So if being a victim of Despite can lead one to in turn be a victimizer (cue the Tool video) and "It boots nothing to avoid his snares..." then what hope is there?
Answer: Don'tbe a victim. (third question down) Who succeeds at this and who does not I can't say, though it doesn't look good for Linden at the beginning of this chapter.
"From the Depths" Ok, so now I'll monotonously go over the meaning of this title. First, the literal. This chapter starts with Linden emerging from Rivenrock specifically and Melenkurion Skyweir, generally, the latter being the deepest, most potent source of Earthpower in the land. I'm not a visually-oriented person, so I couldn't say that the heart of Melenkurion Skyweir is physically deeper than say, the banes buried beneath Gravin Threndor. Thematically, though, I'd say the former is deeper when it comes to the true essence of the Land. And what does it say about the Land that such things are both found deep beneath it? If we personify the Land, I'd say that our greatest strengths and the darkest, evilest parts of us come from deep within.
Now, the metaphorical. I couldn't shake the feeling that this was a biblical reference, and after a bit of search I found Psalm 130 - "Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord." If it helps, 'from' and 'out of' are the same word in Hebrew - 'm'. I wouldn't say that this is definitely the source of the chapter's name, but it's a good starting point. Why from the depths? According to scripture, the proper location to pray is from a low place. This could symbolize humility or the abject position those who would pray for deliverance would find themselves. No one seeks redemptions from the heights, I think.
So it is only from the depths of despair that we can be saved. Or to quote Chuck Palahniuk, '"It's only after you've lost everything," Tyler says, "that you're free to do anything." And I use this not just as a Fight Club fanboy, but for the first half's similarity to another quote I'm sure you can all remember.
At the beginning of the chapter, Linden's hitting rock bottom. We know Donaldson's trying to hammer this in with such lines as the second sentence:
And I have to wonder if this is as much of a description of Linden as it is the environment:The trees here had fallen into shadow, and with the loss of the sun, the air had grown cold enough to bite into her bereaved throat and lungs. Winter held sway over the Deep...
Damage was done to her by Roger and Jeremiah, and she has done damage to Melenkurion Skyweir and perhaps herself. And if Donaldson didn't want us to think she was damaged, I don't think he'd repeatedly mention her wounded hand (considering how such a wound goes against the nature of her profession and would also seem to imply that she is diminished as a result. how much good is a healer with a sliced-up hand?). I also believe Donaldson is giving a bit of foreshadowing here by saying, basically, that Linden is doomed to "stumble[] through the wreckage until she found her way out of the world of ruin."...the roots of the Skyweir no longer trembled. The watercourse was nearly empty now. Deep springs slowly filled the spaces which she had formed under the peak.
So, she continues to stumble her way along. But we're also supposed to know that she has been transformed (which I believe was the name of a chapter here recently), having gone through her own kind of caamora. "...some essential part of her had been extinguished, burned away by battles which surpassed her strength. She was no longer the woman who had endured Roger's cruelties for Jeremiah's sake." Throughout the rest of the chapter Donaldson compares her to granite, which is hard and formed deep beneath the earth by magma, possibly under great pressure.
Yet she appears to want to die. Not entirely surprising, since where else is there to go when you've hit bottom? But of course she can't do it, so she thinks maybe Wildwood will do it for her.
The Staff of Law also appears to be a reflection of Linden Avery. Like her, it has been heavily exerted and is now a charred-looking black (internally speaking, of course), curiously described as "fuligin." As a Gene Wolfe fan, this word jumped out at me. It's the color the Torturers Guild in the Book of the New Sun wear, and it is described as darker than black or true black. It's not a word that you'd be able to find in the dictionary, though in a very Donaldsonian way is derived from 'fuliginous' which means 'sooty.' I've seen a lot of props given to Donaldson by other authors, but it's cool to see him paying a bit of homage to an author I'm incredibly fond of.
As she walks towards Garroting Deep, she replays in her mind all the hints she should've picked up on. The Ranyhyn warning her, Esmer, the Mahdoubt, the things said and unsaid by the Theomach. Basically, the same stuff I was yelling at her (except for the Ranyhyn, I didn't think back that far). Not that any of this makes her think of doing anything now, even while acknowledging that "the Land's tale was not done." Maybe she finds comfort in this and starts to get it together for a bit when she thinks that "While [Covenant's] spirit endured, she could refuse to believe that the Despiser would achieve victory" (well, we'll just have to see about that). Following that thought, she starts to believe that there might even be a way of saving Jeremiah.
Then she stumbles on the Mahdoubt who has a fire going. In Garroting Deep. After Linden's questions about why Roger and the croyel didn't kill her are twice ignored (priorities?), she finally tells her she should put the fire out. Ok, so the Mahdoubt's not really worried about it, saying, "...in her youth, such concnerns may perchance have vexed her, but her old bones have felt the full measure of years." Basically, "I'm too old to be worried by some mere Forestal garotting me." Of course, my answer to that is 'then maybe you're old enough to figure out that maybe that fire's not all that necessary.' But hey, we need to get Caerroil Wildwood here somehow, so...
For now, we just wait for it. Meanwhile, Linden has some soup and springwine while the Mahdoubt gets us all caught up on motive, like Velma telling us all why Roger was wearing the Covenant mask. They needed to get her away before she figured out what she was doing and got some real help, they're afraid of Anele, they wanted her to hand over the White Gold, and maybe she'd even knock over the Arch while she was at it. And they would've gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for... well, for Linden not being a complete sucker, I guess.
One bit I did find interesting was the Mahdoubt's line "Such errant evil craves its own preservation more than it desires the ruin of Life and Time." Have I missed the part where the Arch being broken doesn't pretty much kill everyone but Lord Foul, who gets to escape his prison? I assume there's an escape plan of some sort, but... It made sense for Foul to want to bring down the arch, but considering Roger went through a lot of work to get here and the croyel isn't suicidal...
Anyway, the Mahdoubt says that Roger and Jeremiah's chief goal was probably just to hurt her. Why? Lot of trouble to go through just to be, well, dicks on an epic scale. No, I think this refers back to the name of the section. Despite the Mahdoubt's claim that they wanted her to either hand over the ring or knock over the arch by the confluence of forces (we know that's not going to happen less than halfway through the Last Chronicles) required to oppose them, I doubt that they left entirely empty-handed. Snares upon snares, I say.
Finally Wildwood shows up, though his song precedes him. It's a song with shape that can move among the leaves and branches, music that is light. And it coalesces to form Wildwood. This is the same impressive figure from The Illearth War, from the white robe right down to the gaze that can knock you down (I had a feeling it was a lot less literal in the First Chronicles). He doesn't appear to be as angry this time. It's almost like his asking the Mahdoubt about the fire is perfunctory. No 'what the hell you think you're doing?' but 'just making sure you're not burning the place down.' Then again, maybe it was Mhoram singing what was probably a bastardized version of his song that set him off. Since Wildwood can be and is everywhere throughout the forest... since he expresses his power by music and is perhaps in a fundamental sense an expression of Music....
In a response to a question I asked in the GI, Donaldson said:
So if by getting the song wrong Mhoram was incorrectly expressing Wildwood, well that's a bit more sensible than some music geek getting mad about you not getting the lyrics to Karma Police exactly right.And the truth here, as I see it, is that music is the most natural and appropriate way for the forests of the Land to express themselves.
As for seeing another Forestal in "The Last Chronicles": how is that actually possible? (No, don't tell me. I already know the answer.)
But I digress.
Is it just me, or is the Mahdoubt the most passive/aggressive character ever to grace the Chronicles? Sure, she talks to the "Great One" about respect and all that, but doesn't what she says boil down to "'Ey, we're walkin' here! Whatchu gonna do about it, tough guy? Figured it out, didja? Well, why don't we get down to business then."??"
I'd like to take a close look at Wildwood's words where he says:
This isn't the last time, I think, that Wildwood refers to an almost direct relationship with the Creator. Perhaps not exactly personal, but that he stands in his place. The Creator's lieutenant. Also of note (heh), is that a hold can also be defined as "The sustaining of a note longer than its indicated time value." And while she thinks that the mark he's referring to is her wounded hand, I'm not so sure. It would've been a good question for her to ask while she was standing around, anyway.I am the Land's Creator's hold... She wears the mark of fecundity and long grass. Also she has paid the price of woe. And the sigil of the Land's need has been placed upon her."
An interesting bit from the Mahdoubt:
She seems to be saying that the Mahdoubt is a more 'go with the flow' kind of Insequent, while others use what they've learned to do it 'their way.' I wonder if this has much to do with her being the only female Insequent we've met so far.But she has acquired neither wisdom nor knowledge adequate to contest that which appears needful. Others do so, to their cost. The Mahdoubt does not.
Come to find out, Troy wasn't the only person Wildwood did a solid for, and getting something in return is part of the deal. But since Linden didn't ask for anything, all he asks is that Linden try to find an answer for his question - "How may life endure in the Land, if the Forestals fail and perish, as the must, and naught remains to ward its most vulnerable treasures. We were formed to stand sas guardians in the Creator's stead. Must it transpire that beauty and truth shall pass utterly when we are gone?"
When she agrees to find an answer, Wildwood floats the staff over to himself. Of the staff he says, "This blackness is lamentable... but I will not alter it. Its import lies beyond my ken." Mine too, but I wonder if it has something to do with Vain. He then proceeds to add the missing runes to the staff, burning them in with music. The runes are described as "sequacious and acute" (as opposed to insequent-ial?). The staff is now complete, and perhaps significantly, perhaps not, Linden's hand is healed.
Wildwood leaves (heh?), his song being called a "threnody" (first appearing in LFB around the Rite of Spring, IIRC). Linden Avery finds herself uplifted from the depths she had been in previously.
Ok, so this getting a bit long. I know it's almost over, but I'm going to leave off here for tonight and pick it back up tomorrow. If anyone wants to wrap it up, they're welcome, as the bulk of my interest in this chapter left with the Forestal. I'm also not too happy with the rest of it for reasons that I'll go into tomorrow.
) Not for everyone but I could reread that series 1,000 times.
Sorry that things kinda fell flat for you after Wildwood's departure, but I think this is one of the greatest chapters in all the Chronicles. It's so serene after the chaos and fury of Melenkurion Skyweir. The pace is perfect, allowing us (and Linden) to recover our wits. A thought: maybe Linden, in her present state, is what High Lord Elena would've resembled had she survived her own ordeal at Skyweir. Exhausted and numb, deadened in spirit.
Sorry for the delay. I'll pick up where I left off. Thank you for the kind words so far.
) ... And what did the first person do? "Here, have some cloth. Now save me."
The Mahdoubt says,