This morning I woke up with the thought that Analivia and Moss were Ariel's parents. In The Sending, the Misfits discuss Alexi being Ariel's father but Elspeth points out that only Ariel ever claimed this and so it may not be true. I think Alexi found Ariel among the children at Obernewtyn and honed his cruelty and other gifts to his own ends. Telling Ariel he was his father was probably just a way to gain his confidence and cooperation.
Extensive "The Sending" spoilers ahead...
We know that Analivia was raped by Moss. That alone isn't enough to prove anything. Moss said something to the effect "The last time I saw you naked was when you were her[Dragon's] age." at the observatory and that stood out to me. What happened to end the abuse? Its clear Radost approved and took part in Ana's abuse so he would not have stopped Moss' abuse. But perhaps a pregnancy would have stopped it for a while.
Ariel's Misfit nature is probably due to inbreeding(Radost preached that a man's mother and sisters must serve him in any way he requires!) and perhaps even his defective nature. However, its likely Ana was in seclusion until she gave birth. Radost would have wanted to contain the scandal and probably hoped she would die in childbirth. So I imagine Ana was alone at Ariel's birth. Because of this his birth was long and difficult and he became much like Gavyn.
After Ana's unfortunate survival Radost was in a bind. There was a babe and no suitor to blame paternity on. He could kill the babe but Ana would have protested and maybe exposed him. So instead he sent the babe to the farthest Councilfarm possible, Obernewtyn. This way he could hostage Ariel's life against Ana's continued silence and maintain his image and standing with the Council. I expect Ana would have argued to become Bergold's caretaker at this time so the situation wouldn't repeat itself.
Radost or Moss would not have necessarily recognized Ariel when he courted the Council. Even if they did I expect they would have been easily taken in by Ariel's duo of twisted empathy and coercion because they were already as evil and craven as Ariel.
Why would Ana not ask about her son when she went to Obernewtyn? Many reasons. Shame, fear, and lack of knowledge as to what he would look like or even his name. However, its likely that Radost didn't even tell her that Ariel had been sent to Obernewtyn. He might have said that he had sent the babe to a Councilfarm and ended it at that. All know that the old Councilfarms were death, either from harvesting whitestick or from tilling from dusk til dawn. So maybe Ana thinks her son is dead.
Please excuse my rambling but I just woke up!
That's an interesting theory and, considering Ana's family, entirely possible but I was always under the assumption that Analivia was around Elspeth's age, maybe a few years older at most. Ariel is one of the few characters where we have a pretty good idea of his age, with him being stated as being about 12 in the first book and we also know that Elf is older than him but only by a couple years also. With all that, I don't think that Ana would have been old enough to have concieved a child at the time that Ariel would have been born.
But I have no idea how old Analivia actually is--just what I had assumed from reading (and my assumptions and mental images of the characters usually turn out wrong. I somehow managed to get Matthew and Dameon's character descriptions confused when I first read Obernewtyn :P )
11 years ago
Wed Aug 22 2012, 11:47pm
I always thought Analivia was quite a bit older, actually. But then, maybe not, given that Swallow has been interested in both her and Elspeth, and given Elspeth was young when Swallow first met her. Hmmm, interesting theory...
So how old would she have to be? Let's say she had a child at what 14? 16? (How old is Dragon, anyway?)
Say 16. Then she needs to be at least 14 years older than Elspeth, assuming Elspeth is two years older than Ariel. This could work, assuming Swallow is in his mid-20s (so older than Elspeth but younger than Ana). Don't forget, she's probably an established midwife, so it makes sense for her to be quite a bit older than Elspeth.
11 years ago
Wed Aug 22 2012, 11:55pm
It could--I still see her as being around her mid twenties, though. Her mischevious quality and the curiosity about things just seems to make her feel younger to me. Checking the encylopedia here on Ober states that she is a young woman, but who knows what consititues a young woman anyway.
Her physical descriptions seem to fit the theory however, since she is described as being blonde and beautiful--though her hair is described as yellow/golden where Ariel is usually white in quality but that doesn't matter too much.
Being 31 myself, I would say her qualities aren't out of character with someone my age.
TRQ will sort this all out :nods:
I'm still convinced you are secretly 5, Darga.
Anyway, I think Dragon was around 10-11 in Farseekers so that would make her . . . yeah, I guess you're right about her being around 16.
Okay, TSK pg.30: 'Analivia had come to live with Bergold, who was the elder of the three.' In TKP (pgs. 136-139) Bergold is constantly referenced to as a young man. Of course, in TKP Moss is referred to as being the Eldest of the three so now I am just really confused. Unless the above quote refers to Analivia being the elder of the three? But that's kinda an awkward way to phrase it if so.
Interesting theories everyone. I always thought Dragon was about 11 or 12 when we first met her, so that could make sense. Depending on how long the abuse was going and how young Ana was when it started and how quickly she "developed", she could have been pregnant at 9 or 10 (extreme situation, yes, but possible). This would make her only 6 or 7 years older than Elf. Of course, this doesn't conicide with the reference to Dragons age from Moss :P With Ariel being the Druid's son, it could be, but the Druid was an intelligent man. I would think he would have had at least an suspicion about Ariel while he was working with/for him. Of course, he might not have realised. Gilaine is also a Misfit, so that fits. I'm not even sure what I'm saying anymore.
