Black Jewels: Viewpoints
Sep. 20th, 2015 12:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beroliChapter Two finds Saetan, still our viewpoint character, but in Terreille, not Hell.
Despite his promise not to lie to Jaenelle, Saetan didn't feel obligated to correct the lie he'd told slightly before making that promise, when he said he and Cassandra had "lost touch over the years," knowing that if she was still around she had deliberately led him to think she was dead. Cassandra was the last Witch, a Black-Jeweled Queen who ruled over the Territory of Ebon Askavi is both Terreille and Kaeleer; Saetan was her Consort. They both wore the Black Jewel, but Saetan was "just a little" more powerful--which in practice will turn out to mean that she was completely vulnerable to anything he might choose to do and he was completely invulnerable to her, in less danger from her than he'd be in from the Ebon-gray-wearing Lucivar. Immediately after his last meeting with Andulvar, he goes to Cassandra's Altar to find her.
Saetan limps into the Sanctuary at Cassandra's Altar, wearing a sight-shield and a psychic shield so that Cassandra can't see or sense him. He finds her in the kitchen and unshields in front of her so that she drops a wineglass on the floor. She backs away from him, obviously afraid, which just as obviously is the result he was hoping for by shielding so that she would have no warning he was there. Bishop doesn't comment on this. It is apparently, in her view, not a moral issue. The book talks about Saetan's "overwhelming sense of betrayal" that Cassandra let him think she was dead-dead rather than letting him know she had become a Guardian; it doesn't acknowledge that he just gave a good reason, something he could have chosen not to do, for her to be afraid of him. Saetan asks Cassandra if she hated him that much, and she reaches out toward him, saying, "I never hated you, Saetan. I--"
was afraid of you.
The words hung between them, unspoken.
Bishop has no understanding of why bullying tricks like the sight-shield would make someone afraid of Saetan. It's entirely possible that Cassandra, being a character created by Bishop, doesn't either, that if she was to explain to someone why she was afraid of Saetan she would couch in entirely in terms of him being more powerful magically than her, that she would claim his behavior had always been above reproach. And yet...
And yet, that doesn't make any sense. Lots of women--most of the romantically-paired women in these books, actually, though I'm sure it's just a coincidence that in almost all the couples in the books the man's Jewel is darker--deal with being romantically involved with a man who's a little to a lot more magically powerful than them. As much contempt as Bishop seems to have for Cassandra, she never tries to make a case that Cassandra is a coward or a bad Queen. Even though I know it's not what the author wanted to convey, the only configuration of the facts Bishop presents which makes sense is that Cassandra was afraid of Saetan because Saetan acted in a fashion that made her afraid of him.
Saetan watched the fire burning in the hearth. She was entitled to her own life,
Yes, she is.
and certainly wasn't responsible for his,
No, she's not.
but she didn't understand--or didn't want to understand--what that friendship might have meant to him. Even if he'd never seen her again, knowing she still existed would have eased some of the emptiness. Would he have married Hekatah if he hadn't been so desperately lonely?
And Saetan doesn't understand--or Bishop doesn't want to understand--that Cassandra has a legitimate reason to want to avoid Saetan, even though it's what Bishop wrote.
Cassandra changes the subject to Jaenelle, and says that she's going to be Witch. Saetan tells her that Jaenelle already wears the Black Jewels and is Witch. Shocked by the idea of a child wearing the Black, Cassandra asks how they'll control her; when Saetan takes offense to her phrasing, she says that "at her age, she's too open to influence," which makes Saetan think of Hekatah. Then Cassandra tells Saetan there's a psychic mist around Beldon Mor, on the island of Chaillot, which keeps demons and Guardians out; she suspects Beldon Mor is where Jaenelle lives, and she tried to find a way around the mist.
Now she had his full attention. "Are you mad?" He combed his fingers through his thick black hair. "If she went to that much effort to retain her privacy, why are you trying to invade it?"
"Because of what she is," Cassandra said through clenched teeth. "I thought that would be obvious."
"Don't invade her privacy, Cassandra. Don't give her a reason to distrust you*. And the reason for that should be obvious, too."
*I note that Cassandra's phrasing speaks in terms of Jaenelle's attitude toward "us" and what "we" are going to do, while Saetan's phrasing distances: you, not us. The morality of that could go either way, but it seems hard to reconcile with Saetan being all upset that Cassandra didn't tell him she was still alive.
Next, Saetan realizes that Jaenelle can do big things but lacks the control to do the kind of small things the Blood usually practice on. "Wonderful," Cassandra said sarcastically. "So she can't move furniture around a room, but she can destroy an entire continent."
"She'll never do that. It's not in her temperament."
Eventually, we'll get to why that's a very ironic comeback from Saetan, especially juxtaposed with his current attitude toward Cassandra.
He paused at the kitchen door. "May I see you again?"
Her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "Friends do."
Which is obviously saying she'd prefer not to see him again, but neither of them is allowed to comprehend why.
So, despite the lip service to the idea that Cassandra didn't owe Saetan anything, let's be clear on where the book is placing responsibility.
Cassandra is afraid of Saetan = Cassandra's fault.
Cassandra feels lonely and isolated by her power = Not explicitly Cassandra's fault but certainly not the fault of anyone but Cassandra.
Saetan feels lonely and isolated by his power = Cassandra's fault.
Saetan throws his power around, going out of his way to make people afraid of him = No one's fault because it's not a bad thing to do, nor is it in any way related to people being afraid of him.
Cassandra talks in terms of controlling Jaenelle = Cassandra's fault.
Saetan married the personification of chaotic evil, in Hekatah form = Totally Cassandra's fault.
Despite his promise not to lie to Jaenelle, Saetan didn't feel obligated to correct the lie he'd told slightly before making that promise, when he said he and Cassandra had "lost touch over the years," knowing that if she was still around she had deliberately led him to think she was dead. Cassandra was the last Witch, a Black-Jeweled Queen who ruled over the Territory of Ebon Askavi is both Terreille and Kaeleer; Saetan was her Consort. They both wore the Black Jewel, but Saetan was "just a little" more powerful--which in practice will turn out to mean that she was completely vulnerable to anything he might choose to do and he was completely invulnerable to her, in less danger from her than he'd be in from the Ebon-gray-wearing Lucivar. Immediately after his last meeting with Andulvar, he goes to Cassandra's Altar to find her.
Saetan limps into the Sanctuary at Cassandra's Altar, wearing a sight-shield and a psychic shield so that Cassandra can't see or sense him. He finds her in the kitchen and unshields in front of her so that she drops a wineglass on the floor. She backs away from him, obviously afraid, which just as obviously is the result he was hoping for by shielding so that she would have no warning he was there. Bishop doesn't comment on this. It is apparently, in her view, not a moral issue. The book talks about Saetan's "overwhelming sense of betrayal" that Cassandra let him think she was dead-dead rather than letting him know she had become a Guardian; it doesn't acknowledge that he just gave a good reason, something he could have chosen not to do, for her to be afraid of him. Saetan asks Cassandra if she hated him that much, and she reaches out toward him, saying, "I never hated you, Saetan. I--"
was afraid of you.
The words hung between them, unspoken.
Bishop has no understanding of why bullying tricks like the sight-shield would make someone afraid of Saetan. It's entirely possible that Cassandra, being a character created by Bishop, doesn't either, that if she was to explain to someone why she was afraid of Saetan she would couch in entirely in terms of him being more powerful magically than her, that she would claim his behavior had always been above reproach. And yet...
And yet, that doesn't make any sense. Lots of women--most of the romantically-paired women in these books, actually, though I'm sure it's just a coincidence that in almost all the couples in the books the man's Jewel is darker--deal with being romantically involved with a man who's a little to a lot more magically powerful than them. As much contempt as Bishop seems to have for Cassandra, she never tries to make a case that Cassandra is a coward or a bad Queen. Even though I know it's not what the author wanted to convey, the only configuration of the facts Bishop presents which makes sense is that Cassandra was afraid of Saetan because Saetan acted in a fashion that made her afraid of him.
Saetan watched the fire burning in the hearth. She was entitled to her own life,
Yes, she is.
and certainly wasn't responsible for his,
No, she's not.
but she didn't understand--or didn't want to understand--what that friendship might have meant to him. Even if he'd never seen her again, knowing she still existed would have eased some of the emptiness. Would he have married Hekatah if he hadn't been so desperately lonely?
And Saetan doesn't understand--or Bishop doesn't want to understand--that Cassandra has a legitimate reason to want to avoid Saetan, even though it's what Bishop wrote.
Cassandra changes the subject to Jaenelle, and says that she's going to be Witch. Saetan tells her that Jaenelle already wears the Black Jewels and is Witch. Shocked by the idea of a child wearing the Black, Cassandra asks how they'll control her; when Saetan takes offense to her phrasing, she says that "at her age, she's too open to influence," which makes Saetan think of Hekatah. Then Cassandra tells Saetan there's a psychic mist around Beldon Mor, on the island of Chaillot, which keeps demons and Guardians out; she suspects Beldon Mor is where Jaenelle lives, and she tried to find a way around the mist.
Now she had his full attention. "Are you mad?" He combed his fingers through his thick black hair. "If she went to that much effort to retain her privacy, why are you trying to invade it?"
"Because of what she is," Cassandra said through clenched teeth. "I thought that would be obvious."
"Don't invade her privacy, Cassandra. Don't give her a reason to distrust you*. And the reason for that should be obvious, too."
*I note that Cassandra's phrasing speaks in terms of Jaenelle's attitude toward "us" and what "we" are going to do, while Saetan's phrasing distances: you, not us. The morality of that could go either way, but it seems hard to reconcile with Saetan being all upset that Cassandra didn't tell him she was still alive.
Next, Saetan realizes that Jaenelle can do big things but lacks the control to do the kind of small things the Blood usually practice on. "Wonderful," Cassandra said sarcastically. "So she can't move furniture around a room, but she can destroy an entire continent."
"She'll never do that. It's not in her temperament."
Eventually, we'll get to why that's a very ironic comeback from Saetan, especially juxtaposed with his current attitude toward Cassandra.
He paused at the kitchen door. "May I see you again?"
Her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "Friends do."
Which is obviously saying she'd prefer not to see him again, but neither of them is allowed to comprehend why.
So, despite the lip service to the idea that Cassandra didn't owe Saetan anything, let's be clear on where the book is placing responsibility.
Cassandra is afraid of Saetan = Cassandra's fault.
Cassandra feels lonely and isolated by her power = Not explicitly Cassandra's fault but certainly not the fault of anyone but Cassandra.
Saetan feels lonely and isolated by his power = Cassandra's fault.
Saetan throws his power around, going out of his way to make people afraid of him = No one's fault because it's not a bad thing to do, nor is it in any way related to people being afraid of him.
Cassandra talks in terms of controlling Jaenelle = Cassandra's fault.
Saetan married the personification of chaotic evil, in Hekatah form = Totally Cassandra's fault.
no subject
Date: 2015-09-21 05:13 am (UTC)It's too bad Saetan is supposed to be on the "good" side. This would be an excellent character study of one of Those Guys, though he would not be a competent villain. Competent villains acknowledge their own faults and strive to correct them. He would be very easily used by the right kind of person who pretended to buy his sob story, though. Sadly, it seems Anne Bishop is entirely on the side of Those Guys.
Also, what's with the description of his own hair color and texture when it's supposed to be from his pov? Rather enamored of himself, isn't he?
no subject
Date: 2015-09-25 11:37 pm (UTC)There's an example that stands out much more, when she introduces a minor villain named Greer. (I know, "More of this later" is always what I say, but...you'll see what I mean when I reach the point where he's introduced.)