Is the title of High Lady worthless?

After reading a post, my friend @ignite-my-love and I started a conversation about sexism and misogyny in the ACOTAR world, and how that relates to everyones favourite High Lady: Feyre. 

My conclusion after this conversation? A High Lady is still a lesser standing then a High Lord, they don’t really have all that much power, and really it’s just a glorified ‘second.’ 

Let me explain.

Here’s the first, and main reason why this may be the case. A High Lord is intrinsic to it’s land, as stated by the Suriel itself,

The High Lord’s are not just powerful, but Power themselves. They are critical in the survival of their courts and have been for thousands of years. We also know, even though many people in the past have ignored this canon lore, that not just anyone can become a High Lord. There are certain requirements you have to fulfil before becoming a High Lord. 

First and foremost, you have to be from a very specific bloodline. For example, if Tamlin dies without an heir than his magic will be given to a blood relative of his, probably a cousin. Tamlin would have no choice in who would inherit the Court, he could not decide he wants X person to be his successor. This is proven 1) from the passage below where Tamlin talks about his brothers and growing power and 2) when Tarquin is made High Lord when it was not his father who was High Lord. 

Secondly, as far as we’ve seen, there have been no High Ladies, meaning that to inherit this power you must be male. In the highly talked about scene when Tamlin informs Feyre of this in chapter 2 of ACOMAF, he is often scolded for being sexist. Personally, and I think you might agree once you’ve read the whole post, Tamlin was just stating a fact. It’s like if I said there have been no female presidents of the United States. Me telling you this doesn’t make me sexist (even if the reasons for such are themselves misogynistic), I’m just relaying information. Which is why I think it’s important to note that Tamlin had said that there had never been a High Lady before. 

Last, but most definitely not least, to become a High Lord you have to inherit the magic. The High Lord’s are not a monarchy that can be overthrown. If you don’t like your High Lord, you leave the Court (as we’ve seen plenty of times in the Spring Court: when Tamlin first became High Lord and his father’s correspondents didn’t like him, when Feyre manipulated his court into leaving in ACOWAR etc.) 

If a High Lady is created and not born, will she be linked to the land the same way the High Lord’s are? The High Lord’s are the magic of their land, as we know from Rhys in chapter 5 of ACOMAF.

From this canon, we can predict that in the event that there is no High Lord, there is also no Seasonal Courts, the land will suffer etc. BUT a High Lady (Or our High Lady, Feyre) is not tied to the land this way. Her death would have no consequences for the land nor for inheritance. Because again, all evidence shows that THE POWER BESTOWED UPON THE HIGH LORDS IS INHERITED, NOT GIVEN. 

So what does being a High Lady even mean? It doesn’t have the same attributes as a High Lord does, nor does Feyre ever mention being tied to the Night Court like Rhys is (beyond allegiance of course), and the name was also given to her. 

Is it just a name? A name with power, of course, but not at all the same power that any High Lord has. 

Rhysand may believe Feyre to be his complete equal, but can anyone ever be the equal to a High Lord? Is the title of High Lady just that: a title, and nothing else? 

Ahh this was so good to read - I agree.

Also I had an ask a long time ago about what I thought happened in ACOWAR when Rhysand died, and where did his power go? Someone had to inherit the power because he. was. dead. Feyre didn’t seem to react at all like she had gained some massive power - so who got the power? or did anyone get his power? how can they be equals?

At the time I thought there were two possible answers 

first- because the power was split then it went to Feyre - the other half of the power, but if that is the case why didn’t he “take back his power from her - he just had power when he came back to life and made a point to say that the power was his own. But if that is the case then how can Feyre contribute some of the “elemental night court magic/power” to resurrecting him if its not the “real’ power - if you get what i mean. Urgh I feel like this may be a plot hole. if its not then his power is different from everyone else’s. 

second idea -hes not the real heir to the night court - so his powers are not inherited - but then this would make him resurrecting feyre in ACOTAR weird too. and who is the heir? and he had that story he told abot how he and tamlin both inherited the power from their fathers and ran away.  

urgh sorry to jump on the post about woman and them being "less than”. I really don’t know if feyre has any of the inherited powers of the night court  - it sounds like she should have with all the emphasis on them being equals, but I don’t see how power like this can be perfectly balanced unless one of them is sharing/diminished in power to give it to the other one. 

i shall think on it some more.... :) hope you don’t mind me throwing my ideas on. :D