There was rain in the middle of the afternoon that Did more than tamp down the dust of summer days that Gathered amid the heat of staring at Helios too long while Aestas danced her dance again and Theros strutted about unclad and Auxo and Damia were upstage and marking whose eyes followed them
Shocking, I know. Photo by Johannes Plenio on Pexels.com
The gutters filled and street-sides flowed Asphalt made to mirror the lights passing by and The hanging curtains from on high as Thunder rumbled that was not just the semis streaking past Jake complaining despite being told to shut his mouth Every drop is dear, every one praised as a gift
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Read the previous entry in the serieshere. Read the next entry in the serieshere.
Following a journal entry that references Fitz’s first encounters with Chade, Verity, and Burrich, and his recognition of the Fool as more than he seemed, “The Tutor” begins with Fitz’s recognition of FitzVigilant’s arrival amid the commotion surrounding the renovation of Withywoods. Fitz assesses the new scribe as the latter formally presents himself, and he issues directives concerning Lant’s billeting. He also assigns the new scribe the task of teaching the youth of the estate, which is accepted after a moment’s hesitation.
A bit advanced, perhaps, but the right kind of thing… Image from Social Science Space, here, used for commentary
While Lant is seen to, Fitz rifles through his belongings. While he finds no evidence of assassin’s craft, he is surprised at the effete nature of Lant’s belongings and, pleasantly, at the quality of teaching materials he has brought with him. Fitz reconsiders his expectations of Lant, returns things to their previous arrangement, and makes to confer with Bee about him.
I note in the present chapter something of a reiteration of Hobb’s disdain for men indulging in finery. I’ve noted it here, here, and here, among others, particularly in the context of reinforcing stereotypes about homosexuality; I recall, also, that Regal is repeatedly described as attending closely to sartorial matters, far more than the “good” characters in the texts are apt to do (with the exception of the Fool, but the Fool frustrates a lot of analysis). I’ve seen others comment on it before, and I both acknowledge that the idea is not of my own devising and apologize that I did not take the appropriate notes to be able to reference it later when I encountered it before. But that I am not taking credit for the idea does not mean I am not able to point out when it seems to me to be reinforced once again, and that reinforcement remains a point of vexation for me with regards to Hobb’s writing. There is so much in it that is so very well done, and to see this thing that does seem reductivist and stereotypical being employed yet again…chafes. (Too, while I know that biographical criticism is fraught, and it is inappropriate to ascribe to the author the views or perspectives espoused by any one character, it does become more of a question when such a view is evinced among many characters across a milieu and cultures within it, as is the case with the present subject.)
I find the presentation particularly odd in the present chapter, focused as it is on a scribe. Hobb places substantial importance on writing in her works, for reasons that are entirely understandable (as I’ve suggested before); it’s only sensible that a writer would espouse the value of writing. The juxtaposition of a character in a profession that the milieu typically values and an overriding trope of disdain seems…odd to my reading. I’m not sure what to make of it at this point; I suppose this will be yet another of the many, many things I’ll address in my scholarly someday…
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It would appear to be a time of year once again that I mark, year after year after year after year. In general, my sympathies and inclinations regarding the topic of work have not changed, even if my professional situation has varied across that time and to this. After all, I am once again management, even as I do maintain a small income stream from freelancing (and you could help with that; I write for hire, with no AI plagiarism or hallucinations involved), having changed jobs since last time I waxed verbose on the subject of labor and the US holiday that acknowledges it (in that most distinctly US of ways: sales and reliance on low-paid work that is decidedly not low-skilled when done well). I do not have a large crew working under me, and I do what I can for that crew, although I am somewhat limited by circumstance and structure in what that “can” extends to, but that does not mean I am unaware of the surrounding situations and circumstances, nor yet that I am unsympathetic to them.
Looks like a hot time… Photo by Kateryna Babaieva on Pexels.com
I continue to acknowledge the need for work and the nobility of the same, and I continue to believe that it ought to be compensated in such a way as to ensure that those who are diligent about it need not worry that they will lack the resources needed to continue to do that work. I know that not all are in the situations I occupy, that they do not have the same levels of investment or interest in the endeavors I do, and I do not expect them to act as if they have them when they do not. I have refused to, certainly, and I think correctly; I can hardly hold others in scorn for doing what I believe is right for me to do.
I do not buy into the narrative that “nobody wants to work anymore,” at least not in those terms. I do not think it is the case that a higher percentage of people do not want to work now than did previously; having the training that I do, it seems to me that people remain the people they have been in a great many parts of their lived, and it defies reason that they would be different in regards to regard for work when they clearly are not in so many other ways. I do think that it is the case that many believe there is little point to working when they do not see the benefits to themselves of doing the work, and I do think that many are applying to themselves and the saleable commodity of their labor the same logic I’ve seen applied to many things, that it’s better to receive no income from a given asset or resource than to sell it for less than they want to get for it.
If working won’t pay the bills, why go to the trouble of it any more than renting a storefront for less than the tax due on it? And how many of those who complain of “excessive salary demands” are content to let spaces sit empty on main streets in towns like the one where I live or the one where I grew up? Why is the reasoning any worse for the one than for the other?
If it is the case that the response to “You don’t like the job?” is either “Start your own business” or “Train up for a better one,” why would there be so much griping about taking the time to do either or both of those things–which will necessarily mean there’s less available labor to answer any given help wanted ad?
(This leaves aside the issue of the number of help wanted ads that are lies in one form or another. They’re out there, and in greater numbers than should be–which isn’t hard, since the number as “should be” is zero. But that’s going to require more discussion than I’m willing to engage in at the moment and in this little bit of webspace.)
It’s a fine thing and a good thing to set aside a day to honor what deserves to be honored, and honest labor, individually or in association, deserves to be honored. It is a finer thing and a better one, though, to act throughout the rest of the year as if the thing deserving honor is actually honored. In many things, such an ideal is not achieved, but that it is not in many things does not mean it is right for any of them.
As ever, many need to do better than they do. I do not exempt myself from this, certainly; there is likely more I could do, even within the constraints under which I operate. I do not necessarily recognize them, and I would likely balk at some of them; like many people, I am somewhat greedy, somewhat grasping, and somewhat inclined to see to my own comforts over the needs of others. I am human, after all, despite the protestations of some folks I have known. (If nothing else, some bloodwork I had done has proven it.) But I am able, at least, to recognize that I am and have been in the wrong, and I am able to take at least some steps to work towards being in the right–not for the acclaim of doing so, but because that work needs to be done.
This is the day to note the value of work, isn’t it?
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Elliott RWI 