Rislyn Feruch wrote: > I think Cawti's problem is very similar to the problem the > revolutionaries have in general. They've become so involved in > fighting for their ideals that they've forgotten to pratice those > ideals. Not that tis is an unusual problem. This is certainly Vlad's perception at points in Teckla > Cawti was given, in fact was practically forced into, the oppertunity > to look at her life from a new perspective. She kept this a secret > from her husband, the person she should have talked about it with. She > changed and then expected him to have changed as well without giving > him the time and opertunity to look at things. She knew he's a > reactive being. He reacted to her change. She was upset at him for > it. There is at least one explicitly reported conversation in Teckla where Cawti attempts to explain to Vlad that she's been trying to tell him what's going on with her, and complains that he hasn't been listening. She gets mad at him for getting mad at her, for interfering with other people's lives, and for putting other people in danger in order to protect her. She does not need his protection. She can take care of herself. Recall that for the most part you have only heard Vlad's side of this story, except where Vlad has reported her words. Vlad is a dolt sometimes and has been known to ignore what people around him if it doesn't fit with his preconceptions (see Yendi for the prime example). [snip] > Now the revolutionaries are angry bacause of the way the individuals > have been treated: The empire hasn't looked at us Teckla and > Easterners because their cycle, their system works in general. What do > they do about it? They forget to look at the individuals and attack > the "system". They are now noble. They know how things should be. > They have a right to attack the lifestyle everybody has always known > and lived by. I think it is important to note that most of the key revolutionaries are Easterners. Easterners cannot take the same long view that a Dragaeran can. Their lives are Way Too Short (tm). For extra-textual indications of motivations, see Steve's comments about Teckla on dreamcafe.com. I also strongly recommend reading _Freedom & Necessity_. There's a lot going on here. More than meets the eye necessarily on first reading. As I said in an earlier post, I took Cawti's 'defection' much harder in 1987 than I do today, having reread Jhereg, Yendi, Teckla, and Taltos in quick succession in the light of all the other Vlad books. > Vlad probably could have been a really good ally if they had given him > the chance; if they have tried to understand him. They don't try to > understand why people are having such a hard time with this "wonderful" > change. Perhaps Vlad might temporarily have become an open ally, but recall that a) his soul is that of an original Jhereg, b) he has been friends with Morrolan, Sethra, and Aliera longer than he has known Cawti, not to mention Kiera (yeah I know). In any case, I fail to see how Vlad could have been more active and effective in his support than he has turned out to be without ending up unrevivifiable. Casey Rousseau