What does being female mean in Graceling?  Katsa is treated as kind of an outcast her who life, first because she is Graced and has two different color eyes and then at the age of eight, when life for a girl can start to get a little confusing, she kills her cousin with one hit because he was getting too friendly and she becomes even more of an outcast.  From that point on the only people that really want to have anything to do with her are a small group of men and one woman.  If it wasn’t for Helda she would not even known what to expect when she got her first period.  But she also thinks she should like to have her hair done up really pretty and she should get excited about wearing a beautiful dress but does that make Katsa less of a woman?  Just because she prefers to fight, ride fast, and wears pants does that mean she is not really a normal woman?  I think some of Katsa’s awkwardness stems from being young and not fully comfortable in her own skin, she has not really found herself yet but if she continues to keep her short hair, train young girls to fight and protect themselves, and never wants to marry and have children does that make her less female?  I think Po did wonders for her self esteem and self worth.  He loves her for who she is not what he expects her to be.  That is what love should be.  That is probably why she fell in love with him.

So… We have this kick ass chick who has the ability to beat all the boys (and girls) into the ground with both hands tied behind her back and still she feels that she must go against what she feels is right and do the kings dirty work. I am trying to understand how he is able to control her so completely. She seems so strong, physically especially, there is no one that can best her but yet it seems that since she has so few friends or even people who will look at her that the negative attention that she gets from her uncle is better than no attention at all. Even though she seems stronger he is still able to control her by using her weaknesses against her. Her biggest weakness being fear. She is scared to disappoint the only family she has left, except for her cousin, and be forced to leave the king’s court. Fear is a powerful thing when it can make you do things that you know are wrong. Balancing out the “jobs” she is doing for the king is her work with the council to rescue those who need rescuing. But for how long will it be enough to allow her to live with herself day after day knowing the pain she is causing other by doing what the king commands, knowing it is wrong? How long before she becomes the savage, unfeeling killer her uncle wants her to be? How long before she does not care about right and wrong anymore? “With greatness comes great responsibility.” I know I heard that somewhere but I am not sure where. But the quote still holds true, if you have a great gift you must be even more careful not to abuse it. Kat has a great ability, with it she can save many lives or she can destroy them. But she has to overcome her fear and replace it with courage and determination.