Eugenides's Mother, "The Queen Thief"

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Does anyone wonder just what Eugenides's mother was really like? I ache with curiosity about her and a little bit of disbelief. While I know the QT Universes are not intended to be historically accurate, being a female professional thief seems a very unlikely position to have even in the comparatively progressive country of Eddis at the time. With the ways that women were oppressed and reduced to being swathed in stifling velvets and made to spin and weave and gossip all day in Attolia, denied lessons in swimming, fighting and riding (although Irene eventually got the riding lessons) it seems comparatively radical that a woman could rise to master a complex professional skill of thieving to the point that Gen's mother did to become known as the Queen Thief (not to be confused with the Queen's Thief, although I'm not exactly sure what the differences are precisely). Maybe it's another nod toward the obviously borderline criminal, informality of the "profession."



Maybe I'm not fully appreciating the extent that the cultures of Eddis and Attolia differ, even though they share a language (but differ in dialect). Eddis, aka "The Ranch" (as someone coined it) seems to be significantly more liberal in allowing women and girls to have the same practicality and survival-oriented experiences of boys and men. Eddis learned to ride, hunt, was trained in swordsmanship from a very young age, learned to fight her own battles, buzzed her hair, wore trousers more than dresses, and the country additionally bore at least one female thief who earned the title of "Queen Thief." Even more, Eddis's female attendants were all armed with their own weapons in CofK indicating that it wasn't just the special circumstances of two individuals at work here.

Do you have any thoughts on MWT's portrayal of Eddisian society as less intent on subjugating women than Attolian society?

I've lived 13 years in Boulder, Colorado in the U.S. there are a lot of distinct mountain communities close by and I can safely say that living in the mountains definitely influences cultural norms-- the harshness of the land bends its citizens away from frivolity.

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I think Gen's mom was "Queen Thief" because her father was still alive and was the official "Queen's Thief." My impression was that she died first, otherwise she would have become the Queen's Thief upon her father's death. Seems like women can and do inherit that position, since Attolia (or someone?) mentions that one of Gen's sisters could take his place.

My impression, too, is that royal women in Eddis were trained in survival skills for that reason you mention, that mountain life is tough and their society was not based on all the luxuries that the royals in Attolia, and probably Sounis, had. We don't know that Attolia's attendants don't carry weapons, along with their embroidery. After all, Irene carries three knives and sleeps with a pistol!

And, just as not everyone needs to be throwing inkpots, I can't see Attolia wishing to buzz her hair, etc. Maybe she did. She does get to ride and hunt, now, at least. But, it's having the choice that's important. Attolia didn't have it and Eddis did. Those stifling velvets sound awful.