Love between Bardia, is not determined by face. Bardia was closed to Orual because of her intelligence, skills and strength. After Orual attempts to fight Bardia, Bardia told her that she should be trained because of her “good eye and good reach”. He insists to teach Orual a lesson with shield and sword, even if women are not allowed to fight in war. Bardia doesn’t like other people who treat Orual unfairly because of her ugliness. He appreciates her skills, courage and intelligence. He also acknowledges that Orual as a daughter of king, can achieve more beyond being someone’s wife. He deliberately speaks to another soldier loudly so that Orual can hear, “Why, yes, it’s a pity about her face. But she’s a brave girl and honest. If a man was blind and she weren’t the King’s daughter, she’d make him a good wife.” Orual describes Bardia as a “god-fearing” man, who refer “holy part” of the Mountain as “bad part”

Orual’s discussion with the Fox after she goes to the Mountain gets interrupted by the Fox’s intention to sleep. At that point, Orual realizes that all the ones she loves, Psyche, the Fox and Bardia leave her alone. she said, “All gods and mortals have drawn away from you…”. Orual used to see gods as the same as ones she loves, who are supposed to help her when she needs them. Now she knows that gods fail her. “… You must guess the riddle. Not a word will come to you until you have guessed wrong and they all come crowding back to accuse and mock and punish you for it”(150)

After Orual becomes queen, she has a trip to Glome, where she heard the sacred story of Psyche from a priest. Istra was a princess and sent to be offered to a brute on a mountain because Talapal was jealous of her beauty. From the sacred version, Istra’s sisters wanted to destroy her because they were jealous of her palace. At that time, Orual feels having no longer disagreement with gods. Even if Orual has seen gods before, she decides to not believe in them. She is so vulnerable in front of gods that gods could easily twist the truth. Gods force the earth to believe that Orual’s love for Psyche is jealousy. She is disgusted by gods’ “flatness” and simple minds. Then she decides to write this book against gods, even she has to “dig her almost out of a grave”. (245)

After she goes home, Bardia is sick. She asks the reader to judge between her and gods. She, Psyche or anyone are so vulnerable that just like mouse in front of gods who are cats. Life is like a cat-and-mouse play with gods. They have no control of their life. Gods are not willing to tell the truth or just give them freedom to live their own life.

At the end, the charge that gods make to Orual is giving her Psyche’s face without clothing. Then Orual is near her death. Orual’s final awakening seems more like the punishment from gods. Orual has an ugly face and Psyche has a beautiful face. Gods with their flat minds believe that face reflects person’s moral or heart. Gods simply see Orual’s love for Psyche as desire and jealousy. At the end, gods give Orual Psyche’s beautiful face without clothing, which can be seen as veil that is the most powerful weapon Orual has in her life. Woman is objectified through beauty of faces, judged by gods or higher patriarchy. Orual whole life’s achievements, in war, as a queen, are shameful to gods as they make her naked. And her beautiful love for Psyche becomes nothing in front of the pretty face that was no longer important to Orual in her life. Orual guesses the riddle in her whole life wrong, so gods come back and push her for it.