Read the previous entry in the series here. Read the next entry in the series here.
And happy Valentine’s / Singles Awareness Day / Monday to you!
The penultimate chapter of the novel, “Negotiations,” opens with an in-milieu proverb: “One man armed with the right word may do what an army of swordsmen cannot.” It proceeds thence to continued discussions between the Old Blood delegation and Kettricken’s court. Web suggests that much might be eased by Kettricken taking Old Blood people openly into her household, and he offers himself as one such–doing so with remarkable grace and to evident acceptance.
The Old Blood masking up hits differently now… Image via Healthline.com, used for commentary.
Fitz watches as the Old Blood delegation dines, sans Web, and continues watching afterward as negotiations begin to stall out. Boyo tries to bring up personal grievances and is shunted aside in favor of more global concerns. Silvereye voices historical grievances and calls for extensive retributive justice, only to be rebuffed. Matters degrade, only to be interrupted by one of the Old Blood needing to attend to her gravid Wit-bonded animal. Fitz continues to observe from hiding, joined by Chade; they watch as Silvereye reveals herself to be affiliated with the Piebalds. Civil Bresinga joins the meeting, confessing himself and pleading on the Farseers’ behalf; his testimony sways opinion, and the meeting with the Old Blood delegation ends with far better prospects than it began. Civil discloses his Wit to the court, and legal reforms are proclaimed. The delegates are returned to their people, Dutiful returned, and things seem very much improved.
I note Fitz’s assertion that Web “sounded more like a Jhaampe Wise-man settling a dispute than a spokesman for the Old Blood” early in the chapter, and I delight in having more parallels between the Old Blood and the Mountain Kingdom. It’s a pleasure to see more evidence to support an idea I have, of course–although, again, a targeted reading would be needed to see if the notion can be borne out.
For those reading along with my little series–thank you! I’m glad to know that folks are looking at what I write here, and I’m happier to know that it’s doing some folks some good (I’ve gotten a few messages to that end). It may not be much, but if I’ve made your day a little better, then it’s worth doing.
Read the previous entry in the series here. Read the next entry in the series here.
The next chapter, “Convocation,” begins with an excerpt from an in-milieu fairy tale before turning to the emergence of spring at Buckkeep, Fitz glossing his experiences in advance of the planned meeting with the Old Blood delegation. From his position in the Queen’s Guard, he watches with some interest as plans shift, to the disapproval of both the Guard commander–Marshcroft–and Chade, and Laurel assumes a position among the departing company.
Wait, you mean he’s not one of these? Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
The group rides out and is met on the road by the Old Blood delegation, who confront them before they arrive at the agreed-upon location out of an abundance of caution. Kettricken surprises all again when she offers to leave Dutiful in the care of the Old Blood while she hosts their embassy; through the Skill, Dutiful notes that he had been unaware of the arrangement, though he understands it. He eschews guards other than Laurel despite protests, and he Skills to Fitz to let him know that he is not to pursue, either. Emissaries are exchanged, the Old Blood presenting Web, who serves as as much of a leader as they have. And Web makes a point of talking to Fitz, to his unease, as the Queen and her entourage return to Buckkeep.
The arrival of the party, sans Dutiful, at Buckkeep occasions concern and tumult. Web continues to attend more closely to Fitz than comforts him as the Old Blood embassy is billeted. When, at last, he is able to excuse himself, he keeps an ear on gossip and reports as he eats among the other guards; afterward, he navigates the hidden corridors to Chade’s secret chambers and the Queen’s council room. Fitz arrives to find an argument between Kettricken and Chade in progress. Kettricken gets the better of it and gives Fitz his assignment. He attends to it, spying on the Old Blood delegation, at which Chade joins him at length. They learn of some agitators among the delegation–Boyo and Silvereye–and Skilled conversation with Dutiful notes that he is being treated decently.
After, as Fitz makes for the guardroom for a late meal as Badgerlock, Web runs into and accompanies him. Conversation moves from strained to spirited and engaged as Web plies the guard for tales. Fitz muses that his presence seems to be doing the diplomatic efforts good.
I’ve noted elsewhere the interesting social structures at work in the Elderlings novels. The Six Duchies operate in many respects as a stereotypical “feudal” court, following common patterns of structure and intrigue (per my thesis). The Outislands follow another, more nuanced social structure (per this chapter), and the Mountain Kingdom follows yet another (noted here and elsewhere). I’m not alone in making such observations–obviously, really. With the description of Web in the present chapter as someone who is not a ruler, but an advising counselor, I find myself wondering if the Old Blood in the Six Duchies and the Mountain Kingdom operate along similar social rules. I’d have to do a dedicated rereading to be certain–and the gloss that I’m doing presently is not the kind of targeted investigation I mean–but there are some evocative parallels. Web’s status is one, while Kettricken’s Wittedness (noted here and elsewhere) is another; there are clearly Old Blood in the Mountain Kingdom, among others. Again, it’s a tantalizing implication, one that might be worth following up on–later.
I’ll note that what follows is adapted, lightly, from some old Canvas notes from back when I had students. Perhaps some will find this useful…
Critical thinking–and the reading and writing that proceed from and influence it–demands that the sources used to create arguments be interrogated and assessed. That is, they should not be accepted blindly for what they say, but should be made to account for themselves and their utility. How they are assessed will depend, of course, on how they are to be used–and the same source can be used for different purposes in different situations. What follows offers a few reasonably basic observations about the matter.
Subjects of interrogation… Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Types of Sources
One way of classifying sources is in terms of their proximity to what is being discussed. One system for such classification breaks sources into three grades of proximity: primary, secondary, and tertiary/critical.
Primary Sources
Primary sources are the things being discussed. For a paper talking about Malory’s Sir Kay, for example, the primary source would be Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur. For a paper talking about Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, the movie itself would be the primary source. For one talking about legislation meant to determine curricular standards, the text of the proposed law would be the primary source. And any number of other examples could be found.
Primary sourcing is vital to research, of course; it is the thing being studied, about which new knowledge is being made. As such, it must always be included in the work being done–although it should not be accepted blindly as correct. The questions that apply most especially to secondary sources, discussed below, also apply to primary sources, if not so much; secondary sources can be rejected, but primary sources must be grappled with.
Secondary Sources
Secondary sources are those things that discuss the primary sources. Published studies of those sources are the most common examples, as Sayers (2007) would be for Sir Kay, for example.
Secondary sourcing is also important to research, although, as the name implies, not to the extent of primary sourcing; as noted above, any individual secondary source may be accepted for inclusion in a piece of research or rejected from it. If accepted, a secondary source will typically be used
To provide context in which the argument is to be made (i.e., “Many others have studied such phenomena. For example, Author (Date) asserts that Æ. Additionally, Other Author (Date) notes that Д);
To bolster the claims made about the primary source (i.e., “Author (Date) agrees, noting Þ”);
To provide a counter-claim against which argument can be made (i.e., “Not all agree. For example, Author (Date) contends that Ƿ”), also called a counter-argument;
Or to rebut such a counter-claim (i.e., “Author’s (Date) work is not agreed upon. For example, Other Author (Date) contends Ȝ”), also called a rebuttal.
That is, secondary sourcing need not agree with the claim the research means to support; there are other, entirely legitimate reasons to include it within the structure of the argument. Context is helpful to situate understanding, independent of other concerns, and counter-argument helps develop ethos by demonstrating not only broader understanding of the current state of knowledge in the field (needed if the research is to generate new knowledge), but also to bear out the notion that the writer has considered other alternatives. Rebuttal then becomes necessary to clear out cognitive space in which to construct the argument.
Tertiary/Critical Sources
Just as it is not the case that all sources in a piece of research must agree upon the central claim being made, it is not the case that all sources referenced bear in directly upon the question addressed in the research. For example, secondary sources can be deployed that treat similar topics to that being handled in the individual piece of research, facilitating argument by analogy. More to the point, however, some works that are referenced serve as guideposts for that research, outlining approaches to take and philosophical stances from which to take them. Such works can be referred to as tertiary or critical sources.
An example of such a piece for Malory’s Sir Kay might be found in Fredal (2011). His piece does not directly engage with Kay, or with Arthuriana at all, but it does offer a useful rubric of measurement–and that rubric might then be applied to how Kay acts in Malory. (I did this, in fact, at a 2016 conference.)
One of the things that tertiary sourcing does is help writers to contextualize their work within the greater gathering of human knowledge–and that is a vitally important concern, one that helps to mark out a writer as a serious scholar or on the way to becoming one. It also helps readers to understand the work more fully, which is a good thing, as well as to develop ethos further by demonstrating again a broader consideration on the writer’s part.
Yeah, I had a lot to say about this guy… Image is “Sir Kay breaketh his sword at ye Tournament”from Howard Pyle’s 1903 The Story of King Arthur and His Knights via Wikipedia, here, and I’m given to understand it counts as public domain.
Questions to Ask of Sources
Whatever the type of source, though, it should not be accepted uncritically. That is, it should have questions asked of it that go beyond “What is it saying?” and “How is it saying it?” Such questions get at the biases in the source–and there are always biases in the source–as well as its limitations, both of which are needed to understand how and if a source should be used. Many of them inhere in the environment of writing in which the piece being assessed exists–as described in other lecture notes.
An initial list of such questions, broken down by those involved in the production of the text, might look like this:
Writer
What ethos does the writer have? That is, what authority does the writer have to write about the topic being discussed?
How open about that ethos–and its limits–is the writer? That is, does the writer announce what authority is possessed, as well as where that authority ends?
What else has the writer written, and how reliable is it generally? A history of useful work makes the individual piece being examined more likely to be useful.
With whom is the writer associated, financially and personally? That is, who pays the writer, or whom does the writer value, and therefore who might have an ideological bias that influences the writer’s work?
Publisher
What ethos does the publisher have? That is, what authority does the publisher have to release materials about the topic being discussed?
How open about that ethos–and its limits–is the publisher? That is, does the publisher announce what authority is possessed, as well as where that authority ends?
What else has the publisher released, and how reliable is it generally? A history of useful work makes the individual piece being examined more likely to be useful.
With whom is the publisher associated, financially and otherwise? That is, who pays the publisher, or whom does the publisher value, and therefore who might have an ideological bias that influences the publisher’s work?
What editorial practices are in place? Also, what peer-review practices, if any, are in place? That is, how does the publisher go about assessing work under consideration for publication, and how is the decision made about whether or not to publish it?
Similar questions might well be asked of other major participants in the written environment, such as translators and other gatekeeper readers. They will have biases and influences upon them, and those will necessarily translate into the work in some way.
One other concern needs attention, as well: timeliness. That is, how appropriate is the time of the source being discussed to the topic and the context of discussion? Generally, more recent sources will be more useful than older ones, in that more recent sources have had more opportunity to emerge from the best available information. That said, a certain amount of time for fact-checking needs to happen (which scholarly work typically includes as part of the extended publication cycle). Also, a piece working with earlier attitudes toward a given topic will benefit from using older sources, largely as primary materials, but possibly in other contexts, as well.
It must be noted, finally, that answering such questions satisfactorily only leads to a greater likelihood of accuracy–never total certainty. New information might always emerge that undermines what is known now. Too, as Edmundson (2009) notes, the work done is done by people, and people are prone to error, deliberate and incidental. But that same uncertainty means there is always more to learn, always more to do, and so that there is always use for the work of researchers at all levels and in all fields. And that is a hopeful thing, indeed.
Edmundson, M. (2009). Against readings. Profession, 56-65.
Fredal, J. (2011). Rhetoric and bullshit. College English, 73(3), 243-259.
Sayers, W. (2007). Kay the Seneschal, Tester of Men: The evolution from archaic function to medieval character. Bibliographical Bulletin of the International Arthurian Society, 59, 375-401.
Read the previous entry in the series here. Read the next entry in the series here.
The following chapter, “Connections,” opens with in-milieu commentary about the White Prophet and Catalyst from the perspective of the priesthood of Sa before turning to Fitz’s frantic Skilling to Chade. He meets with his old mentor, reporting his findings and concerns, the two connecting the Pale Woman to Elliania through Henja and conferring about steps to take as they move forward to address the challenges Dutiful and Elliania had presented to one another. Their talk ranges to Skilling before Chade informs Fitz that he will be “hired” into the Queen’s Guard so as to report on the coming meeting with the Old Blood delegation and secure Dutiful as he attends it.
Something like this at Fitz’s breast… From Hannah Hitchman, used for commentary
Skill lessons resume, if with some difficulties and missteps, and Fitz continues to recover from his near-death. He is accepted easily into the Queen’s Guard, guessing that others in it are clandestine agents, a well. Fitz improves his relationships with both Thick and Hap, but his relationship with the Fool grows more and more tenuous. For his part, Lord Golden begins to slide into dissolution. Fitz also muses over the arrival of Civil Bresinga at Buckkeep, and he confers with Dutiful about him before one of their Skill lessons, and during that lesson, Thick demonstrates the depth of his power in the magic. Chade uses the opportunity to summon Skilled ones to Buckkeep, and another voice makes itself heard to Fitz, though not the others.
One of the things in Hobb’s prose that sometimes grates is a tendency to rush things later in her novels. The present chapter is an example of it, with much glossed so as to make room for events that have to be put into the book before it concludes. This is not to say that much attention needed to be paid to the events that are glossed over, certainly, nor is it to say that I could do better. The latter is assuredly untrue; writing fiction is not among my skills (even if writing about it very much is!), though that does not mean I cannot comment on what seem to me to be lapses in excellent work. Loving a thing–and I think I’ve made it clear that I love reading Hobb’s writing–does not mean ignoring areas where it is not as strong. And what’s coming is an area of strength, so there’s that.
Read the previous entry in the series here. Read the next entry in the series here.
The succeeding chapter, “Revelations,” begins with an in-milieu discussion of body-sharing among the Witted and their animal partners. It moves thence to follow Fitz’s continued convalescence. As he recovers from his ordeals, he calls on Hap at his apprenticeship and on Jinna. The former regards him warmly, though briefly, as work calls. The latter effectively ends their friendship, unable to move past the loss of her ability to fit him into her tokenism.
Steven Youll’s cover art makes more sense…and is used here for commentary.
Tom returns to Buckkeep and makes for the practice courts, finding himself much reduced by his injuries and recovery. He takes his time answering a summons from Lord Golden, contemplating what he has missed out upon as things have changed around him. When, at length, he does find Golden again, he is informed that Chade had been who wanted to see him. He also shows Fitz his tattoos, discussing them as Fitz notes their similarity to the Narcheska’s; the Fool relates bitter personal history and raises the specter of the Pale Woman again. The Fool also discourses on events to come, noting having had to keep Fitz from dying and that death awaits him on Aslevjal.
I find it interesting that Hobb makes the Wit a more general metaphor for minority status in the present chapter via Jinna’s tokenistic regard for Tom Badgerlock. Fitz realizes that he had been regarded as “one of the good ones” by her, a phrase I know is all too familiar for all too many people; the one the book uses is that “She had been willing to make an exception for me, but when I killed, I had proved her rule,” as if many, many others, Witted or otherwise, do not kill in the Six Duchies and in the Buckkeep Town Jinna claims as her native home. Again, it’s not to be expected that every character in a novel will be a “good” one, nor is it to be expected that even a “good” character will be uniformly positive. Indeed, I’ve noted repeatedly that it’s part of the authenticity and verisimilitude of Hobb’s writing that her characters falter and fail.
As is no real surprise, I’ve spent a lot of time with my nose in a book, and I’ve spent a fair bit of that time with a pen or pencil in my hand, or with a keyboard in front of me, making notes about what I have in front of my nose and trying to make some sense of it–not only looking at what the words on the page are doing within themselves, but also at what they’re doing within the contexts in which they exist. What they use and how they use it, what it means that they do, and what wonders they contain…I spent a long time in search of such things, orienting a large part of my identity around that search. I had to, really; it was the only way to learn how to do it in the ways that it needs to be done, insofar as it does need to be done (I am well aware that many would argue the point–and I don’t blame them).
Not entirely unlike this, no… Photo by Oladimeji Ajegbile on Pexels.com
I do what I can to keep working with texts, of course, not only in my freelance work–which does give me appreciated opportunities to read things I wouldn’t’ve considered picking up otherwise–but also in this webspace and, on occasion, others. Still, there are many, many projects that I had conceived of doing while I was still a more “normal” participant in academe, ideas I had had for papers or monographs that I had intended to get around to addressing and just never did. And thoughts of them sometimes return to me, beckoning me all too invitingly.
Marvell comes to mind again, although I know not what coy mistress I address in considering putting together some paper on a series of writing commentaries in a major newspaper or plumbing an edition of a role-playing game for its textual import. Yet still I dream of such things, from time to time, and I wonder if it is, in fact, too late for me to follow such pursuits…before I turn again to the work at hand, for which I am paid and which I therefore very much need to do–such as that I might well do for you?
Read the previous entry in the series here. Read the next entry in the series here.
The next chapter, “Connections,” opens with an extended complaint from one of Chade’s agents on Aslevjal before the narrative returns again to Fitz convalescing. The shape of Fitz’s days is glossed, as are events at large in Buckkeep’s court, including garbled reports from Bingtown and further south. Fitz also considers the feathers he found on the beach while fleeing with Dutiful and again contemplates placing them in the Fool’s Rooster Crown.
One night, as he convalesces, Fitz is visited in his dreams by Nettle. She weeps over the strain between Burrich and Swift, not knowing its cause, as neither of them will speak of it. Fitz offers little comfort, and he finds little as he contemplates what Burrich might do to avoid repeating his “mistakes” with Fitz with his own son. After he wakes, he returns to Lord Golden’s suite, where he finds Hap pleading for access. Golden gives it and departs, leaving Hap to fret over Tom Badgerlock and report his folly with Svanja. Tom again offers little comfort, and he and Hap part amicably.
With Hap returning to his apprenticeship, Tom discusses the feathers with Golden, meeting with little interest or engagement. Shaken by the realization of how badly he has harmed their relationship, Fitz withdraws to Chade’s chambers and falls into a sleep from which he is wakened roughly by Dutiful, who has been guided to Chade’s hidden room by Thick. They confer, and Dutiful sends Thick off to fetch more food. While Thick is about the errand, Dutiful confronts Fitz with knowledge of his true identity, relating how he came by the knowledge. Fitz warns Dutiful of the implications and ramifications of the knowledge, the two reaching an accord as Thick returns with a large pie the three gleefully devour.
In the present chapter, Fitz opines on secrets that become so not because they are deliberately hidden, but because they are the answers to questions never asked, the results of assumptions made and never examined. I find myself reading affectively once again, wondering what I do not know because it never occurred to me that I ought to ask, contemplating what I will not tell my daughter for the same reasons. Part of why I keep a journal is so that she will have at least some of the answers in time to come, although I am aware that no words can bring in the whole of a thing.
Still, what I can leave, I do. It will never be enough, but nothing will be. And it will be something, at least.
Read the previous entry in the series here. Read the next entry in the series here.
The succeeding chapter, “Convalescence,” opens with an in-milieu note about the Witness Stones before turning to Fitz’s continued recovery from his assault and Skill-healing. Lord Golden continues to be concerned for his servant, and Tom Badgerlock accepts the ministrations grudgingly. Chade calls on him at length, and Fitz rails weakly as he presses for information about what had happened. Chade reluctantly reports how matters had led to Fitz’s release from prison, if circuitously, and Fitz accepts the necessity of having handled the situation he had occasioned thus.
During the course of their conversation, Fitz realizes Chade has used the Skill to heal himself, as well, and he cautions Chade against its misuse. The rebuke is not gentle, but Fitz does persuade Chade to avoid relying on Thick for strength in the Skill magic–though he does not agree to halt his own forays, and departs before conversation can continue further.
The next several days pass with Fitz continuing to recover his strength and bodily reserves, slowly. When, at length, he makes to shave, he finds that the marks of old injuries are reduced or gone. The Fool opines that Chade had thought Fitz knew such Skill use and withheld the knowledge from him, and Fitz takes himself off to Chade’s hidden chambers. After sleeping heavily therein, he eats and studies materials left for him that confirm some of what he has suspected about Skill-healing, among others.
Fitz muses on Chade’s Skill-study within the social context of the Six Duchies. He determines again to shave, and Chade joins him after he does so. The two confer, and they work haltingly together to restore the appearance, at least, of some of Fitz’s injuries. They confer about them, as well, and about bodies more generally. Talk turns to Thick, and Fitz again urges Chade not to draw upon the younger man for strength. Chade agrees to study under Fitz’s tutelage, though his own studies will continue.
Consideration of Thick in the present chapter attracts my attention as I read it this time. I note that Chade, of all people, regards Thick as not so much broken as different:
Chade shook his head slowly. “‘Different’ is not ‘wrong,’ Fitz. Thick’s body recognizes itself as correct. His differences are no more to him than…well, here I am guessing, but I suspect that just as one man is tall and another is short, so it is with Thick. His body grew to some plan of its own. Thick is what he is. Perhaps we should just be grateful that we have him, even if he is different.”
Admittedly, Chade has tended to take a more pragmatic view throughout the series, adopting an almost Machiavellian attitude regarding the stability of the Six Duchies. Fitz’s Wit in the Farseer trilogy gives him much less pause than it does most others–even some who share facility with that magic. Even so, there are many ways in which he remains what might well be termed socially conservative within the milieu. And he is guilty of treating Thick as…less than earlier in the present series, with Fitz being the one to voice objection to his attitude. Yet here, Fitz takes the more ableist view, regarding Thick as deficient and needing correction.
But then, nobody gets everything right, certainly not on the first try, and the characters do seem to be learning, which is a good sign.
Inoted not too long ago that I’ve shifted over to freelance work. It’s going decently enough at the moment, and I’m enjoying it, but I’m happy to have additional clients. I’d be happy to put the skills and expertise I’ve developed through years of frequent presentation and occasional publication, decades of study and teaching, and a lifetime of reading and writing to work for you!
I’m easy to work with, I promise. Image is mine, severally.
I’ve got more than a decade of experience teaching college-level writing and literature classes, doing so at R1 and Big 12 universities as well as small colleges and technical schools. As a private tutor, I’ve worked with high-school students and higher-level scholars, helping them succeed at class assignments, preparation of application materials for schools and for the workforce, thesis and dissertation writing, monograph writing, and novel writing. Fields have ranged from general education to aerospace engineering, business, cybersecurity, language and literature, and psychology.
Read the previous entry in the series here. Read the next entry in the series here.
The following chapter, “Coterie,” begins with a comment from Fedwren about the political structure of the Six Duchies before turning to Fitz waking in captivity and in pain–again. Another prisoner attends to him, albeit roughly, and Fitz realizes he is one of Chade’s agents. He Skills with Dutiful, who reinforces the coded message Fitz’s fellow prisoner passes along. He is also briefed on his situation with local law enforcement–which is not good, as he is accused of multiple murders.
Fitz slips in and out of consciousness across the ensuing days, his condition worsening. The pretense for extricating Fitz from prison–he had killed in the course of defending himself and Lord Golden’s property–is rehearsed, as is Fitz’s relocation to Lord Golden’s chambers in Buckkeep Castle. Chade, the Fool, Dutiful, and Thick gather together to attempt to heal him via the Skill, failing initially but stumbling at length into an unexpected and extreme healing that addresses not only Fitz’s current injuries–which run to a punctured bowel and blood poisoning–but also a number of others he had incurred over the years.
In the wake of the healing, Fitz realizes that they have inadvertently formed a coterie–and a ragged, unbalanced one. He lapses into unconsciousness again, sleeping several days with few interruptions that he recalls. One is Kettricken tending to him, and they discuss the extent of his healing and her appreciation for his presence, who remembers what she has lost.
I’ll note that there is some deus ex machina at work in the present chapter, although some of it may well be foreshadowed by Kettle. And my comments about the device hold true now as then: it “is not a reason to take on a particular literary atheism.” Agnosticism, perhaps, but not straight-out atheism.
The healing, too, does seem to function as something of a literary climax, although the novel has already featured such. Admittedly, there are multiple narrative threads going on in the novel, in the series, and in the broader corpus; the restoration of the Skill to the Six Duchies could well be taken as such a thread, independent of the political entanglements of the nation-state or the coming-of-age narratives surrounding Dutiful and Elliania. I might someday perhaps work on a larger scholarly project that untangles and interprets such things, or I might only annotate the work someone else does in that line, but I think it might be a thing worth pursuing…
Elliott RWI 