The Sunbane as moral allegory

[ÐragonForever]

I'll probably find this one discussed before too if I look hard enough. Oh well. *shrugs*

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Earthpower is the essential force in everything under Creation. When the Earthpower was corrupted, the Sunbane arose, pervading life and infesting all with its ill, thereby furthering its own growth via the Clave. In the end, when faced with its absorption by the Sun-Sage, the Sunbane began to tear up the very earth, shredding the host that it had permeated throughout in a mindless paroxysm of frustrated instinct.

In the real world, what do we have?

One could draw a parallel between Earthpower and mankind's inherent social instincts. Society which is corrupted by moral degradation (pick whichever ills you think are worst - drugs, sexual abuse, capitalism...) which lies in its very bones, a degradation which is on its own increasing downward spiral. And when faced with its absorption by a greater force, might it not similarly start to violently destroy its host?

{ this space reserved for your opinions }

[I'm Murrin]

I understand what you are saying here, but the Sunbane didn't begin to tear the Land apart because it was going to be destroyed - The only part that was being destroyed was the Andelainian Hills, in the shock of going from the essence of health and beauty to being under a two-day Sunbane.

[ÐragonForever]

Fair enough, it can be adapted. The destruction is the implosion of the last bastion of (moral) purity, as it finally succumbs to the dominating force of corruption.

[duchess of malfi]

Yes, I think your allegory works.

To me the most disturbing change in the Land between the first and second chronicles is the change in the people. They have gone from servants of the Land, selfless people who try to always do what is right to -- well, they're not that way anymore, are they by the time the TWL takes place? They've changed from people who swore an Oath of Peace into people who will sacrifice their kids and their own mothers...

With a bit more thought, your allegory can probably be tied into this, too.

[Lord Mhoram]

Hmmm interesting theory, However, I dont think anything in the Land is allegory. One could choose to look at it that way, though.

[Ryzel]

If the Sunbane is to be seen as a moral allegory, should not the entire land be seen as one? I think it might be.

[Lord Mhoram]

If the Sunbane is to be seen as a moral allegory, should not the entire land be seen as one? I think it might be.

I agree that jf the Sunbane were moral allegory then the entire Land would be allegory...but I don't think that any of the Land is allegory. Didn't Donaldson say specifically that the Land wasn't allegory?

[Guest]

I guess the question kind of depends on your definition of allegory. Allegory doesn't necessarily mean a one-to-one ratio of meaning/significance like there is in (the often-used example) Animal Farm. A kind of general defintion is a form of extended metaphor, in which characters, actions, and objects are equated with meanings outside the actual narrative, but some critics/definitions don't insist there has to be a strict one-to-one ratio of meaning (for example, that the horse Boxer in Animal Farm = the Russian proletariat), that instead there can be kind of "layers" of meaning that are more nebulous, but it always seems to come back to that something else entirely, outside the narrative, is being referred to. Anyway, enough of the English class flashback.

In my humble, first-thought opinion, I don't think the Chronicles as a whole are an allegory. It doesn't specifically relate to an altrenate meaning in enough of a sustained way for me. I just figured they were more like typical literature, a fictional way of examining moral/ethical questions--metaphorical to a degree, but not quite allegorical. Probably for there to be allegory, the author has to be consciously creating one...though that doesn't mean readers can't use allegory as a way of interpreting something (such as people deciding to say that the creation story in Genesis represents God setting off the Big Bang, each of the seven days representing millions of years, etc.).

Anyway, one might be able to say, though, that Thomas Covenant begins the First Chronicles thinking the Land is a kind of allegory, that what's going on in the Land is a mirror of his psyche. Certainly he thinks it's a representation or manefestation of his psyche, but to call the Land Covenant's personal allegory is not entirely correct, because allegory is a literary mode and/or gene, not a real-life psychological phenomenon. He is using the "this-represents-this" kind of thought process though.

On a different note, allegory essentially means that when a text says one thing, it means another, so it means/signifies two different things at once, which is paradoxical, which is an idea Donaldson seems to like very much. I don't think that has any further significance, but I just like the idea of finding paradox, since it's a concept that I've always found pleasing in any form. <g>

[[Syl]]

Great insight. Fist and I name you Wordbrother until you deem to reveal your true identity.

[duchess of malfi]

that was a wonderful post, Guest. I hope you stick around and someday let us know what to call you.

[danlo]

good god guest! U almost sound like SRD! (checking out this "Quick Reply" thing 4 the 1st time...) On an "environmental" level I've always seen the Land as allegory, as far as the Sunbane is concerned-just take out blood and insert money, or better yet, oil...

[Lord Mhoram]

I don't see anything in the Chronicles as allegorical.

[danlo]

Oh the C. S. Lewis xpert! Isn't everything he writes allegory?:) well u r just 2 serious 2 judge allegory. rn/t u?

[Ryzel]

I have not really seen the Land as an allegory either. I think the story would have a different feel if it were, like an ill-fitting glove to use an allegory or something like it.

[fightingmyinstincts]

I always thought it was allegory or something very like it...Maybe not allegory, but TCTC makes you get right down and examine your views on EVERYTHING. It makes you realise all sorts of things about human nature and your own nature. The layers of these books...! Every rereading brings out something new for me...to read it as just a story, like Dragonlance or any of the works I view as "lesser", I don't think I would care about TCTC that much, if it were "just" fiction...Just some of the concepts of pain and humiliation brought forth in the chrons, and the Land, and some of the stories within the story, like the one TC tells at the Rhadamaerl rockgardens and Findail's tell of Kastenassen and Pitchwife's story, this isn't just fiction.

[duchess of malfi]

Very well put, My Lady. I am also always finding new things in these books. They are wonderful, aren't they?

[Lord Mhoram]

Danlo! I see allegory in CSL, but not any of SRD's works that I have read.

[Ryzel]

Maybe we would be best served by taking Donaldson's word for it and assuming it is not. But still there are several interpretations that one might apply that is similar to allegory, if not actually it.

[W.B.]

Thanks for the kind words and welcome. I am very bad with internet nicknames and don't have one, so I'll just glom onto Wordbrother for the moment, since everyone else here seems to have a nickname, too (though actually I'm a sister, so maybe just W.B.? ).

On an "environmental" level I've always seen the Land as allegory, as far as the Sunbane is concerned-just take out blood and insert money, or better yet, oil...

Certainly at the moment (stifling political complaints)! Seems like a lot of fantasy has an environmental ethic embedded in it. One of the things I like about Tolkien is that forests and trees and their existence and protection are important. And the Ents are great. In Donaldson I saw the whole concept of the peoples' service to the Land as having environmental overtones, whether intentional on Donaldson's part or not. The Lords, and the other inhabitants, too, are devoted to reviving the Land after the Ritual of Desecration, and "service" keeps coming up throughout. They're making decisions based on the good of the Land. I don't quite see it as allegorical, though...more as a theme.

[Lord Mhoram]

Well put, WB! I agree!