Anastasia Romanov Symbol Analysis

The name Citra takes on when she becomes an ordained scythe—Anastasia Romanov—symbolizes Citra’s hopes for positive change in the Scythedom. The historical Anastasia Romanov was seventeen years old when she and the rest of the Russian royal family were executed during the Bolshevik Revolution in 1918, and thus she never did anything of note. Though this is an odd choice given the precedent for scythes' names to come from mortal age scientists or philosophers (like Scythe Curie’s choice of Marie Curie as her Patron Historic, for instance), Citra chooses her name as to symbolize the future for the Scythedom that she'd like to see. She points out that young Anastasia died before she could do anything—good or bad—for Russia, but Citra would like to take that idea of unused potential and cast herself as a positive vision of the future. In this vision, all scythes are held to high standards of conduct and represent the most moral and righteous part of society.