Queen of Attolia Questions
Feb. 3rd, 2012 10:46 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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queensthiefYeah, more of them! And to think we've discussed almost everything already. What can I say? The QT week got to me! So, in the middle of me studying for a Psych exam, proving tree structures, reading assignment handouts and starting the Farsala Trilogy, I managed to squeeze in a second re-read of QoA. I'm not finished the book yet; I'm about halfway through.
But within that half, I have several questions already. I do realize that if I read on and finish the book, some of these might be answered, but seeing my packed schedule, I doubt I'd be patient enough to wait for me to finish the book to find the answers. So... here are the questions:
1) What is the point of Moira warning Attolia not to offend the gods? Eddis’s gods are not her gods, and even if they were, she openly admitted that she doesn’t worship any. So, did Moira’s warning actually influence Attolia’s decision to cut Gen’s hand?
2) Did Gen get addicted to lethium?
3) Why did Eddis think that marrying Gen off to Agape would help him recover? I think Eddis is close enough to Gen to know that he isn’t the type to accept wifey affection. Or was she just thinking that Gen was a lost cause and she should just prepare a nice, comfortable life for him, since he is obviously neglecting himself?
4) Ooh... did anyone else notice this? It was in the story of Horreon and Hespira. “Mortals do not challenge the gods. Only once had a mortal dared and he’d been driven insane for his insolence.” No wonder Eddis thought Gen might be insane near the end!
5) So, I’m taking an introductory course in Psychology this semester, and lookie at what I found in my textbook: phantom limbs!! It turns out that if you lose a limb, the part of your brain responsible for receiving sensory information from it “assumes to some degree the function of the closest group next to it”. And guess what is represented in the brain next to the hand? The face!!!
It says here: “...an amputee who has lost a hand may, when his or her eyes are closed, perceive a touch on the cheek as if it were on the missing hand...”
Ooh, and remember when later in the book, Gen *always* gets chills when Attolia holds his face? That is soooo weird! To think he might actually feel like she's touching the hand she cut off! Ugh!
6) More psych stuff. So, so, so I also found out that our subconsciousness actually makes really good decisions, which is why we usually “sleep” through a really tough problem. I was reading over some of the older posts about QoA, and I sort of had a hard time reasoning why Attolia, after thinking thoroughly about Gen’s punishment, seemed to have chosen a politically weaker one. The “subconscious is smarter” approach seems to makes sense to me for now; Attolia’s instinct told her to hang him, but she ignored that one and went for something else.
But I feel like all this psych stuff isn’t really the answer to the QT mysteries, lol, so I’m turning to Sounis again. What do you guys think?
7) In relation to the previous question, if the answer has something to do with hurting Eddis, then here’s my problem with that.
By the end of the novel, I believe that we are supposed to perceive Attolia as a queen whose intentions are only for the betterment of her country. So this paints her in a good light, actually. But after re-reading , I just have a hard time trying to reconcile this image of a selfless queen who will do anything for the well-being of her kingdom, to the person we see during the chop-chop scene. I mean, at this time, Attolia took advantage of Gen’s vulnerability to “hurt Eddis at every level” . Does this mean that Attolia is a bit of a sadist? That there exists a small part of her who is so caught up in her loneliness and suffering that it makes her feel better to see someone else suffering, even if she must induce it herself?
I’m just getting confused with all the contradictions here. One minute Eddis and Gen are saying that she cut off Gen’s hand because she wants to inflict pain upon a rival. The next minute, we see Gen defending Attolia. Then the next (though I haven’t gone there yet on my re-read), we see Eddis saying that Attolia doesn’t revel in extreme punishments for pleasure. But why else would she hurt Eddis if it didn’t please her to see a rival hurt?
8) More Attolia question. (Haha, if I wasn’t so trusting in MWT’s abilities to create complex characters, I would really be forced to write Attolia off... But since it’s by MWT, Attolia’s actually one of my fav characters). Do you guys think that her hatred towards Eddis is irrational? What I mean is that... yes, okay, I understand her jealousy. Eddis had a lot of things that Attolia was deprived of. I thought cutting Gen’s hand off was reasonable given the circumstance (aside from the emotional motivations). But when Eddis explains to Gen how Attolia has come to hate her, I just feel like it’s an insufficient reason for “hate”. Hate’s a strong word. Why would Attolia blame Eddis for something that was out of Eddis’s control? Eddis didn’t choose to be queen; Eddis didn’t choose the peaceful country she was to rule.
On the other hand, it is Attolia’s choice to be queen of a nation that she knows is politically unstable. I mean, of course, the alternative is to have to watch greedy, power-hungry idiots rule her country, but setting that aside, Attolia’s circumstance was her choice. I don’t know how to explain my dilemma any more than that... I just feel like Attolia hates Eddis because she’s miserable and Eddis isn’t, when it is due to her own choice that she’s become miserable in the first place. It doesn’t make sense to me.
9) Why would Eddis and Gen need to look amorous? What’s the advantage of having Attolia and Sounis think that Eddis is sleeping with Gen, rather than just consulting with Gen? Eddis seemed so comfortable and nonchalant about the idea, haha.
10) Would you believe it if I say I thought ‘philandering’ had something to do with ‘philanthropy’ and could absolutely NOT guess why in the world Gen philandering would be so scandalous? I feel like such an idiot, haha. And I love how Gen was so naive about the whole thing!
11) Let’s talk about Therespides, the philanderer. So we find out that he’s a spy for Relius, and that Gen suggests shooting him, but later, we find out that he is Eddis and Gen’s mutual cousin! It is even said that he admires Gen a lot. Isn’t it a little strange to find out that one of your relatives is a spy for a country you’re at war with? How can Eddis ever think that her subjects are so loyal?
12) What do you guys think of this theory: Attolia cutting of Gen’s hand is like emasculating him, and stealing her throne is him regaining his masculinity, and QoA is a book about sexual domination. I’m not saying this is right or wrong; obviously there are so many ways to interpret a book, but when I read this theory from one of the comments here , I can’t help but think that if this is true, it totally flew over my head.
So, any responses would be greatly appreciated!!
But within that half, I have several questions already. I do realize that if I read on and finish the book, some of these might be answered, but seeing my packed schedule, I doubt I'd be patient enough to wait for me to finish the book to find the answers. So... here are the questions:
1) What is the point of Moira warning Attolia not to offend the gods? Eddis’s gods are not her gods, and even if they were, she openly admitted that she doesn’t worship any. So, did Moira’s warning actually influence Attolia’s decision to cut Gen’s hand?
2) Did Gen get addicted to lethium?
3) Why did Eddis think that marrying Gen off to Agape would help him recover? I think Eddis is close enough to Gen to know that he isn’t the type to accept wifey affection. Or was she just thinking that Gen was a lost cause and she should just prepare a nice, comfortable life for him, since he is obviously neglecting himself?
4) Ooh... did anyone else notice this? It was in the story of Horreon and Hespira. “Mortals do not challenge the gods. Only once had a mortal dared and he’d been driven insane for his insolence.” No wonder Eddis thought Gen might be insane near the end!
5) So, I’m taking an introductory course in Psychology this semester, and lookie at what I found in my textbook: phantom limbs!! It turns out that if you lose a limb, the part of your brain responsible for receiving sensory information from it “assumes to some degree the function of the closest group next to it”. And guess what is represented in the brain next to the hand? The face!!!
It says here: “...an amputee who has lost a hand may, when his or her eyes are closed, perceive a touch on the cheek as if it were on the missing hand...”
Ooh, and remember when later in the book, Gen *always* gets chills when Attolia holds his face? That is soooo weird! To think he might actually feel like she's touching the hand she cut off! Ugh!
6) More psych stuff. So, so, so I also found out that our subconsciousness actually makes really good decisions, which is why we usually “sleep” through a really tough problem. I was reading over some of the older posts about QoA, and I sort of had a hard time reasoning why Attolia, after thinking thoroughly about Gen’s punishment, seemed to have chosen a politically weaker one. The “subconscious is smarter” approach seems to makes sense to me for now; Attolia’s instinct told her to hang him, but she ignored that one and went for something else.
But I feel like all this psych stuff isn’t really the answer to the QT mysteries, lol, so I’m turning to Sounis again. What do you guys think?
7) In relation to the previous question, if the answer has something to do with hurting Eddis, then here’s my problem with that.
By the end of the novel, I believe that we are supposed to perceive Attolia as a queen whose intentions are only for the betterment of her country. So this paints her in a good light, actually. But after re-reading , I just have a hard time trying to reconcile this image of a selfless queen who will do anything for the well-being of her kingdom, to the person we see during the chop-chop scene. I mean, at this time, Attolia took advantage of Gen’s vulnerability to “hurt Eddis at every level” . Does this mean that Attolia is a bit of a sadist? That there exists a small part of her who is so caught up in her loneliness and suffering that it makes her feel better to see someone else suffering, even if she must induce it herself?
I’m just getting confused with all the contradictions here. One minute Eddis and Gen are saying that she cut off Gen’s hand because she wants to inflict pain upon a rival. The next minute, we see Gen defending Attolia. Then the next (though I haven’t gone there yet on my re-read), we see Eddis saying that Attolia doesn’t revel in extreme punishments for pleasure. But why else would she hurt Eddis if it didn’t please her to see a rival hurt?
8) More Attolia question. (Haha, if I wasn’t so trusting in MWT’s abilities to create complex characters, I would really be forced to write Attolia off... But since it’s by MWT, Attolia’s actually one of my fav characters). Do you guys think that her hatred towards Eddis is irrational? What I mean is that... yes, okay, I understand her jealousy. Eddis had a lot of things that Attolia was deprived of. I thought cutting Gen’s hand off was reasonable given the circumstance (aside from the emotional motivations). But when Eddis explains to Gen how Attolia has come to hate her, I just feel like it’s an insufficient reason for “hate”. Hate’s a strong word. Why would Attolia blame Eddis for something that was out of Eddis’s control? Eddis didn’t choose to be queen; Eddis didn’t choose the peaceful country she was to rule.
On the other hand, it is Attolia’s choice to be queen of a nation that she knows is politically unstable. I mean, of course, the alternative is to have to watch greedy, power-hungry idiots rule her country, but setting that aside, Attolia’s circumstance was her choice. I don’t know how to explain my dilemma any more than that... I just feel like Attolia hates Eddis because she’s miserable and Eddis isn’t, when it is due to her own choice that she’s become miserable in the first place. It doesn’t make sense to me.
9) Why would Eddis and Gen need to look amorous? What’s the advantage of having Attolia and Sounis think that Eddis is sleeping with Gen, rather than just consulting with Gen? Eddis seemed so comfortable and nonchalant about the idea, haha.
10) Would you believe it if I say I thought ‘philandering’ had something to do with ‘philanthropy’ and could absolutely NOT guess why in the world Gen philandering would be so scandalous? I feel like such an idiot, haha. And I love how Gen was so naive about the whole thing!
11) Let’s talk about Therespides, the philanderer. So we find out that he’s a spy for Relius, and that Gen suggests shooting him, but later, we find out that he is Eddis and Gen’s mutual cousin! It is even said that he admires Gen a lot. Isn’t it a little strange to find out that one of your relatives is a spy for a country you’re at war with? How can Eddis ever think that her subjects are so loyal?
12) What do you guys think of this theory: Attolia cutting of Gen’s hand is like emasculating him, and stealing her throne is him regaining his masculinity, and QoA is a book about sexual domination. I’m not saying this is right or wrong; obviously there are so many ways to interpret a book, but when I read this theory from one of the comments here , I can’t help but think that if this is true, it totally flew over my head.
So, any responses would be greatly appreciated!!
