another question from QoA

[missmoonbeam]

i have to say again, you guys are truly awesome. really enjoyed reading all the answers in the last post.

before i move on to KoA, i have one more question from QoA. sorry, SPOILERS below (someone please tell me how to do that link thing, please).

it says in the book that:

"Politically the loss of Eugenides's service was severe. ....But Attolia hadn

Comments

[claire_mirkwood]

Woo! As it so happens, I love this topic

[ninedaysaqueen]

Well, said. Truth is, the amputation was devastating for Gen in that he not only lost his hand but his purpose in life. Or so it seems... Till he remembers that a thief's greatest weapon is his mind. At first, I think he feels like he might as well be dead as be a useless one-handed thief.

[elle_winters]

yup!

[missmoonbeam]

true, only i guess she underestimated how much the eddisians loved gen. they were willing to fight a war over his hand after all.

[ninedaysaqueen]

LJ-Cut instructions.

Mostly what Claire said, but I think guilt is another reason when it comes to Helen. She's the one who sent him there even when he told her it wouldn't be a great idea. She'll have to live with that for the rest of her life.

[claire_mirkwood]

Ooh, I hadn't thought of that. Good point!

[missmoonbeam]

thanks for the lj-cut instructions :D

wouldnt eddis have been just as guilty or even more if he had actually died?

[ninedaysaqueen]

Your welcome! :)

True, but as everyone else said, if she didn't have to see Gen everyday suffering in front of her, it would not be a guilt she lived with everyday. And would probably be no worse than the guilt she bore from sending her cousins to die in the war.

[freenarnian]

Other possible "levels":

This could foreshadow the complicated hurting it would cause Eddis when Gen's loyalties transferred from her to Attolia.

Also, did Eddis have any notion of Gen's feelings for Attolia at that point, of his leaving her tokens and such...? Imagine how awful THAT would feel. Knowing Gen loved Attolia, and had been so very hurt by her in return.

[elle_winters]

Hmm...I don't think she did, but they do argue about her. He does say she's within her right and Eddis says she's not. She might have sensed something was up, I can imagine that Gen would have wanted to tell her too, he did say he dreamed of her only to have Eddis say they've heard him scream.

[keestone]

I believe she knew he was fascinated with her but didn't understand why. (Of course, that's probably at least partially true for Gen himself, as well.)

[beth_shulman]

THAT ICON. I LOVE IT.

I definitely don't think she knew. Even toward the end of QoA, when she told him they could have a treaty without the marriage and he refused, I don't think she fully realized.

[keestone]

In addition to what everyone else has said, there's also the question of a clean death vs. torture that he might well not have survived. And, at least in Gen's mind, the question of being whole in the afterlife.

[drashizu]

I would agree with you---living is better than dead---but if she had killed Gen, Eddis would have mourned and moved on. Sending him home handless, however, forces her to watch him struggle through his pain, both physical and emotional, for years afterward as he tries to continue with his life, without the ability he really needs to be the Thief anymore. It's just a testament to Gen's adaptability and endurance that he managed to overcome the loss of his hand and yet still be the Thief he needed to be, despite the new handicap. Even if it was only long enough to destroy Sounis's navy, kidnap Attolia, make himself her country's king :)