Notes On Edumacation
This is a problem I haven't exactly had to deal with before in RP. Most of my characters grew up in environments where there's comparatively little room for variation (though they, by no means, fell quite into the norms in terms of lifestyle): Europe in the 1970s-1980s, 19th century China and England. The cultural backdrops against which they were raised were pre-constructed for me. Jubilations! How convenient!
Except now I have to actually try and reconcile my understanding of a character and what I know about her from canon with absolutely minimal --uh, let's call it "framework"-- to help me reason things out. So how, in Midna's case, do I do that? In this piece in particular, exactly how does a funny little serving girl become queen of an entire country of black sheep?
For personal reference on education/knowledge/etc:
Years of Education: 5 or 6 years of casual education in the basics, about 7 more in higher-level subjects, then 2-3 more for the finishing touches after it was decided that she was to succeed the throne. Total 14-16 years.
Subjects Studied:
- First five years:
+ Reading
+ Writing (basic word formation/spelling)
+ Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division (basic-- she can't do long division comfortably, but rarely needs to)
(As said, casual education. Not a main concern of her life at that point, most things picked up sporadically and done in her spare time.)
- Second seven years:
+ Writing (style and content; grammar-inclusive)
+ History
+ Etiquette
+ Philosophy
+ Magic use (the basics)
+ Magic theory*
+ Dancing
+ Logic
+ Literature
+ Classical languages (familiarized with Ancient Hylian-- a dead language, but really only used in prayer service)
(Learned formally as part of training to serve in court as an advisor. Advisorship began about 5 years in.)
*Not standard curriculum, but added to hers when she showed a whole lot of promise.
- Last 2-3 years:
+ Music (took up the lute at the king's/tutors' insistence)
+ Embroidery
+ Political theory
+ Yet more etiquette
+ Lots of familiarizing with the job
(All done as something like "refinement" education. Music and embroidery meant to "enrich her character" and "improve her public image".)
It should be noted that war strategy, fencing, or any of the martial aspects of late medieval/Renaissance education among the nobility are not included on this list. Why? Renunciation. Don't think that's possible? Just look at article 9.)
Excelled At:
- Reading
- Writing
- Literature
- Basic mathematics
- Magic use and theory
Struggled With:
- History
- Etiquette
- Embroidery (massively so)
- Philosophy
((Safe to say, she falls well into the artsier side of things. She likes music, poetry, literature, drama. The closest thing the Twili have to opera, she adores.
It's no surprise then, that as her own personal emblem, she's chosen a spider. (In the game, when she uses the Fused Shadows, she turns into a giant-glowy-spider-thing-in-a-helmet, and playing off that, it sort of works.) Spiders as symbols tend to stand for quite a lot, including creation, femininity, artistry, deception, and more. See the links for reference. Oh, and just because it's nifty, check it out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Princesse ))
As for where all this fits into canon, we're going to count backwards on a crude timeline:
-0 years: Zant's Revolt and the Twilight Invasion
-1 years: Death of the king/Interregnum
-2 years: Zant finds a new god
-3 years: Appointment of Midna as Twilight Princess
-5 years: Appointment of Midna to court advisory
-8 years: Appointment of Zant to court advisory
-14 years: Twilight King gives Midna her name
-15(ish) years: Twilight King meets a little girl with no name
And that's it for today. I'm out! Class dismissed!
Information on education taken from this page and from everything I learned in the first half of AP European History. Who says history class doesn't have its uses? :D