Linna Heartlistener wrote:Great analysis, Stave B.!
Stave Bannerson wrote:She was a magnetic character, but without doubt her story was one of great tragedy...
...being raised by two people possessed by obsessions relating to the same man...
Absolutely.
Her charisma was so powerful... sometimes stronger than the wisdom she had to "back it up."
And the whole thing about the people who raised her... goodness. I often think about how strange it would be to grow up with a mother obsessed the way Lena was. It left Elena both with less of a mother, and a fascination with the same figure who held her mother's attention.
Stave Bannerson wrote:So, she grew up experiencing ranges of emotions, experiences and ambitions that would have been rare for anyone in the Land with her...
Hmm. Now that you mention this, I'm not sure if I've thought about how this would isolate her very much.
And so much pressure that goes with such privileges.
And more pressure with the potential for greatness.
If one has such a great capacity to influence others as she did... great will be the pressure to
not fail them.
And if one has such a great capacity to perceive and enjoy beauty as she did... great will be the fear of loss
when it is threatened...
I think even the best things in her life - though great gifts - also contributed to the strain... the extremity of her situation.
Edit: edited to add more stuff in the beginning saying, "yeah, I was thinking the same thing!"
Thanks Linna!
And you're right, there would have been immense pressure on her to succeed, but I'm not entirely certain she felt it as we might think.
That first description of Elena tells us so much about her. She wore her stonedownor robes with her family pattern, so she loves home. It's a place of fondness for her, so her childhood wasn't without love.
She has a strong face, with evidence of sternness and discipline, so she didn't rise to her position without merit or hardship. She worked for it.
Her features speak of the experience of responsibility and commitment, so she has borne her position well, and there doesn't appear to be any indication that this responsibility has been burdensome.
But there are two things of particular note in this first meeting: her shy smile, and the disunitive focus of her eyes.
Her shy smile, despite her position and authority, indicates a kind of girlish nervousness. It's because she's meeting her father for the first time. She's not severe with him, or angry, but shy and polite. She's not afraid of him, so Triock's anger didn't implant itself into her so much as her mother's insane love for him.
But it's her eyes that are most telling. In TPTP, we meet someone else with this kind of unfocused gaze, Lena, her mother. But, whereas Lena's inner gaze was always on Covenant, Elena's gaze is not. He's standing right before her, and she's still seeing something else.
I have always interpreted this to be ambition, a desire for power the likes of which were attained by the Old Lords. Remember, she's the daughter of one of the most powerful figures of legend and prophecy. It shouldn't be a surprise to see her seek to attain to the heights of power and greatness of such parentage. Perhaps this is the reason she falls in love with her own father. It isn't because she actually loves him, the person, but rather he is a man of unimaginable power and homage, and that is what really attracts her.
And that's what her mental imbalance is. It isn't being overly passionate, nor is it over-emotionality, these things would make her an ineffective leader. She's not an ineffective leader, and the Lords who elected her High Lord knew that. It's her ambition, her desire to gain knowledge and power. This may be driven by a desire to serve and protect the Land, or it may be a personal persuit, either way, I think this is what the Lords saw in her, and interpreted it to be their best chance for success, power against power.
I think one of her greatest frustrations was the inability to master High Lord Kevin's Lore, and his seven Wards. Strikingly, Covenant evokes the kind of power Elena desires without though, or intention, or desire, and is even the catalyst for opening some of Kevin's Wards by accident, a feat the Lords were unable to accomplish afters years of feverish study and attempt.
The Power of Command represented the greatest source of power that might ever be available to Elena, it's no surprise that she lost all reason when faced with the zenith of her life's desire. The madness we glimpse when she is faced with the POC is this unbalanced ambition tipped past its breaking point.
We know she was powerful, equipped with the Staff of Law, she fought with High Lord Kevin for longer than any other Lord could have in her position, against a Lord whose power none had even come close to since his Ritual of Desecration.
I really don't think she felt the keenness of the pressures that were put on her. Rather, I think she thrived in them.