Social Dominance and the Necessity of Cooperative Alliances in Cassandra Clare’s The Infernal Devices: A Darwinian Reading

Putri, Tjut Nyak Filani (2026) Social Dominance and the Necessity of Cooperative Alliances in Cassandra Clare’s The Infernal Devices: A Darwinian Reading. S1 thesis, Universitas Andalas.

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Abstract

Fantasy literature often portrays a society where the dominant group exclusively controls its order but ultimately allies with the subordinate group when survival is at stake. This thesis examines social dominance and cooperative alliances in Cassandra Clare’s The Infernal Devices trilogy through the lens of literary Darwinism. The study aims to describe the Nephilim’s dominance as a survival strategy within society, and how cooperative alliances between the dominant group and the subordinate group Downworlders emerge as the new adaptive strategy when faced with greater threats. This research applies Joseph Carroll’s Literary Darwinism supported by evolutionary psychology to understand human motives of gaining power and forming alliances, and to explain evolved mechanisms for adaptive problems in groups. The first finding reveals Nephilim’s dominance over the Downworlders is supported by their biological advantages to protect the inhabitants of their world and creating laws to guarantee survival. The second finding describes that the environment will always evolve over time and Nephilim’s limited resources can no longer overcome new types of threats. The last finding shows how Downworlders that have been dismissed under Nephilim’s dominance become the key to ensure their world’s survival through forming alliances. Thus, The Infernal Devices trilogy presents that maintaining the same survival strategy is not always sufficient, because the nature of organisms and the environments will always evolve.

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