Page numbers reference the Vince Natale pk edition.
1. ACOK is obviously a parallel to to KOA as we watch Sophos and Gen, respectively, take the path to kingship. It's really interesting how much they have in common (neither wants to be king; both are scholars to the extent possible, with an interest in poetry, plays, and history; both have fathers whose ambitions for them do not match their own; neither has the approval of the court in his own country; neither is a great horseman; etc.), however, given the scene in which Attolia gives Sophos her advice about how to secure his throne and points out that his situation is much more like hers was than either Eddis' or Gen's, I wonder to what extent Sophos is a hint of what Attolia's character was like before her father and brothers were murdered and she had to fight for her throne and don her mask.
In QOA, she says to Relius, "Lo, the transforming power of love." and in ACOK, Sophos thinks to himself, "Lo, the power of poetry," (pg. 46) which makes for an interesting parallel between the two characters. Coincidence?
2. On pg. 52 Sophos describes the view to the North out of the window of the Library where he meets his tutor in his dreams. It's a view of Mountains, so one presumes the Hephestial Mountains of the gods. However, the description and Sophos's sense of longing for such perfection put me in mind of C.S. Lewis and his concept of Northerness "understood as a creaturely longing for eternity." Is this a deliberate allusion to Lewis, an unconscious influence, or coincidence based on the fact that Eddis is north of Attolia?
3. Animal comparisons. In TT, Gen describes himself as the "dancing bear" in Eddis's court, while the Magus calls him a viper. In ACOK, Sophos is variously described as a lamb, a lion, and a bunny. Lion and lamb are very Biblical, but bunny not so much. Is that intended as a comparison of who Sophos is intended to be (as seen by the gods) vs. how he sees himself? Someday I need to do a reading and track all the animal references.
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Observations
Date: 6/18/23 08:19 pm (UTC)1. ACOK is obviously a parallel to to KOA as we watch Sophos and Gen, respectively, take the path to kingship. It's really interesting how much they have in common (neither wants to be king; both are scholars to the extent possible, with an interest in poetry, plays, and history; both have fathers whose ambitions for them do not match their own; neither has the approval of the court in his own country; neither is a great horseman; etc.), however, given the scene in which Attolia gives Sophos her advice about how to secure his throne and points out that his situation is much more like hers was than either Eddis' or Gen's, I wonder to what extent Sophos is a hint of what Attolia's character was like before her father and brothers were murdered and she had to fight for her throne and don her mask.
In QOA, she says to Relius, "Lo, the transforming power of love." and in ACOK, Sophos thinks to himself, "Lo, the power of poetry," (pg. 46) which makes for an interesting parallel between the two characters. Coincidence?
2. On pg. 52 Sophos describes the view to the North out of the window of the Library where he meets his tutor in his dreams. It's a view of Mountains, so one presumes the Hephestial Mountains of the gods. However, the description and Sophos's sense of longing for such perfection put me in mind of C.S. Lewis and his concept of Northerness "understood as a creaturely longing for eternity." Is this a deliberate allusion to Lewis, an unconscious influence, or coincidence based on the fact that Eddis is north of Attolia?
3. Animal comparisons. In TT, Gen describes himself as the "dancing bear" in Eddis's court, while the Magus calls him a viper. In ACOK, Sophos is variously described as a lamb, a lion, and a bunny. Lion and lamb are very Biblical, but bunny not so much. Is that intended as a comparison of who Sophos is intended to be (as seen by the gods) vs. how he sees himself? Someday I need to do a reading and track all the animal references.