Elena and Covenant

[IrrationalSanity]

There have been a couple threads recently - One on Elena, and one on Covenant - considering their mental and physical states leading up to their "encounter". I wrote this initially as a reply in the Covenant thread, but it really focused more on Elena's side, so I decided to create a new thread that bridged the two subjects.

Consider that - to the people of the land - Covenant is effectively a god. He is Berek re-manifest. He is the Avatar of White Gold - the foundation of the world. Like many "gods" in our own history, he is not without fault, but that does not keep those who believe in him from worshiping and following and serving.

Atiaran guides him to Revelstone and shows him the beauty of Andelain and the wonder of the Wraiths - despite her knowledge of his rape of Lena. She burns with pain, hatred, and yes, despair, but she does what she sees as her duty. For gods are also known to require sacrifice.

Unlike Lena and Atiaran, Elena now believes she knows the sacrifice this particular god requires. She worships the Half-hand, and since he is a god, the normal rules of lineage need not apply. As High Lord, she is also the High Priestess of her faith, and one of her roles is to await the return of her god and serve him in any way she can. She has prepared, and preserved herself, to become the Land’s gift to him. To become the sacrifice; and the fulfillment of his needs as she sees them.

Yet she does not see his needs clearly. The role of god is not one Covenant is prepared to play. Heck, he isn't even sure the land is real, let alone that he has any real power. He is flawed, and he is all to aware of his flaws. Elena is preserved in more ways than one, and her manifest desire for him is not lost on Covenant. His flaws entice him to respond, yet he strives to overcome them. Real or unreal, he does not want people sacrificing themselves for him.

When he does not accept Elena's gift, she is thrice rebuffed. In the land, the acceptance of a gift returns honor to the giver. His refusal instead rips that honor away – a rape as severe as any he inflicted upon Lena. In addition, she is rebuffed as a woman and as sacrifice to her god. The purpose and focus of her life is ground into the dirt. Finally, she seeks solace in the Meld, and Covenant again refuses her – her offer of this most intimate of psychological sharing is turned aside.

Even if she wasn’t already a little unstable, can there be any wonder that she was finally driven totally over the edge?

[safetyjedi]

I agree with you in part, but I don't think the people of the land see Covenant as a god, more like the chosen one, a reincarnation of the land's mightiest hero. I know Matrixman, our Neo-Classicist will love the connection to Neo. Aside from that I think the people of the land worship only that, the land. Elena might have simply had the twisted desire to carry on Covenant's lineage.

[matrixman]

I agree with you, IrrationalSanity. Eloquently said!

(Heh, safetyjedi posted while I was typing mine...Neo connection, eh? Interesting. )

I should probably state my bias here. I've always been a fan of Elena, so I'm naturally defensive concerning her character.

[safetyjedi]

thought you would like that!!!!!!!!!

[IrrationalSanity]

Thanks, Matrixman. In some ways, I think I have fallen in love with most of SRD's female characters at one time or another.

To SaftyJedi: Covenant is much more than a "chosen one". Such a one would be born of the land, and be a creature of Earthpower. Covenant is from outside. From another plane of existence. He is more than Berek, a land native who saw and embraced the Earthpower, rather Covenant is Power personified - he is Wild Magic. He is the white gold, as Morham says. While his ring provides focus and form, the power itself is within him. How can they see him as anything else? How can he not be a god in their eyes?

[safetyjedi]

I hereby bow to your superior logic and wisdom! They did at first see him as another Berek but in time the lords did see him as more than just that!!!!

[matrixman]

Thinking further about what IrrationalSanity said, I have to wonder whether the general population of the Land (as opposed to the Council of Lords) actually saw Covenant as its saviour, or simply as a person of importance. While the people of the Land may be of an innocent spirit, they also seem like fairly well-grounded folk to me. Yes, they may recognize the significance of a half-handed stranger in their midst, but wouldn't their practical nature prevent them from automatically worshipping Covenant as their saviour, or as some kind of god walking upon the Earth? Maybe they just think, "He must be important because of his likeness to Berek, but what that resemblance truly signifies we do not know, because we lack the lore to understand him."

Trell, for one, certainly doesn't seem to perceive Covenant as a "chosen one" or a god when they first meet. And Triock was not blindly following Covenant either. Of course, Trell and Triock may not be representative of "typical" citizens of the Land. But, after all, it was only a few people such as Atiaran who was aware of the true significance of Covenant and his white gold ring. And maybe it's only the few completely naive souls like Lena who totally believed Covenant was divine.

[IrrationalSanity]

Good points, and there is something to be said for the element of belief. I think how Covenant was percieved has a great deal to do with both how much of his power was seen, and how well the person knew him.

If Joy is in the ears that hear, Belief is in the eyes that see. Lena saw Covenant "fight with a cloud". Atiaran and Trell both saw the truth in her story, but each interpreted it differently. Atiaran accepted Lena's vision, but Trell's first reaction was to ask "Who was victorious?" As a man of power himself, and one who we ultimately learn is capable of desecration, he knew full well that great power is not always associated with great good.

[Edelaith]

Nice analysis, IrrationalSanity. Sounds plausible to me.

I have nothing to add. Elena is a mystery to me. She has confounded me since I first read the Chronicles back in the 1980s. (I sure wish I had an hour with Stephen Donaldson to discuss her!)

[CovenantJr]

Some good points in here. I'll mull on them for a while and see if I have something to add.

[lurch]

..Elena is the product of rape. Elena could therefore be seen as " shame".
Shame doesn't survive by itself. Shame has to have a co-dependent. Thomas Convenant needed to overcome his " shame". As much as he flirted with his " shame"..he finally came to the realization of what " shame" does to one. Shame had to die. Tragic as protrayed, yet inevitable and necessary for Thomas to move on, and be able to make the right decisions when face to face with Lord, Oh I Remember What You Did Last Summer.....imhoa...MEL

[safetyjedi]

I have also thought that Covenant's rape of Lena could in fact be a rape of the land he didn't believe in, and the reaction to that horrible deed manifested itself in Elena. Anyway, just a thought...

[Cytaen]

Aside from the morality/immorality/social mores issue, may I suggest the following?

In many real world systems of spirituality/"magic" the build-up and non release of sexual energy is reputed to enhance one's power. Not celibacy per se, though by many accounts it too is a path to greater personal power, but the active build-up of sexual tension which is not released.

As examples I offer: Enochian magic, Druidic magic and Tantric sex. I'm sure there are more examples.of which I'm uninformed. Mahatma Ghandi was said to have often slept with women in his bed as a test of self-discipline.

Therefore, Covenant's refusal of Elena was another test of his self-discipline and if you lend any credence to my point, an (in-)action which increased his own power. I'm not suggesting that his conscious goal was to be more powerful, but that the power increase was an unlooked for side effect of his staunch self discipline.

I had never before considered the Elena as Priestess/ Holy Prostitute analogy before. The Priestess's offering of herself to Enkidu (sp?) was a pivotal, integral moment in the epic of Gilgamesh.

[Avatar]

Cytaen, glad to see you've started participating. And with a post like that, let me be the first to direct you to The Close, a forum for religious, spiritual and philosophical discussions, and The Think-Tank, a forum for political, social and legal ones. Both can be found if you click the link to The Collective from the main index.

I suspect that you'll enjoy them, and I hope to see you there soon.

--Avatar

[Warmark]

Avatar, you are turning into the Recrutement officer for the Close.

[Cytaen]

Thank you for the invitation, I will put it on my short list of destinations. However, I am dividing my scant liesure time between these boards and my first read of ROTE. One might guess that it's not a contest, but I am so pleased to have found these thoughtful discussions that I've put the book down several times to peruse these boards.

[matrixman]

Avatar, you are turning into the Recrutement officer for the Close.

Yeah, sneaky guy, isn't he?

Clearly, I should begin my own recruitment drive for the Star Wars/Star Trek forum.

By the way, Cytaen, welcome to the Watch!

Therefore, Covenant's refusal of Elena was another test of his self-discipline and if you lend any credence to my point, an (in-)action which increased his own power.

Yes, it's an interesting point. It would certainly take a lot of discipline to be able to refuse someone like Elena, given her charisma.

[theDespiser]

yeah, that's one of the points I was trying to make...or at least, would have ended up trying to make, anyway...


of course, this should be in the other thread...

[wayfriend]

Therefore, Covenant's refusal of Elena was another test of his self-discipline and if you lend any credence to my point, an (in-)action which increased his own power.

Yes, it's an interesting point. It would certainly take a lot of discipline to be able to refuse someone like Elena, given her charisma.

Test of self-discipline? Yes. Increases his power? I don't see how. TC's refusals seem to be grounded in his emerging realization of his fatherhood. Elena, meanwhile, is trying to ignore and suppress anything resembling daughterhood.

I've always felt that TC's 'doing the right thing' here, regardless of his other mistakes, as a hint of the final TC to emerge at the end of TPTP. It's as if, by refusing Elena, he discovers a capacity in himself to make caring and responsible choices.