The novella "The Empress" is the third installment in Iskandar Kadyrov’s literary cycle, Path to the Fool. Following the icy, clinical tones of the first two parts ("The Magician" and "The High Priestess"), it introduces an unexpected warmth to the cycle. Yet, this warmth does not comfort; rather, it casts a sharper, more unforgiving light on the cold within. Here, a framing narrative is introduced for the first time: a boy, his grandmother, and an old deck of cards. This device works flawlessly. The child’s innocent question—“Why is she sitting and not walking?”—sets the tone for the entire novella, translating metaphysical dread into the language of a simple, physical gesture.
The Chorus of Barrenness
The narrative weaves three distinct threads, each exploring a different facet of barrenness: the physical (a woman undergoing IVF), the creative (a sculptor), and the emotional (an aging mother). Kadyrov neither confuses nor rigidly separates them; instead, they resonate like three voices in a single chorus. In each thread, there is a specific object of control: a thermometer, clay, a candle. In each storyline, the protagonist reaches a tipping point where control becomes meaningless. The woman leaves the thermometer on the windowsill because her hand has unclenched of its own accord. The sculptor shatters the rough cast not in a fit of rage, but in a moment of sober clarity. The mother allows the candle to burn down to the very end without her intervention.
The Visceral Contrast
Kadyrov’s prose noticeably warms here, introducing scents (coffee, apples, wet clay), textures (the cold metal of the thermometer, the rough surface of the clay), and shifting light (morning, daytime, evening). Yet, this sensory richness does not soften the drama; it makes it viscerally palpable. The inner void is felt more acutely precisely because the surrounding world is teeming with life: apple trees bear fruit, a student brings a vibrant piece of work, a family gathers around the table. This contrast strikes like a physical blow.
The Autonomous World
The cycle’s recurring motifs—the clocks and the red bird—take on a new dimension here. For the first time, the clocks do not loom oppressively; they sit quietly on the sculptor’s workbench, reduced to a silent, inert object. In the first storyline, the bird pecks at an apple—it does not merely bear witness, it acts, taking what is its without asking for permission. This marks a crucial shift: the world exists and operates on its own terms, and the protagonists gradually cease demanding answers from it.
The Courage of Surrender
The most powerful thread belongs to the aging mother. Her acceptance of the void, her stillness in the darkness, is not an act of capitulation, but the first deep breath after a long period of holding it. The phrase, “A candle does not cease to be a candle when it burns out,” becomes the master key to the entire novella.
"The Empress" is the quietest, the warmest, and perhaps the most courageous novella in the cycle. It demonstrates that the fear of barrenness can be met not with a struggle, but with surrender. And this surrender is no weakness; it is a profound maturity that cannot be trained, only lived through.