Red Brick Commentary
Oct. 14th, 2020 06:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mara_dienne459 posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
antishurtugal_rebornChapter Twenty-Two: Wounds of the Present
This chapter opens with Roran waking up exactly at dawn. He stares at the ceiling for a while, then rolls out of bed, gets dressed, and heads into the kitchen to find some breakfast. He steps out onto the porch to eat breakfast and watch the sunrise in peace. Well, sort of.
His tranquility was soon disrupted when a herd of unruly children dashed through the garden of a nearby house, shrieking with delight at their game of Catch-the-Cat, followed by a number of adults intent on snaring their respective charges. Roran watched the cacophonous parade vanish around a corner, then placed the last of the bread in his mouth and returned to the kitchen, which had filled with the rest of the household.
Okay, I really don’t understand this. Aren’t they supposed to be preparing to leave? So why are these children - all of whom have to be young enough to not understand what’s going on and be more concerned about playing this game which is I think something like tag - being allowed to run around shrieking obvious delight? This definitely doesn’t fit the mood of what’s going to happen. And I get that kids don’t understand much of what’s going on, but these particular ones have been witness to more violence and more death than they should be, and children who’ve seen stuff like that should be scared to go outside.
Elain greets him and says something about it raining again. It’s not important.
“The more the better,” asserted Horst. “It’ll help keep us hidden while we climb Narnmor Mountain.”
I’m assuming Narnmor Mountain is a mountain in the Spine? Because this mountain was never named or mentioned before. What they said was “climb Igualda Falls and hide further back in the trees”. Not “climb this mountain no one’s ever heard of before.” So I get the feeling Paolini is back to his habit of naming everything he comes across in his books.
Roran questions Horst’s use of ‘us’ and Horst says Sloan was right about the food and supplies, so therefore everyone else has to help carry stuff up or there won’t be enough for the children and their babysitters to survive. Because apparently nobody can set snares or hunt or forage. Roran only cares about there being enough men to defend Carvahall if the rest of them are carrying things up into the mountains. Horst assures him there will be.
I guess what bothers me about this whole thing is if they had done this sooner, like when the soldiers were first here before anything really happened - you know, like a what if - then they could’ve been steadily building a far better defended and capable hide away, and have it stocked with supplies that could last those hiding there for months, if not an entire year. They could’ve also blazed a path through the forest to Therinsford, allowing their people to escape safely. Or, if not to Therinsford, then across the mountain - as they do - to that one village by the sea. Or hell, even through the mountains as Galbatorix did.
There’s a bit of a time skip so everyone can have their leisurely breakfast, and then Roran helps Horst’s sons wrap up food, blankets, and other supplies into bundles. They haul it all to the north end of the village. We’re told that Roran’s sliced calf pains him, but don’t worry. It doesn’t bother him ever again after this. They meet other guys who are also carrying bundles. When they reach the trench, Roran sees that there’s a bunch of children, their parents, and their grandparents gathered in a big group trying to organize for the walk. There’s also donkeys, volunteered to carry children and stuff. Roran takes a gander at who all is here, and then spots Katrina. She smiles at him, but then goes back to tying a knot on a pack.
Since no one seemed to be in charge, Roran did his best to sort out the chaos by overseeing the arranging and packaging of the various supplies. He discovered a shortage of waterskins, but when he asked for more, he ended up with thirteen too many. Delays such as those consumed the early-morning hours.
Actually, one can never have too many waterskins. Having a source of water is extremely important. Granted, I’m guessing they’re camping right by the river, so there’s gonna be a supply of fresh water, but still, having enough water to last them without having to go and constantly refill is pretty nice.
Well, while Roran is talking with Loring about shoes, he spots Sloan standing nearby. He’s watching the activity and we’re told that his face is a mask of contempt. He continues to sneer at the gathering until he spots Katrina, and then he becomes super angry. Why? Because she’s picked up a pack, and that tells him that she’s not there to just help. She’s going with the children. We’re told that a vein starts throbbing in the center of Sloan’s forehead.
Well, shit’s about to go down.
Roran starts running over to Katrina but Sloan gets there first. Sloan grabs her pack and starts shaking it “violently” all while shouting at her. He’s convinced somebody “made her do this”. He doesn’t even spare a thought that it might just be her decision, nor does Katrina bother to say anything to him as he’s shaking her like a rag doll. Katrina tries to say something about the children - not that it’s her decision or anything - but Sloan just get more violent and yanks the pack off her shoulders and throws it on the ground. Sloan continues to shout, then grabs Katrina’s arm and starts trying to drag her off. Katrina is described as digging in her heels and trying to fight. Whether she’s yelling too is never written. This pisses off Roran so he attacks Sloan, shoving him away from Katrina. He says that he’s the one who wanted Katrina to go. Sloan, rightly, says Roran has no right to decide anything for Katrina. Well, according to Katrina, neither does Sloan, but she just stands there like a bump on a log and says nothing about this being her personal decision and her father is just going to have to accept that. Remember? Last chapter that’s exactly what she told Roran. But she says nothing of that now.
Anyway, Roran says he has every right, and he realizes that they’re being watched by everyone who’s gathered here. So he raises his voice and says that he and Katrina are engaged to be married and he won’t have his future wife treated poorly. Well, that announcement shuts everybody up. Sloan, understandably, goes through a wide array of emotions. Oh wait. No. He just experiences surprise and then a deep, inconsolable pain and he starts to cry. Roran almost feels sympathy for Sloan, but then Sloan suddenly flies into a rage, becoming so angry his face turns red. He curses and then starts shouting epithets at Roran, all of which are justified because they’re true, and despite the fact that there’s no written scene of the two of them ever interacting civilly before this, Sloan says that he’s always dealt with Roran in good faith and honesty and apparently has never realized that Roran and Katrina were courting, because he says he never gave his permission. Yet the entire village knows about Roran and Katrina’s relationship, so how Sloan couldn’t know, I have no idea. Reasons. Roran’s response to Sloan’s outburst is this:
“I had hoped to do this properly,” said Roran, “but events have conspired against me. It was never my intention to cause you grief. Even though this hasn’t gone the way either of us wanted, I still want your blessing, if you are willing.”
Well... that’s kind of a lie isn’t it? Events didn’t conspire again Roran; he simply procrastinated. He didn’t do what he was supposed to do when he was supposed to do it. And instead of taking the blame for that, he’s blaming the events, and he’s blaming everything but himself. So all of this is really his fault. Also, I really like how he asks Sloan for his blessing anyway, after he’s embarrassed the guy and is still publicly humiliating him.
Sloan says he’d rather have a “maggot-riddled pig for a son” than Roran. He has no farm, no family, both of which are true, and then Sloan says he’ll have nothing to do with Katrina and she’ll have nothing to do with the Spine. The worst part about this whole thing is that Katrina is standing right there watching her father and boyfriend fight, and she does nothing. She just stands there and watches. She doesn’t stand up for herself at all. She doesn’t say anything about this being her choice. And I never did understand why the age of majority for boys is 16, and they’re considered men, but girls who are 16 are still treated like children. And I get time period and all that, but... if boys are men at 16, shouldn’t girls be women at 16, and they get to make their own decisions? At least about their own lives, maybe not marriage or whatever else? I dunno. Anyway, Sloan goes to reach for Katrina but Roran stops him. The two glare at each other like two posturing dogs over a Katrina-bone, and then Sloan orders Katrina to come to him.
Roran withdrew from Sloan—so that the three of them formed a triangle—and looked at Katrina. Tears streamed down her face as she glanced between him and her father. She stepped forward, hesitated, then with a long, anguished cry, tore at her hair in a frenzy of indecision.
And yet another moment of Schizophrenic Katrina. Remember, when Roran asked her if she was going to tell her father she was going into the Spine, she says no, and that Sloan would just have to accept that it was her decision and not his. But here we are, in that exact moment, and she’s crying and tearing at her hair like she’s got no idea what to do. Where was that defiant fire she had last chapter? Where was that confidence? Apparently she lost it between then and now, because she’s not doing anything about it here. Which really bothers me, because it now looks like Roran’s forcing her to choose between him or her father, and that’s not really the case. At least not entirely.
Sloan says her name, Roran says her name, and I’m wondering when someone is going to smear bacon grease on their hands to convince the Katrina-puppy to choose them. Anyway... Roran’s voice might be that bacon, because as soon as he talks, Katrina does this:
At the sound of his voice, Katrina’s tears ceased and she stood straight and tall with a calm expression. She said, “I’m sorry, Father, but I have decided to marry Roran,” and stepped to his side.
I swear Katrina is an emotional superhero. One minute she’s crying and the next, she’s calm and strong. Like she’s ripping off a disguise and showing her true identity. The problem is, I don’t know which one is her true identity.
Sloan turned bone white. He bit his lip so hard that a bead of ruby blood appeared. “You can’t leave me! You’re my daughter!” He lunged at her with crooked hands. In that instant, Roran bellowed and struck the butcher with all his strength, knocking him sprawling in the dirt before the entire village.
I mean... I’m glad that Roran wanted to protect her, but he could’ve just pulled her out of the way. He didn’t have to punch the guy. I’m not even sure why he did, other than the fact he could. The two times Roran has put his hands on Sloan, Sloan has not offered any physical attack toward Roran. Roran shouldn’t have put his hands on Sloan, period. The first time, the shove, okay, in the heat of the moment, I understand that. But this second time? That was pure cruelty. Roran did it not to protect Katrina, but for his own satisfaction. And that bothers me.
Sloan rose slowly, his face and neck flushed with humiliation. When he saw Katrina again, the butcher seemed to crumple inward, losing height and stature until Roran felt as if he were looking at a specter of the original man. In a low whisper, he said, “It is always so; those closest to the heart cause the most pain. Thou will have no dowry from me, snake, nor your mother’s inheritance.” Weeping bitterly, Sloan turned and fled toward his shop.
There’s that old time english again, dunno why. Nobody in this village has ever talked like that before. But in effect, Sloan’s disowned her, washed his hands of her, and that should be the last we heard if him right? Wrong! This is the turning point where his behavior goes from frightened father to creepy obsessive captor. On one hand, I can’t blame Sloan for making the decision he does. This is his daughter, and to him, her safety comes first. No matter what he says, he loves her and will do anything to keep her safe. On the other, he’s just disowned her. In front of everyone. He’s torn her down and destroyed her future. He wants nothing more to do with her, as evidenced by his words to her. Reading between the lines, calling your child a snake and telling her she gets nothing for her inheritance - which is hers by right, technically, but is never spoken of again - is pretty much telling her she’s done and she’s no longer wanted by you. But Sloan then turns around and brokers a deal with the Ra’zac all to get Katrina away from Roran. Which isn’t healthy behavior at all.
Katrina and Roran hug each other, and everyone else comes to crowd around them, offering congratulations, advice, and disapproval. Roran doesn’t care so long as Katrina’s in his arms. He won, so he couldn’t care less about anything else. Then Elain shows up and she pulls Katrina from Roran’s arms and asks Katrina if it’s true that she’s engaged. And then Katrina suddenly starts crying hysterically because... reasons. This really isn’t a question to which she should be crying. After all, she’s known she’s been engaged since Roran asked her to marry him. Anyway, Elain says she’s taking Katrina back to the house and Roran says he’ll go, too. Elain says:
“No, you won’t,” retorted Elain. “She needs time to calm down, and you have work to do. Do you want my advice?” Roran nodded dumbly. “Stay away until evening. I guarantee that she will be as right as rain by then. She can join the others tomorrow.” Without waiting for his response, Elain escorted the sobbing Katrina away from the wall of sharpened trees.
Well if this isn’t a set up for the next plot event, I don’t know what is. I honestly don’t know why Roran doesn’t think about this, especially with the way that Sloan acted during several of the battles and then just now. I don’t know why anyone doesn’t think that Sloan isn’t going to do anything stupid. That he isn’t going to try to change something. Everybody’s too busy congratulating the engaged couple, giving them advice and other unwanted words, but nobody goes to check on Sloan and make sure he’s okay. Nobody thinks about going to console him and try to bring him around. Nobody even gives a remote rat’s ass about him. And I don’t know if this is being done on purpose, given Paolini’s own feelings about him, or if there’s a backstory going on that none of us know, and only Paolini does, which is giving rise to this behavior. Sloan is no doubt being set up as the bad guy. But the question is, would any of us really act any differently? If our child was in such danger as Katrina as - real or perceived - wouldn’t we do questionable things to ensure their safety? So who’s really the bad guy?
Roran stood with his hands hanging limply by his sides, feeling dazed and helpless. What have we done? He regretted that he had not revealed their engagement to Sloan sooner. He regretted that he and Sloan could not work together to shield Katrina from the Empire. And he regretted that Katrina had been forced to relinquish her only family for him. He was now doubly responsible for her welfare. They had no choice but to get married. I’ve made a terrible mess of this. He sighed and clenched his fist, wincing as his bruised knuckles stretched.
I do enjoy how Roran finally realizes that he cocked this all up, and it’s his fault. He still doesn’t take any blame for it, and nobody really blames him for it, either. Rather, they’re all pleased about it. And he really should’ve done it, since he only thought about it four or five times, and even Katrina reminded him before she agreed to go into the Spine. And that’s another thing - Katrina’s reminder to Roran about telling her dad about their engagement is never brought up. She never gets mad at him for it. She doesn’t scream at him for not doing this sooner. The moment Roran yelled out that they were engaged and Sloan reacted with shock, that’s when Katrina should’ve gotten pissed with Roran. Instead, she cries and tears out her hair before finally deciding she chooses Roran over her father. Chooses the man who has shown her how untrustworthy he is, how selfish he is. She ignores all that because he’s gonna marry her, I guess.
Baldor approaches Roran then and asks how he is. Roran responds:
Roran forced a smile. “It didn’t turn out quite how I hoped. Sloan’s beyond reason when it comes to the Spine.”
Of course it didn’t turn out like you hoped. You embarrassed him in front of the village, courted his daughter without permission, and then you’re going to marry her without his permission, and you had the audacity to ask him got his blessing even after all this. So, yeah, I’d say it’s fair that Sloan is “beyond reason”. Nobody gave him any respect, especially the one person who needed to do it the most.
Baldor helpfully points out that Sloan is “beyond reason” when it comes to Katrina. Roran agrees with that, but before he can continue, Loring shows up. The old shoemaker at first admonishes Roran for what he did, but he can’t keep a straight face and immediately starts congratulating Roran. He goes on to say that it’s better this happened now than when they’re tucked away for winter, all warm and cozy. Roran’s like, why?
“Isn’t it obvious? Normally, you and Katrina would be the meat of gossip for the next nine months.” Loring put a finger on the side of his nose. “Ah, but this way, you’ll soon be forgotten amid everything else that’s going on, and then the two of you might even have some peace.”
Why nine months? That seems like a pretty random number. I could read too deep into it and say that nine months is how long a baby takes to incubate, but I don’t know if that’s really the reason why they’d be talked about. I mean, it kinda makes sense if you squint a little? Because Roran and Katrina didn’t bother to tell anyone they were getting serious, didn’t bother to tell Sloan, and then all of a sudden it comes out in this curfuffel. Granted, we don’t actually know anything about the rules for courting and engagement in this village, so for all we know, they don’t need permission to date, just permission to get married. But... it just seems weird to me.
Roran says he’d rather be talked about than have the Ra’zac camped on the road, which Loring agrees with, then says that everyone needs something to be grateful for, especially once one is married. Then he cackles and says Roran’s face turned purple. Why would Roran’s face turn purple? That seems like a deadly medical condition. Roran’s response is to grunt and go pick up Katrina’s things. People continue to talk to him and comment on what he did, and some seem to be rather pithy. Pretty sure Roran deserves that. Then we have a time skip and we’re told everyone gets up into the mountains by midmorning. Roran spends his walk thinking about Katrina and how she won’t be in the village much longer - haha, foreshadowing - and Roran is a defeatist, saying he’s positive the village will soon be overrun and everything they’ve done would be for nothing. He stops at one point to scan the valley but he can’t spot the Ra’zac’s camp despite knowing its general location. Um, pretty sure if you could see the Ra’zac, they could see you, so I don’t know why Roran would want to do this, but fine. Eventually they get to the falls and there’s a description of that, but hey, at least they’ve finally gotten where they need to be.
Past the slate ledge where the Anora River became airborne, down a glen filled with thimbleberries, and then finally into a large clearing guarded on one side by a pile of boulders, Roran found that those at the head of the procession had already begun setting up camp. The forest rang with the children’s shouts and cries.
“The forest rang with the children’s shouts and cries”? When before people were afraid that the soldiers would hear them from way down the valley and find them? Or that wild animals would attack them? Or that everyone is supposed to be deathly afraid of this forest, believing there are monsters living under the trees? They’re letting the children make noise? Really? Nobody should be talking above an inside voice. It’s like Paolini forgot that he made these “rules” for his story. The children should take their attitude from their parents, and yet these kids are making so much noise that it’s near impossible that they wouldn’t go unnoticed. And it never says that this camp is far enough back and well enough protected that they can have fires and make an inordinate amount of noise.
Roran starts clearing underbrush alongside several other men, and then they start chopping down trees to make a barricade around the camp. They manage to get enough to encircle the camp, whatever that means. I don’t know if they’ve built a ten foot high wall or if they’ve just laid about a couple of sticks to form a perimeter. There’s no real detail, but based on certain sentences in later paragraphs, I’m guessing ten foot high wall.
By the time the fortifications were complete, the camp had already been erected with seventeen wool tents, four small cookfires, and glum expressions from people and donkeys alike. No one wanted to leave, and no one wanted to stay.
How many trees did they cut down? Enough to just form a perimeter circle around the camp? Around the space seventeen tents take up? Or is it enough trees to form a defensive wall like back at the village? Either way, they did this too quickly. It was still done too fast. I really don’t understand how the villagers can accomplish feats that it takes normal people weeks to do in only a handful of hours. They don’t have super strength, they don’t have magic. Sure they have numbers, but numbers can only do you so much good. In a situation like this, the villagers accomplish way too much in a short amount of time. That shouldn’t be physically possible and yet it happens.
Roran surveyed the assortment of boys and old men clutching spears, and thought, Too much experience and too little. The grandfathers know how to deal with bears and the like, but will the grandsons have the strength to actually do it? Then he noticed the hard glint in the women’s eyes and realized that while they might hold a babe or be busy tending a scraped arm, their own shields and spears were never far from reach. Roran smiled. Perhaps... perhaps we still have hope.
Well, this is the first mention of women having the capability to fight, but it’s the only one. The women never see combat, unless they’re Nasuada, Arya, Angela, Birgit, or any other female elf. Those are the only women that ever fight in the war, and even then, Birgit is iffy because you never see her in actual combat. Eragon never sees her, Roran never sees her. Even in the chapters from Saphira’s perspective, you never see her. And really, everyone should know how to deal with bears and wolves. They’re farmers for fuck’s sake. While the men are out tending their flocks, the women have had to stay and protect the house from enterprising animals that see a free meal. And even if the women go out with their men to tend to the flocks, they have to know how to defend themselves and their animals, too. This is their livelihood, and they have to be able to protect it in the event their husbands can’t. I really don’t understand why the women of Carvahall never actually get to fight, despite the fact some have decided that they’re going to stay behind with their husbands to whatever end it may be. I don’t understand why they’re trying to pull an Eowyn now, and take the stance of “women may not use a sword, but we can still die upon one”, but when the opportunity comes for them to fight, they don’t. They stay behind. And I guess I also don’t like how Roran looks at the women as an afterthought and says they still have hope because the women can fight too. He doesn’t look at them like they have the same experience as the “grandfathers”; he looks at them as a second line of defense should the grandfathers and grandsons fail.
Roran then spots Nolfy sitting alone on a log staring back at the village, so he goes over to give the kid a pep talk. It starts out with Nolfy asking Roran if he’s going to kill the Ra’zac and avenge Quimby, because Nolfy has to stay behind and babysit his brothers and sisters, because he’s the oldest child, at thirteen. Quimby was a busy man. Roran says yep, and he’ll bring back their heads on a silver platter. Nolfy likes that idea. Then Roran, the jerk, brings up that Nolfy is the only person in this hideaway that’s killed somebody, other than Roran. He follows that up with a “we aren’t better or worse than anyone else” (well, maybe Nolfy isn’t, because he becomes a nonentity after this, while Roran begins to love fighting and killing and seemingly takes pleasure in making people suffer) and that because they’ve killed people, Roran can trust Nolfy to fight well if the hideaway gets attacked. This boils down to Roran wanting the kid to protect Katrina for him. Why he just doesn’t say that in the first place without all this other stuff, I don’t know. He could have. He didn’t need to remind the kid that he murdered somebody. Not that it affects Nolfy in any negative fashion, of course.
Anyway, Nolfy agrees readily to protect Katrina in Roran’s stead... except that he’s gotta watch his younger brothers and sisters. Roran volunteers Katrina to help babysit. Roran thanks Nolfy, and then an inner monologue tells us that Roran “could have” asked someone older and more capable than a thirteen year old boy, but everyone else is too busy with their own shit to deal with his shit. Roran also tells us that Nolfy, for whatever reason, will have the opportunity and also be inclined to assure she remains safe. Personally, I feel like that’s a little arrogant for Roran, but then the truth is if Katrina’s in the tent and Nolfy has to protect his family, it’s two birds with one stone, so long as Nolfy doesn’t have to, you know, choose. Eventually Birgit comes and collects Roran and everyone goes back to the village, leaving the hideaway and those there to fend for themselves.
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Date: 2020-10-15 03:57 am (UTC)