In which I actually talk about the Matter of Chicago
and I don't mean just apologizing for not having written more yet
( Story discussion, some problems I have with the story, and what it means to me as a writer )
( Story discussion, some problems I have with the story, and what it means to me as a writer )
The Dresdenverse has a lot of issues with power and consent. I think this is very natural result of the power balance inherent in magic (some have it, some don't). Magical beings in the Dresdenverse are governed primarily by rule of force, not rule of law. So a warlock is put to death because s/he threatened the White Council's power, not because their crimes were inherently wrong (to wit, the Council does not prosecute wizards who murder without using magic).
Perhaps also as a consequence of their longevity most of the powerful beings also have a very medieval mindset. Since most of our ideas about consent and healthy relationships have only very recently gained currency, powerful magical beings see no reason not to enforce their will over others.
The interesting thing about MoC Marcone is that he doesn't really fit; he's a vanilla mortal, yet wields power like a magical being; he has no problem breaking laws or buying someone's soul, yet there are some lines he's unwilling to cross. I think in a way he's trying to impose upon Chicago a system wherein ordinary people are (relatively) protected, as they are in the real world under a decent government. But because the Dresdenverse is based upon the rule of force, he can't really gain that power in a way we would consider legitimate.
It's an interesting moral dilemma, and I think he goes way too far in letting the end justify the means, but I also think that Marcone and Harry are the perfect perspectives through which to explore these issues. I'm sorry, I know this whole comment is kind of disjointed.
Anyway, I think that w/ regards to some people not liking certain aspects of the story, all you can really do is put up a warning at the beginning. If you warn properly and people choose to ignore the warning, that's really not something you should be blaming yourself for. I don't think the story is inherently flawed; I think you do a fantastic job of exploring issues of power imbalance and morality and consent.
Let me give you an example: in MoC2, when Harry is leaving John, and John uses Harry's Name, and then lets Harry go anyway. I thought that did a good job of showing that, yes, there is a major power imbalance in this relationship, and that is an issue, and you're not pretending it isn't, but on the other hand that's not all there is to this relationship, and John, especially, is figuring out that just because he can force Harry to stay with him doesn't mean he should, and Harry is figuring out that just because John has this power over him, doesn't mean he will use it, and that maybe John has less power over him than he thought, and yet there's still the sense that John is letting Harry go, that Harry is only free because John allows it; and this one scene shows all of that wonderfully. I don't know exactly how to articulate this; what I'm trying to say is you deal with these issues really well, you don't ignore them but neither do you just let the power imbalance stay static; it's shifting, being tested, being changed. These are not shiny happy people, but they are people doing the best they can in a really messed up world.
In conclusion (how did I write this much I don't even) I very much hope that you will finish this trilogy, though I understand if you can't, and I want to assure you that when you deal with these sorts of issues, there will always be people who have a problem with it, but you really can't fix that without removing the issues that make the story so great; all you can do is warn so that people who have issues about power issues can make an informed decision about whether to read it; this story might not be for everyone, but there are a lot of us who love it.
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Ugh. Sorry. Rant. I hate the Council.
Hahaha. The person is question who killed my muse-- something happened a few days ago. Her opinion no longer matters in the slightest. The least said about that wankfest the better though.
eeeeeeeeeee. I'm so glad you mentioned that scene in MoC2. HELLO, MISSION STATEMENT SCENE. Yeah, I was made aware of the extent of the unequal relationship about halfway through MoC1, and thus the rest of the series is now basically about that inequality and how it evolves over time. And it will evolve, believe me. There's another shoe to drop in about.... two or three chapters, I think. I'm very excited about it. /gleeeeee
I think it was this comment that inspired me to add a thematic/trigger warning for the A03 copy of MoC. Hopefully anyone who reads it from now on will have a better idea of what they are getting into.
Thank you for your thoughts!
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The White Council has always really bothered me too; it's not so much that it exists, because I can understand how it would come into existence and perpetuate itself, as the fact that it's not considered evil!
It's like, there are two worlds, the magical and the mundane, and the mundane world is supposed to be governed by laws and democracy, but the magical world just isn't. Like the way Harry (in the earlier books) tries to solve Murphy's magical cases without telling her anything (the implication is that anything magical can only be solved by the application of magical force, not mundane law).
And even though it's true that mere mortals don't really have the capability to arrest magicals, it's not so much the situation as that no one does anything about it.
It's just considered normal and OK that laws don't apply to magic people. That they can do whatever they want if they have enough power.
And Marcone is "bad" because he's a mundane, so this doesn't apply to him; but I think in the later books, where he's becoming more the "Baron," he's starting to take on more of the characteristics of a magical (even though he has no magic) in that he has enough power to break mundane laws and get away with it and the fact that he's a "Baron" legitimizes it--even though the process of becoming a Freeholding Lord is totally illegitimate and the majority of his "subjects" don't even know he is their Lord!
In this fic you really do acknowledge how messed up that is, and sort of explore the implications. I'm really eager to find out what's going to happen in a few chapters. Obviously John is going to be very upset that Harry went by himself into such a dangerous place, which will be compounded by worry because Harry actually got hurt. I can see how this would bring up the issues!
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