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A review by ashlightgrayson
Under the Oak Tree: Season 1, Vol. 1 by Suji Kim
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I started reading the web comic for this series first, so none of the events of the story in this first installment were new necessarily. However, I appreciated the extra detail that a narrative form of storytelling provides. I like that the visuals provided in the web comic matched up well to the descriptions in the book of the characters and the scenery.
The setting of this historical fantasy world seems to be inspired by medieval Europe, so it has some Western religious elements within the world. This includes the legitimization of a marriage through the verified consummation between the respective spouses as well as the arrangement of marriages. Riftan and Maxi's relationship is indeed arranged. Because of this, Maxi and Riftan have sex on their first night together so that the arrangement is not annulled.
Riftan is very direct with Maxi about their marital duties and the initial interaction the night of their feels uncomfortable. Riftan does bring up consent and gives Maxi a choice in the manner, but he seems inpatient about it from Maxi's perspective. Taking into consideratio that their inability to consummate the marriage would make the marriage null, it is understandable that this is stressful for both of them. Unfortunately, Maxi comes from an abusive home, so she prefers the discomfort of sleeping with a complete stranger at this point, than returning to her abusive father. Riftan lacks any of this context, of course, so he tries to complete his end of the bargain quickly in order to maintain the marriage. Riftan has the decency to attempt to attempt some foreplay to make things as comfortable for Maxi as possible. I would say that the story makes it clear that the sex isn't necessarily enjoyable for Maxi, but it is clear that Riftan is resigned to their circumstances and seems committed to the relationship now that they are married.
Riftan is absent for a small portion of the story since he goes on a campaign for 3 years after his marriage with Maxi. This makes for some further awkward interactions once he returns to pick her up from her home in Crosoy Castle. Riftan is a very large and intimidating man. Coming from a home with an abusive male figure, Maxi's response to Riftan is fear. She expects physical and emotional abuse from him, but instead she receives kindness and consideration. She finds this strange and confusing and it's sad that Riftan is the first decent male figure she has had the pleasure of forming an intimate relationship with. Their trustworthiness between each other is built slowly. It is however, clear, that they find each other sexually attractive reasonably quickly. Riftan does not shy away from flattering Maxi about her beauty. Maxi is more reserved, but we do hear her thoughts as she is thinking about how handsome she finds Riftan. As they get to know each other, Maxi starts to realize that Riftan is protective and kind despite his intimidating appearance. Maxi also begins to worry for Riftan's well-being and it becomes clear to him as well that she is shy, but also kind and loving. They form a tentative emotional intimacy that seem to be the stepping stones to a romance between them.
The perceptions Maxi and Riftan have of each other are both mistaken and inaccurate. Riftan perceives Maxi as being a rich and spoiled noblewoman. It is implied that he believes that she married a man beneath her station. He tries to make up for it by attempting to make sure that she is comfortable and offers her all the luxuries he believes her to have had in her father's home. Nothing could be further from the truth, but because Riftan is none the wiser, he spends the first few interactions with Maxi apologizing for the discomfort he is subjecting her to. The book ends on a cliffhanger, but I'm looking forward to seeing how Maxi and Riftan's relationship continues to develop in future installments.
As a side note, I feel this book illustrates the discrimination that may have been suffered by people with disabilities historically reasonably well. Maxi has a noticeable stutter and the book makes it clear that she has been abused by her father in part due to her disability. Maxi has been hidden away from society and perceived a woman unfit to be married off. As a result, Maxi suffers from self-confidence issues. She sees herself as defective because of her stutter which contributes to her lack of self-worth. This becomes apparent mostly through her conversations with Riftan that come up about getting a divorce. She expects that someone like him would not someone with a disability, so she assumes that he has come back from his 3 year campaign ready to divorce her. It's very clear that Riftan does not see her as less due to he disability. At no point in time does he mock her for her stutter. He listens to what she has to say and treats her as an equal. It's nice to see that she has at least found someone who values her the way she should have always been valued, as a human being. Again, looking forward to continuing to see their story progress.
The setting of this historical fantasy world seems to be inspired by medieval Europe, so it has some Western religious elements within the world. This includes the legitimization of a marriage through the verified consummation between the respective spouses as well as the arrangement of marriages. Riftan and Maxi's relationship is indeed arranged. Because of this, Maxi and Riftan have sex on their first night together so that the arrangement is not annulled.
Riftan is very direct with Maxi about their marital duties and the initial interaction the night of their feels uncomfortable. Riftan does bring up consent and gives Maxi a choice in the manner, but he seems inpatient about it from Maxi's perspective. Taking into consideratio that their inability to consummate the marriage would make the marriage null, it is understandable that this is stressful for both of them. Unfortunately, Maxi comes from an abusive home, so she prefers the discomfort of sleeping with a complete stranger at this point, than returning to her abusive father. Riftan lacks any of this context, of course, so he tries to complete his end of the bargain quickly in order to maintain the marriage. Riftan has the decency to attempt to attempt some foreplay to make things as comfortable for Maxi as possible. I would say that the story makes it clear that the sex isn't necessarily enjoyable for Maxi, but it is clear that Riftan is resigned to their circumstances and seems committed to the relationship now that they are married.
Riftan is absent for a small portion of the story since he goes on a campaign for 3 years after his marriage with Maxi. This makes for some further awkward interactions once he returns to pick her up from her home in Crosoy Castle. Riftan is a very large and intimidating man. Coming from a home with an abusive male figure, Maxi's response to Riftan is fear. She expects physical and emotional abuse from him, but instead she receives kindness and consideration. She finds this strange and confusing and it's sad that Riftan is the first decent male figure she has had the pleasure of forming an intimate relationship with. Their trustworthiness between each other is built slowly. It is however, clear, that they find each other sexually attractive reasonably quickly. Riftan does not shy away from flattering Maxi about her beauty. Maxi is more reserved, but we do hear her thoughts as she is thinking about how handsome she finds Riftan. As they get to know each other, Maxi starts to realize that Riftan is protective and kind despite his intimidating appearance. Maxi also begins to worry for Riftan's well-being and it becomes clear to him as well that she is shy, but also kind and loving. They form a tentative emotional intimacy that seem to be the stepping stones to a romance between them.
The perceptions Maxi and Riftan have of each other are both mistaken and inaccurate. Riftan perceives Maxi as being a rich and spoiled noblewoman. It is implied that he believes that she married a man beneath her station. He tries to make up for it by attempting to make sure that she is comfortable and offers her all the luxuries he believes her to have had in her father's home. Nothing could be further from the truth, but because Riftan is none the wiser, he spends the first few interactions with Maxi apologizing for the discomfort he is subjecting her to. The book ends on a cliffhanger, but I'm looking forward to seeing how Maxi and Riftan's relationship continues to develop in future installments.
As a side note, I feel this book illustrates the discrimination that may have been suffered by people with disabilities historically reasonably well. Maxi has a noticeable stutter and the book makes it clear that she has been abused by her father in part due to her disability. Maxi has been hidden away from society and perceived a woman unfit to be married off. As a result, Maxi suffers from self-confidence issues. She sees herself as defective because of her stutter which contributes to her lack of self-worth. This becomes apparent mostly through her conversations with Riftan that come up about getting a divorce. She expects that someone like him would not someone with a disability, so she assumes that he has come back from his 3 year campaign ready to divorce her. It's very clear that Riftan does not see her as less due to he disability. At no point in time does he mock her for her stutter. He listens to what she has to say and treats her as an equal. It's nice to see that she has at least found someone who values her the way she should have always been valued, as a human being. Again, looking forward to continuing to see their story progress.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse