a prince of Hell who represents the sin of envy. His primary goal is to prevent Pride from breaking the curse so he can take the kingdom of the Wicked for himself. He is one of the primary antagonists who harasses Emilia throughout the book. Envy’s constant treachery illustrates his selfishly desirous nature. His character often wears green, symbolizing the idiomatic phrase green with envy. Because envy is his motivation, he quickly resorts to brutal tactics to get what he wants, harming anyone who gets in his way without hesitation.

The Prince of Greed is a prince of Hell who represents the sin of greed. His ownership of the gambling house is symbolic of the common traits associated with greed, such as seeking money, reputation, or sex—all of which transpire there. Greed’s character is stereotypically evil according to these traits. He, like the other princes of Hell, is deceptive and wishes to bait Emilia into a bargain tilted in his own favor. This deception is consistent between the princes of Hell, emphasizing the importance of this trait for the Wicked.