Eugenides as a Christ Figure

[11rod88staff11.livejournal.com]

As a spiritual, non-religious person the divine elements of MWT's Queen's Thief Series have touched me on more levels than I had ever though possible. MWT's fascination with the Greek gods and goddesses flows abundantly off her pages. While these tales of said gods and goddesses I left behind in grade school without much thought beyond their mythology, there is no doubt that her work is channeling Source Love... and it's a desperately needed proclamation that All Gods/Goddesses are One (and there is no difference between the 7 predominant religions of the world or any of the others.. all arrive at one singular goal, and that is that all things can ultimately come from a place of Love. I'm less referring to the consistent interactions that Eugenides has with his gods, and more to the godliness in the man himself, that behind the whining and the complaining and the superficial ungodly, unkingly elements of Gen's personality, he acts in the image of Christ. (and that contrast is what precisely what is fascinating about him).

There is such omnipotence in the essence of Eugenides' character and his Journey to "Love thy greatest enemy." That MWT could channel the Divine without ever saying the words (as she is known for) is simply exponential. Ecstatic.



That Attolia could harm him in the most painful way imaginable, taking from him something that he valued more than life itself (robbing him of the chance to be "safely dead") and he remained steadfast in his Love for her. That he never let his fear of her win over his Love of her. Love trumps Fear.

That he saw the consequences of Attolia's justice. "His mercy to her justice." And insisted on pardoning Relius even as she struck him and raged at him for undermining her power... that he knew she didn't need him to be a hollow archetype-- big and tall and strong and offer her protection solely in the physical sense as she had plenty of guards for that... what she needed was someone to step forward and dare to protect her heart, dare to protect her from herself:
***
"And what if she sacrifices her heart? Giving it up a piece at a time until there is nothing left? What do you have then, Relius, but a heartless ruler? And what becomes of the common good then?"
"The queen could never be heartless."
"No," said the king. "She would die herself, Relius, or lose her mind first and then her heart. Could you not see it happening? Or is your faith in her strength really so blind? Everyone has a breaking point. Yet you never stop demanding more of her." ~Attolis, KofA, p. 288
***
This remains one of my most favorite excerpts throughout all the books. That he saw her near her breaking point, in her belief that she was unworthy of his love, because in cutting off his hand, she pushed him so close to the brink of his. The narrative goes on to say,
"Relius was quiet while he thought. "And yours? I thought we found your breaking point." Eugenides winced, but he responded with a self-deprecating noise. 'Ornon says, Ornon-who-always-has-something-to-say says, the Thieves of Eddis don't have breaking points. We have flash points instead, like gunpowder. That's what makes us dangerous.'" (p. 288)

Does anyone have any interpretation as to what the King is referring to here? I feel like I can understand that literally but I feel like there's more there that I'm not getting.

That's some of what I mean by Christ. Eugenides, a Christ figure. Also, who else was referred to as an Annux, a "King of Kings?" Jesus. The journey and the growth and the grief that we evolve through loving our enemies and receiving and surrendering ourselves to them to the finest and deepest depths of our soul.

Comments

[ibmiller.livejournal.com]

Very interesting post, and well made points! I tend to think that Gen tends to have elements that resonate with Christ, rather than being a Christ figure. Gen is, after all, petty and vain, as well as wise and compassionate. :)

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

Hm. *ponders this*

I think I agree with you, ibmiller, that Gen can be Christ-like when prompted by self-sacrificial love and mercy, while not being a straight-up Christ figure.

MWT brings depth and nuance to her created world by not only including religion (many authors don't even go that far) but having actual, living, breathing "gods walking the earth." But I've assumed she was inspired more by the gods and heroes in ancient Greek literature than anything else.

[ibmiller.livejournal.com]

Well, she's also inspired by many diverse authors, from Rosemary Sutcliffe to Diana Wynne Jones. I wouldn't be surprised if there was some types of Christian theology influencing her cosmology - for example, there's not a ton of "Gods seducing the mortals" legends that we've heard about, and Helen's statement about the gods being in control of history not because they force people to do things against their will, but because they know people so well they can weave everyone's free choices into a larger plan, feels very Augustinian to me (but it would, since I'm a Protestant Augustinian at heart. :) )

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

Good points about her influences.

I hadn't thought of Sutcliff or Jones (I'm a fan of both) as coming from a specifically Christian worldview, though I've read autobiographies of both. (Re-reading your comment, I see that may not be what you were saying anyway.)

My worldview is similar to yours, but I'm cautious to impose it on the writing of another, where it may or may not be the author's intent. (I'm not debating it, just saying I honestly don't know.)

However, I've said before that, as a person of faith (whose name is, in fact, Faith... ha) I can and do appreciate Gen's statements about his own faith and his interactions with the gods of the QT universe... both humorous and sincere (and often both)!

As I admiringly said before, MWT infuses her books with uncommon depth and insight, and I love them more for it.

[readsintrees.livejournal.com]

Couldn't you then also say that Eugenides is an Horus-like figure? Or any number of other mythological characters from which the myth of Jesus and the other Abrahamic myths are derived?

[11rod88staff11.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your insights!
After having read the Maeve Chronicles (four books by Elizabeth Cunningham that are essentially the gospel as told by Mary Magdalene... -- not your typical idea of all things Christian-- this quadrad is most un-pious, full of profanity, and whores and perfection.. and it spoke to me on every level of my consciousness and unconsciousness.

So.... my idea of a Christ-figure is .... outrageously broad. (You should have seen what Jesus was really like.. lol).... dare I say apparently the real Jesus was a bit like Eugenides.

[readsintrees.livejournal.com]

To a hammer, everything looks like a nail. To a person of [insert religion] everything looks like it's influenced by [insert religion].

[an-english-girl.livejournal.com]

Ian, Faith, I think you've pretty much said everything I wanted to for me!
~Helen
[finally logged in!]

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

:) <3

[ibmiller.livejournal.com]

\o/

[ibmiller.livejournal.com]

(No, wasn't trying to comment on Sutcliffe or Jones's beliefs, sorry if I wrote it ambiguously.)

I don't mean to impose my own model of the world on Attolia - but that comment really resonates with my own beliefs, so that's why I mentioned it. :)

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

I gotcha, and I think we're in agreement. :) And isn't resonance and relatability a goodly portion of what endears a character to the reader? Certainly so, for me.

[ibmiller.livejournal.com]

I completely agree. Why would we read about people for whom we felt nothing? :)

Cut?

[(Anonymous)]

This is a very long post. Perhaps you could pop a cut in after the first paragraph, so one post doesn't take up quite so much of the main page?
Thanks,
~Vicky

Re: Cut?

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Good idea, Vicky. 11rod88staff11 , here are the directions on how to place an LJ cut: http://www.livejournal.com/support/faq/75.html

Re: Cut?

[11rod88staff11.livejournal.com]

Thank you~ I wasn't aware of how to do this. I tried once at work but failed. I will try this again after work today.

Thieves of Eddis don't have breaking points

[(Anonymous)]

I love Gen and how MWT sets him up as wired in such a different way. Most human can withstand pressure for a period of time or amount combined power the pressure puts on you so you have to counterbalance to remain "standing" until you break/crack which is viewed as falling apart or falling inward. That you lose the essence of yourself at that point, shattered.

Heroes instead come to that point and release the counterbalance power outward into action in inspirational and creative ways... outside the box. they take steps into a higher level of action/experience/awareness that leads worlds/cultures and nations to another level of importance/existence that would be inconceivable before the pressure/event took place. A turning point of magnitude for everyone in its wake. i.e. flashpoints, an outward trajectory.

Gen in spite of himself and because he does not want or view himself as King or Ruler material, is actually built by MWT/the gods to be able to be the Hero and save the Region from the evilness of the Medes. He sees things that other cannot or fail to (the softness of Irene, the strength of Sounis), that power is not the only way to win/succeed and ultimately he is motivated by his love for these people PLUS no reverence for rules.... So I can't wait for his flashpoint (brilliance and MWT writing) when all he loves Eddis, Irene, Sounis are backed into a corner by the Medes.... and the King of Kings shows up!!!!!!