golden Soul And Silverlance

meet nuala

Appeared inHellboy II: The Golden Army
ActorAnna Walton
GenderFemale
SpeciesElf
Family
Nuada (brother)
KingBalor (father)
OccupationPrincess

Nuala is the Elf Princess of the Bethmoora Clan and Prince Nuada's twin sister. Opposite her brother, Nuala is a gentle creature who desires peace.

Personality

Princess Nuala is the twin sister of antagonist, Prince Nuada. She seems light and fragile where the prince is sinister and unyielding. She was present at the creation of the Golden Army, but did not appear to agree with the decision, nor did she appear to oppose it. Nuala seems more silent and inactive compared to her father and brother which may stem from being raised in a society not offering females the same voice as males. Her brother has a great deal of respect for her and seems to value her opinions and feelings as much as his own while not changing them.

It is unclear whether or not Nuala is older or younger than Nuada (by a few moments at best) and she does not seem to have any significant claim to the throne. She bore one of the three pieces of the crown of Bethmoora from her father, King Balor. This is unusual considering that she seems to not have any power in court which would justify her having the piece (tradition dictated that it should have gone to Nuada, but it was likely denied to him because of his hatred for humankind).

Nuala appears to be a pacifist and, at the bequest of her father, would rather fade away into obscurity and nothingness rather than stand and fight against the evils of man. Her view toward her brother's insistence on this is one of pity and shame, but she seems to have a great deal of respect for his courage. Nuala also shows an appreciation for art and literature in the film (in reading Tennyson aloud from an anthology of 'In Memoriam'). She seems to be more accepting and remembering of the natural world when the forest entity is destroyed and its floral remains are spread. Nuala fates herself to die in order to keep her brother from killing Hellboy and continuing to seek for humanity's destruction.

Other Facts About Princess Nuala

Brotherly Love

Anna Walton (portraying Nuala) and Luke Goss (portraying Nuada) agree that there was an undertone of incest on the prince's part. This can be from a variety of sources; first, incest within royal bloodlines of the old world, specifically the Celts, was not only accepted but encouraged to keep the bloodlines pure; second, the prince and princess share a very strong link which could generate an intimacy mistaken by humans for erotic love; and finally, the prince is overly focused and would likely have replaced any need for intimacy with a mate with the available link to his sister. Nuada's draw to his sister may also be from a sort of vicarious desire to have the same empathetic powers Nuala has which would make him more in-tune with his surroundings. It does not seem that the prince shares any spiritual powers or any gifts of telepathy at all other than his link to Nuala.

Mark of Royalty

Nuala bears the royal scar seen extending from the topmost ridge of one cheek to the other and crossing the bridge of the nose. It is a straight line with several perpendicular lines etched along it as well. Some speculation exists (on the part of the actor portraying Nuada and some of the fans) that the scar is given to royal men as a rite of passage and that Nuala bears it because of the link to her brother. It would therefore serve as a testimony to not only the connectivity of the pair, but also in showing Nuala's strength and potential to do as great a good for her people as either her father or brother. Other evidence (including the novelization) suggests that the scar is innate and that all those of royal blood bear the mark from birth up. Either way, it remains clear that Nuala is, by birth and endurance, as strong as her twin.

Poetry in Motion

Nuala reads Tennyson aloud and does not seem unused to the idea of human literature. She recites a poem entitled 'Be Near Me When My Light Is Low' which Abraham references by the title of the anthology she is reading and not by the poem's title itself. *Nuala is in fact the first name of famous Irish poetess Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill.*

Relationship with Abraham Sapien

Both Princess Nuala and Agent Abraham Sapien share a telepathic ability that incorporates mind-reading, empathy, and clairsentience, a common trait that brings the two together quickly. While Princess Nuala and Abraham seem drawn to each other, their link almost bears two ends of an extremely long relationship. They have the mannerisms of two shy school-children 'twitterpated' one with the other while they also share a higher understanding and satisfaction in simply being near one another. One might see both the beginning and instantaneous end of a 70 year relationship between two Victorian-era school children who married after finishing school and developed the 'most noble of aspirations' ... love for the sake of companionship.

Beliefs

Nuala differs from her brother in practicing what could be described using the Hindu principle of 'Ahimsa' or 'no hurt'. This is a path to enlightenment and longevity while embracing peace, tranquility, and harming nothing (or in some instances of Ahimsa, doing as little harm as possible). This would mean that Nuala would likely practice veganism and 'personal detachment' in order to reduce any harm to others or herself. Neither the film nor the book portray either of those thoughts as fact, but many fans have stated their belief in the idea that the elves were 'peaceful vegetarian type creatures' and sought to have peace with nature rather than live as the warrior race the prince once described. Nuala not only seems to embrace the survival of humanity, but she is also driven to protect the BPRD agents as well, leading to the idea that she is not necessarily a complete pacifist (and was willing to harm herself in the end).