In which Linden bargains with fate after a brief interesting discourse by Covenant, the value of which remains to be seen.
Upon seeing the healing done by the Wraiths on Covenant, Linden continues to feel guilt regarding her action of bringing Covenant back to life. To her, he is not the man she once knew, and is certainly incapable of saving the world or Jeremiah. His mind is broken, thoughts continually percolating, he is unable to hold on to one idea long enough. This failure to bring back Covenant as she perceives him is what lays at the foundation of her present guilt.
An interesting perspective, one which the reader may disagree with. Covenant, to the reader, is about the same as he always was. He has his doubts, his passions, trust in his friends, and even his leprosy. The only thing problematic with him that may not have existed before is his shifting mind (though it could be argued that even this existed before, it just didn’t happen so quickly). Here, either the reader or Linden is wrong in her perception of what Covenant should be. Could be that both are incorrect and that Covenant should merely be Covenant, to himself be true.Perhaps she could have suffered the awakening of the Worm if she had succeeded at reincarnating him as she remembered him. But her flagrant display of power had achieved something worse than failure.
Her companions notice her distress, and Liand attempts to both console and absolve her of her guilt. Liand may not know the source of Linden’s guilt, but his argument against it applies just the same. Essentially, Liand argues that Linden did not know that resurrecting Covenant would lead to the awakening of the Worm and as a result is innocent of that awakening. He then goes on to relate what has transpired with the skirmish with the skurj in Salva Gildebourne. In that fight, Liand explains that he attempted to summon rain with the orcrest and the Staff out of desperation. That there was success in this had little to do with Liand’s skill but rather through the support of outside aid (which included Linden). Recounting this, Liand proposes that the results of Linden’s recent actions may not lead to utter ruin, but that some other agent may be able to take the circumstances and derive hope and benefit from otherwise disastrous consequences.
Linden rejects this, saying that she “could have known. [She] just couldn’t let anything stop [her].” Linden was driven, above all else, to save Jeremiah. To that end, she had resurrected Covenant, ignoring the warnings of the Ranyhyn and the visions of the Land’s end she experienced when she was translated to the Land in The Runes of the Earth. As a result of acting passionately and without enough thought, she damaged the man she loved, doomed the Land, and was further from rescuing Jeremiah.
Not herself, not ever herself for all her failures in the Last Chronicles, and, it can be assumed, the failure to prevent Roger from kidnapping Joan and Jeremiah, from curing Joan of her madness, and from being able to reach Jeremiah. Indeed, to Linden, she has a lot to be guilty of.And she did not forgive.
At this point, Covenant gets up and begins to expound on the mythology of the land. There’s a lot he says, and the reader is not certain how much of it pertains to the actual narrative. I’m of the opinion that it is all meaningful in some way, due to the following quote from Covenant during this exposition:
Here, we have Covenant equating two opposites in the Chronicles mythos while at the same time contrasting them. This is a profound statement; made more so if it is applied to the Chronicles entire and not just the concepts of Creation and Despite. Everyone is the same, and everyone is different. To me, this means that Loric could have made the same mistake as Kevin, the same mistake as Elena. At the same moment, Trell could have been another Mhoram; Atairan a great High Lord. But they are not, though they all have the capacity to be the same and do the same terrible or wonderful things, they are different. Why is that? Later, Covenant says that:You could say Creation and Despite are the same thing, but they take such radically different forms they might as well be mysteries to each other. It’s all a paradox. It has to be.
All differences seem to be a difference of perception. Covenant, from his perception, views Linden as a powerful person who could do anything. From the Master’s perception, all Linden can achieve is Desecration. It is from these perceptions that people in the Chronicles act, and it is from these perceptions that their rise or fall come from.There are things the Despiser doesn’t understand. He can’t. No matter how clever he is. Like the Creator- like all of us – he has his blind side. Some things he just doesn’t see.
Despite all this, they are all the same... or rather, one could have just as easily failed where they succeeded or succeed where they fail. This is shone particularly, I believe, in the portrayal of Linden and Covenant in these first few chapters. They both have differences, and I don’t need to expound on them here. But look at what they have that is similar/the same:
• They both underestimate their abilities, even when everyone else around stands in awe of them.
• They both are ultimately more concerned with those closest to them than the fate of the “bigger world”.
• At the moment, both of their minds wander. In Covenant, we see it with how his memories travel back and forth through time, and how it is hard for him to focus on the present. This happens with Linden as well. Throughout her point of view, her narrative is interrupted by phrases in italics that belong to past conversations, past events.
Thus, though they are different, they are the same... and even though Linden has been a main character throughout this series, it can still be said to be The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.
Covenant also began speaking of Diassomer Mininderain. The reader will recall that Diassomer Mininderain is the name of the Creator’s ‘beloved’ in Clave mythology. She was imprisoned in the cursed Land due to her unfaithfulness to the Creator and affair with a-Jeroth of the Seven Hells (Lord Foul). Covenant claims these stories are true. That they refer to another eternal abstraction known as Love. That Love, like Despite, was trapped within the Arch of Time, but the consequences were different:
And, in an unsettling statement:Being trapped in Time is different for Love than it is for Despite... it outraged the Despiser, but it made Diassomer Mininderain insane.
Sound familiar? That’s because Linden almost uses those exact words to describe herself. Covenant is trying to warn Linden somehow, is trying to make her understand something... but he is limited by his own understanding, unstable mind, and Linden’s perception. Linden is the same as Diassomer though a different person. She can be a being of Love, or she can be a being of hate.None of this is her [Diassomer’s] fault. She just can’t forgive it.
This last part seems to imply that Diassomer is something more than a mythological symbol... that she may be a real entity. But Covenant is unable to clarify further, and this statement is set aside by Linden and company as devoid of meaning or context.Diassomer Mininderain feeds off anything that’s still capable of love...But that’s not all she does. She still hates.
And she’s involved in Kevin’s Dirt somehow.
Finally, Covenant responds to Linden’s inquiries about Jeremiah and whether his soul is owned by Lord Foul. Covenant response is touching and hopeful:
Perhaps heartened by these words, Linden tells Covenant:I did what I could without risking the Arch. Maybe it was enough. If it wasn’t, we’ll make it enough. That boy doesn’t deserve what’s happened to him. Hellfire, Linden, He was practically a toddler. I refuse to believe he made choices then that can’t be undone.
Listen to me, Linden. None of the love you lavished on your son was wasted. That isn’t even possible. Until we know more about what’s happened to him, just trust yourself.
The Harrow had previously told Linden that only he could give her what she wanted. Now, her other options exhausted, Linden turned around to bargain with fate.In that case, I should go finish talking to the Harrow.
Part 2 of this dissection to follow shortly.