First Child |
|
|
|
|
|
Chapter 7 |
|
| I hope you found my offering worthy. I wrote this as a play on the misfit amongst misfit theme, that Carmody touches on in the Chronicles, though only tangentially - Elspeth feels that her destiny is apart from those that dwell at Obernewtyn. The contrast here is that Elspeth is super-powered - the Farseeker guildmistress that coerces as well (in truth better?) than the Coercer guildmaster, and communes with and in fact commands Beasts. I have tried to examine the opposite end of that scale - the person with no Talent at all that is born into that community. It is a complete reversal of the situations described for the generation that came before, where, as Misfits, they lived in hiding amongst unTalented Landfolk. I read with interest one of the interviews with Carmody on this site, where she described the Chronicles thus: 'the underlying question in the Obernewtyn books was whether or not humanity could evolve ethically and morally. Could we change and become better as a race?' She takes the view that humankind can grow ethically by developing 'enough empathy to feel for other species and for other members of their own species, what they felt for their friends and children'. I don't believe idealistic equates to simplistic, because a lot of complex ideas arise from this notion. Nor do I believe that idealistic equates to naive, though as the series develops, I think Carmody loses touch with some of the grittier elements of Obernewtyn and The Farseekers. Two non-critical story points that particularly irk me as a reader are: 1) The Beast Charter proposed by Dardelan 2) The relationship between Merret and Blyss Both of these things, to me, depart from the internal consistency of the world of Obernewtyn. It's as if from Ashling onwards everyone in that world has forgotten that they live in a post-apocalyptic environment where survival is 'usually' of paramount importance. There is even a passing reference to crops destroyed by winds from the Blacklands in The Stone Key - but clearly stable agriculture plays second fiddle to moral philosophy. Is Carmody trying to make the point that ethical development can occur in even the most adverse conditions? I won't try to dismiss that point here (because I think it's a worthy debate), but I will say that she hasn't sold me on this particular point if that was one of her aims. I do however always find it interesting transposing the idea onto a struggling society when (in my point of view) it is a crisis/challenge/problem for societies 'developed' to the point of overindulgence. Which, I suppose, brings about another point. The Chronicles were not written in a vacuum. The meta-context (is that even a word?) is one where human rights issues have come to a head. The Australian government recently banned (then un-banned) live cattle exports in response to reports of animal cruelty, and it also continues to fail to recognise same-sex marriage. Can a novel maintain its internal integrity while trying to forward an agenda? It definitely can, but in my opinion Carmody has not been subtle. Maybe this is a reflection on the strength of her conviction. I'm not a great reader of fan-fiction. I'm not sure what motivates other people to write them. For me, it's a tribute to the world of that story (more than just the parameters of the story itself) and the ideas created by that world. I like sharing that - I suppose I write for an audience, but in a way it's also an expression of self discipline - being able to translate ideas into (mostly cohesive) sentences. I don't have a particular expectation that people will read this, because when I read fan-fiction, it's quite random and usually a mixed bag. But from reading other people's work, I've learned that fan-fics don't have to be reverent of the source material, so I have tried to inject some whimsy into this story. A Misfit Amongst Misfits I've read a lot of comments about readers that have been drawn to the Chronicles because they identify with the feeling of being a Misfit. I think finding a space where you can feel comfortable and accepted is such an important thing. I also think that not all people are so lucky to find that space. They can be brought to places where others that care for them think they may feel comfortable, but how well can anyone ever gauge another persons needs and emotional space? Even in an environment where everything would seem to cater to a specific need of that group, there will probably be someone that still stands apart. I like the idea that there are some very marginal 'Talents' still living at Obernewtyn. What kind of qualification do you need to gain residence at Obernewtyn? I vaguely remember there being a throw-away line about all the Dreamers and Defectives being shipped off to the Lowlands - probably because they were no good at hoeing. Clearly not everyone can stay, and by all accounts, food in the winter time is pretty tight. I would imagine you would need to make a pretty good case (Talent-wise) to get the green light (Gavyn must be quite good to have Seely shoe-horned in). I've always felt that there is some persistent belief that people that are bullied should show greater empathy for others that are bullied. Or maybe it's that I feel that this should be the case. But I recall there being some sensational headline saying (because I can't rattle off any journal articles from the top of my head) that 'victims' (I've been prefer the term 'targets') of bullying would behave in the same way if the situations were reversed. I think this is true. Unfortunate, but true. I suppose Carmody acknowledges this (was it in Ashling?) when the ordinary (decent?) Landfolk in Sutrium take unsavoury relish in watching Elspeth being whipped in the market. I personally don't imagine that the dwellers of Obernewtyn are immune to such a basic instinct. That's why I added that line about how they have to remind themselves! Does the bullied enable the bully? Seeing as they are all vegetarians at Obernewtyn, I assume they get their protein from tofu. I have no idea if soy will actually grow in a mountainous environment, but I think it's safe to sweep that under the 'Blacklands causes everything to mutate' clause. Now the legendary Pig - what does it do? Clearly it is not being sourced for bacon or for making footballs (unless it consents to that...? Carmody doesn't appear to be explicitly opposed to the idea of 'choosing to die'. Or maybe she is, seeing as Atthis stops Elspeth every time she tries, and Elspeth stops Iriny). The pig probably doesn't hoe well either, and we never hear mention of it being ridden into the Lowlands. Maybe it actually got expelled along with all the Defectives. All You Need is a Kind Heart I think my Miryum makes a salient comment - surely all Misfits (in our world and theirs') once wanted to fit in with everyone else. The interesting counterpoint, though, is who would accept him? He'd have to go straight to the Orphanage (at least he'll be useful collecting Whitestick). Roland here expresses a concept that is sometimes shared by religious institutions - condemn the [act], not the person. Of course, the 'act' here is not something Durp is doing, but rather something he is, similar in concept to skin colour or sexual orientation. Clearly Roland's point of view is pragmatic but utterly unfeeling. Choices They don't really sound like ten year old children. They have obviously been mutated by winds from the Blacklands. I really did try to convey the idea that they are young, even though the pair express themselves with language that might be unusual for children that age. Flynn's idea is presented with strong conviction, despite being formed on flimsy premises, and his storytelling is exaggerated in a way that I think is not uncommon for children. I wanted to convey that the people dealing with the Beasts are all Coercers that can Beastspeak. And that vegetarians have more varied diets than just tofu. In the Cave of the Zebkrahn Ethics in a post-apocalyptic world is always a fickle thing. If you have watched the Danny Boyle movie Sunshine (with Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, Cillian Murphy and Michelle Yeoh), there's a scene where they realise they don't have enough oxygen and for everyone (else) to survive, they have to kill one person (ok, ok, it's not post-apocalyptic, per se. Let's just call it pre-apocalytic). Now in that situation, the Obernewtyn dwellers would just do nothing and then they would all die (and then the rest of the world would die). I'm not sure how I would act in such a situation. Anyway, I'm pretty sure the Ethics Committee at Obernewtyn would just veto everything with a No. It seems to be a fairly common plot device, where the villain (or otherwise morally corrupt person) does some crazy thing for more power, and it all goes horribly wrong for them (e.g. Cate Blanchett in Indiana Jones 4). I'm not convinced Durp has made the proverbial 'deal with the devil' - he's not seeking to gain unfair advantage over anyone else - he just wants to be brought up to baseline. Neither is he harming anyone (else) in his ambition. Does he come to a horrible end? I think so. I don't even think 'Ignorance is bliss' is a comforting commiseration here. A Buddhist might argue that desire was his undoing. Should a desire to be 'normal' be seen as bad? Should everyone accept their lot in life? If we never fought for anything, we would not have so many things that we take for granted today. I don't think there's any moral to this story. The Choosing The Dreamers Guild has no guildmaster or guildmistress - it comes entirely under the dominion of the Futuretell guild (who, really, are only a step away from being Dreamers anyway). The obvious advantage to the Futuretell guild is that they can shunt all their 'housekeeping duties' (i.e. cleaning the toilets - or should that be chamberpots?) to the Dreamers. Too bad there are only three people in the guild! At any rate, it gives the Futuretellers more time to doodle on the Dream Map and make origami hats. A sentiment that struck me strongly in Darksong came across when Anousha says to Ember, 'a mother loves her children, withall' (or something to that effect). Evelyn has appeared to support Durp at what should have been a celebratory moment in his life (also because he has lost the power of sentence construction). I was aiming for bittersweet, but somehow I don't think I hit the right notes for the sweet part. It's like my Rushton says: 'It is... Chosen.' Life goes on around you, whether you choose well or otherwise. *** /ramble Please feel free to contact me via PM or on the boards if you actually read that! :P |
|
| Views | 989 |
|
|
|
