A question.

[dawnbluewings.livejournal.com]

So I have a question regarding Gen's family. I know it's been discussed a little before, but we need more in-depth discussion.

How many siblings does Gen have? Where is he in the order of siblings? I always assumed that he was the baby of the family (he seems to have that youngest-child mentality...), especially as what is said about his family is that he has "Brothers and sisters. With the same father." And that "One of [his] brothers is a soldier, and the other is a watchmaker." Now, we know that Sten is older than he, and as Temenus is the same age as Eddis, well, he is obviously older as well.

What I'm really looking for is information on his sisters. More importantly, does he have any younger ones? Given that what is said about his sister is that they are "even married, and honest housewives to boot," I wouldn't think that they would be any younger than he, since <14 seems just a little young to be married and a housewife.




We need this to settle a troublesome discussion with someone about whether or not Gen has a younger sister who might be a Thief. It just seems... doubtfull.

Comments

[adalanne.livejournal.com]

I agree with what you pointed out, that if Gen's sisters are all married in Thief, they probably aren't younger than he is.

Also, and maybe this is just me, but I've always felt that Gen's personality positively screams "youngest child."

[coyul.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure I remember it being mentioned at some point that he's the youngest.

[cleo]

I think I remember it being mentioned that he was the youngest as well. Eddis was, what, ten when he was born? Also, Gen's mother's death is detailed in the Thief, but I can't remember if it mentions how old he was. That could give a clue as to if any siblings could have been born after him.

[willow-41z.livejournal.com]

He was ten.

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

I think she was six when he was born, actually. If I'm remembering right.

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Don't know if he has any younger sisters, but it says this in QoA when he and his father are practicing with swords, "The minister of war shook his head. He'd known from the first that his youngest son, for all his complaints, had the concentration and the patience to be a great swordsman."

I assumed he was the youngest child, too.

youngest

[puppeteergirl.livejournal.com]

He is the youngest boy, but not necessarily the youngest child.

I'd like to hear more about the sisters also unless they are all sillyminded chits who care for nothing but hair oils and dresses.


Eddis is five years older than Eugenides. She was nine in the short story, and Gen was four.

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

Five, maybe? She's nine, and he's four, in the short story.

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

Really? Weird, how did I get six out of that? Haha, math is not my strong point. I'm pretty sure you're right.

[main-titles.livejournal.com]

I've always felt that Gen's personality positively screams "youngest child."
I agree with you 100%. I've always thought he just has to be the baby in the family.

[etv13.livejournal.com]

I always assumed he was the youngest, too. I also wonder -- do his brothers have a different mother? How is it that he's the one they picked at birth to name Eugenides?

Re: youngest

[citrus-shood.livejournal.com]

what's "the short story" that you said about Eddis and Gen can you tell me? it's not in 3 books??

ah...I want to read this.

[dawnbluewings.livejournal.com]

"What surprises you?" I asked. "That my father was a soldier? Or that I knew him? Did you think I was illegitimate?"
[Sophos blushes]
I told him that no, I wasn't illegitimate. "I even have brothers and sisters," I told him, "with the same father."

I'm pretty sure that they were full-siblings. Meh. No idea why it was him who was named Eugenides. Maybe Grandpa picked the name for him? Maybe Sten and Tem had been named after folks in the MoW's family, and Mum wanted to name THIS one after her dad?

Re: youngest

[dawnbluewings.livejournal.com]

It's about a 9-year-old Eddis randomly meating Eugenides(the god) and learning that it's her fate to be Eddis. Pretty good. It's in the back of the paperback King. Go to your local bookstore and find it? That's what I did before I got my new copy of King. It's a quick read.

Re: youngest

[citrus-shood.livejournal.com]

Thank you ^o^

oh, I can't find this story in my language edition.

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Then, once you were named after the god Eugenides, were you destined to be the next King/Queen's thief?

[kilerkki.livejournal.com]

Well, we know that it's a hereditary position, don't we? Gen's grandfather, also named Eugenides, was the Thief; his mother was a thief but not the King's Thief. That seems to indicate that it's a position and title given only to males. (Which makes sense, since they follow/are named after a masculine god.)

Given that, I think it's likely that Grandpa Eugenides (and Mrs. Minister of War) knew that one of the male grandkids would have to be the next Thief. Minister of War might have objected--it seems he wanted Gen to be a soldier rather than a thief--but since we know he quite liked the Thief's daughter, evidently he didn't have insurmountable objections. The first two boys (heir and spare) were off-limits, but after that, Grandpa stakes his claim, and the third boy is the new Eugenides and the next Thief.

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

whether or not Gen has a younger sister who might be a Thief.

Ooh, this just made me think of something else. In QoA, Attolia says, "It was a hereditary title for many years. It could go to the child of one of his sisters." That makes it sound as if his sisters are older, but who knows.

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

I think the only reason Gen's mom was never Thief was because she died before her father did.

Heir and spare :D

[kilerkki.livejournal.com]

Ah, I'd forgotten that her death came before his. (In that case, was she named Eugenides too?)

I have to admit I stole the phrase from someone else. Bujold, maybe?

[(Anonymous)]

It would also seem to imply that there are no other thief-ready siblings in Gen's generation, so he probably doesn't have any younger sisters, at least none that could become Thief.

And he sure seems like the quintessential youngest child to me too.

- ELM -

[smills47.livejournal.com]

Don't know why I never wondered about this before, but...in QoA when Gen is brought back to Eddis and then convalescing, we don't hear of any of his siblings coming to see him, only the MoW and Eddis. Likewise in KoA after the assassination attempt when he's being muleheaded, it's not his brothers but cousins Aulus and Boagus who come to lay down the law. (For some reason I'm quite fond of Aulus!)

Blame it on the fact that I've had half-siblings on the brain in a different area, but when Gen says he has brothers and sisters "With the same father," could that imply that they have a different mother from himself? And perhaps there is some estrangement there?

Yet Stenides made a watch for him, so there must be an affectionate relationship between them. Hopefully more about the family relationships may come to the forefront in the next book.

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

But it's possible that only males could be Thief. Maybe that's why Attolia says one of his sister's children could do it, rather than one of his sisters could.

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Have you read the earrings story from Disney Adventures magazine? In it, it says that Stenides was Gen's favorite sibling. And why wouldn't he be, with his manly biceps of d00m?

[turtlerock.livejournal.com]

Then again, there was a war on. If most of Gen's male cousins died in the war, maybe one or both of his brothers were injured and it was being kept from him.

Also, for some reason, I get the sense that MoW was madly in love with Gen's mom and never remarried. I have no idea why I think this though...