Official Discussion Forum for the works of Stephen R. Donaldson
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shadowbinding shoe wrote:I chose Minick and his shy wife.
He made Terisa hurt her face from smiling so much. He never panicked during the Great Cat-astrophy like most everyone else, his wife is very sweet and only has trouble in big crowds. Minick won't push his children to become great but he won't repress their ambitions either, I feel. He and his wife will support them in whatever they choose to become and always provide a safe haven from the tumultuous outer world when necessary. (tldr?)
"I understand you spent the afternoon with Minick." Quiss was nearly shouting, but Terisa could hardly hear her. "The whole afternoon? Letting him show you around?"
Terisa nodded.
"Good for you. I knew I like you as soon as I saw you. He's your friend for life. Most people aren't willing to listen to him that long."
"They ought to give it a try." Terisa tried to speak loudly enough to be audible. "He's nice."
It was Quiss' turn to nod. "Fortunately, his nieces and nephews dote on him." She indicated the children at the other end of the room. "I mean, fortunately for them.
"If his wife weren't so shy, he'd be here tonight. I know it saddens him sometimes that he can't spend more time with us. But I think the poor woman panics every time she sets foot outside her house." Quiss started to laugh, but Terisa couldn't hear what her laughter sounded like through the noise. "They must have had a rousing courtship."
Terisa grinned again, then raised her hands to rub the muscles in her cheeks.
Pushing your kids into ambition is one way. Another is by example. Yet another is through unconditioned love. Love begets love and the wish to be worthy of it, to take care of those who did so much for you. But in the end, not everyone in Mordant needs to be a general or leader. A kid of those two might be an artist. (Tholden's will be farmers and expert fertilizers.)Cord Hurn wrote:Concerning Minick and his shy wife, I don't doubt that they would raise kids that would learn to take care of themselves, but perhaps they wouldn't instill much ambition in them to go out and tackle great challenges. I'm not sure they are capable of producing children that could be true leaders. Still, I admit that they would probably make quite loving parents. And I acknowledge that children can always conceive ambitions independent of their parents' ideals and examples.
It's nice to get such an everyday life depiction in the story. It's not just monsters and heroes battling one another. There's also room for a shy woman who struggle with her aversion of crowds."I understand you spent the afternoon with Minick." Quiss was nearly shouting, but Terisa could hardly hear her. "The whole afternoon? Letting him show you around?"
Terisa nodded.
"Good for you. I knew I like you as soon as I saw you. He's your friend for life. Most people aren't willing to listen to him that long."
"They ought to give it a try." Terisa tried to speak loudly enough to be audible. "He's nice."
It was Quiss' turn to nod. "Fortunately, his nieces and nephews dote on him." She indicated the children at the other end of the room. "I mean, fortunately for them.
"If his wife weren't so shy, he'd be here tonight. I know it saddens him sometimes that he can't spend more time with us. But I think the poor woman panics every time she sets foot outside her house." Quiss started to laugh, but Terisa couldn't hear what her laughter sounded like through the noise. "They must have had a rousing courtship."
Terisa grinned again, then raised her hands to rub the muscles in her cheeks.
Which, for me, just gives the story more emotional depth, making me care more about the story's outcome.shadowbinding shoe wrote:Pushing your kids into ambition is one way. Another is by example. Yet another is through unconditioned love. Love begets love and the wish to be worthy of it, to take care of those who did so much for you. But in the end, not everyone in Mordant needs to be a general or leader. A kid of those two might be an artist. (Tholden's will be farmers and expert fertilizers.)
It's nice to get such an everyday life depiction in the story. It's not just monsters and heroes battling one another. There's also room for a shy woman who struggle with her aversion of crowds."I understand you spent the afternoon with Minick." Quiss was nearly shouting, but Terisa could hardly hear her. "The whole afternoon? Letting him show you around?"
Terisa nodded.
"Good for you. I knew I like you as soon as I saw you. He's your friend for life. Most people aren't willing to listen to him that long."
"They ought to give it a try." Terisa tried to speak loudly enough to be audible. "He's nice."
It was Quiss' turn to nod. "Fortunately, his nieces and nephews dote on him." She indicated the children at the other end of the room. "I mean, fortunately for them.
"If his wife weren't so shy, he'd be here tonight. I know it saddens him sometimes that he can't spend more time with us. But I think the poor woman panics every time she sets foot outside her house." Quiss started to laugh, but Terisa couldn't hear what her laughter sounded like through the noise. "They must have had a rousing courtship."
Terisa grinned again, then raised her hands to rub the muscles in her cheeks.
Very true! There are a number of farmers in my family to attest to that being a challenge,Avatar wrote:And not everybody has to go out and tackle great challenges. Somebody has to grow the food and all that. (Which can actually be a great challenge all of its own too.)
--A