Ninus quotes his father: “A woman’s love and a man’s duty…There comes a point in our lives when every one of us must choose. And there is only one right choice to make.” Which characters choose love over duty, in your opinion? Do they make the right choice? How would the story be different had they chosen otherwise?
Ninus often prioritized his love for Nisat over his responsibilities as a leader, making decisions that reflected his personal desires rather than the expectations of his role as king.
If he had chosen duty over love, he would probably have solidified his position as king, focusing on alliances, military strategy, and governance without being swayed by his emotions for Nisat. The emotional tension and human vulnerability in his character would have been diminished, making his story more about political power and less about personal sacrifice.
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I felt that Ninus placed love over duty in his love for his mother even though they had a somewhat adversarial relationship, his love on Onnes, and his love for Semiramis. At first I thought he was weak, but I saw his strength by the end of the novel.
I think the best example of someone choosing love over duty is Ribat choosing to avenge his mother over the duty to take care of his king and his duty to uphold his promise to Semiramis. He put his love for his mother above all else, even his love / devotion to Semiramis and his own life, as she easily deduced what had happened between Ribat and the king and could have punished him for it.
Throughout the book, each character shows their love for another by making sacrifices that could arguably be said to go against their duty to their country or the king. Even Nisat’s actions could be said to go against her duty, even though she defends her actions as being in service to the king. But she conspires behind his back with Ilu and keeps secrets from him, such as the pregnancy of princess Taria. And she admits that she had a hand in shaping her husband’s (King Shalmaneser’s) opinion of who should succeed him. From her memories, it seems loved Ninus over Assur, and that’s why she helped him win the war over his brother.
That’s the funny thing about duty, one can always argue that they are acting in service to their duty. Duty to the kingdom over the king. For instance, Sasi says he is loyal to the king, but then changes his loyalty to Semiramis. He even admits to her that she would be a better leader than her husband.
I think it was easy for King Shalmaneser to say something like that because he did not know love, except for maybe love of himself. So for him, there was only his kingdom and his legacy. Not much of a choice to make.