Introduction and Questions!

[intangible-muse.livejournal.com]

Hello! I've been a fan of the series for a while and have been lurking around Sounis for some period of time now. After re-reading the series, I have some questions I was itching to ask, so I decided to finally post!

The questions I have are regarding KOA and I have three of them.
1. Gen's kiss to Relius when he brings Attolia to the infirmary always puzzled me. The dialogue and description of Gen saying, "Jealous?" then giving a kiss on the cheek to Relius without smiling was confusing to me. I don't know if he's subtly mentioning the crush Relius might have on Attolia, but the fact that MWT carefully mentioned that he wasn't smiling doesn't make sense. Thoughts?

2. I've always thought that the myths (or stories) that are told within the books (the ones told by Eddis and Phresine) add to the theme or reveal something we don't already know, but they don't seems to (the one in KOA especially). Am I overthinking it or maybe missing something? :)

3. This one has been bugging me incessantly for a while: why is Baron Susa so interested in whether Gen is homesick?

Comments

[helle-d.livejournal.com]

1) I always read the "without smiling" as a way of showing Reluius that he isn't trying to mock him, or belittle him, that it's an entirely sincere gesture of his acceptance/appreciation of Relius; showing him that he and Attolia *do* value his service and loyalty. They are two men who both love and serve the queen - and have sacrificed a lot to do so - and Gen has come to accept that.

2) I can't always figure out the relevence of the stories, but I think Eddis' story was about love, and specifically having to chose between love and family. I think Eddis says later in the book how much she is coming to sympathise with Hestia's mother, since she is also placed in the position of letting Gen chose to live with a "monster" far away.
Phresine's is more opaque, but I would say it has to do with accepting the gods' gifts and not invalidating the warranty by rejecting them or showing ingratitude - which is why it distresses Gen so much at first, since at this stage he still, really does not want to be king and is terrified the gods will find out.

3) Hmmm. Politics? Any emotional advantage you can possibly use over your 'enemies' is good knowledge to have.