Dragaera

Two words about two letters etc. (*no* PotD Spoilers)

Mark A Mandel mam at theworld.com
Tue Dec 31 15:18:41 PST 2002

#> 	[Philip Hart, round 1]
#> #I don't think ego-stroking would be polite or politic in the circumstances
#> #- what if Vlad thought he was being patronized?

	[Mark Mandel]
#> Teldra is an Issola. Most humans (any definition) occasionally have
#> trouble saying certain things to certain people without being
#> patronizing, but grace, courtesy, and tact are the Issola forte, and
#> Lady Teldra has them in spades. If she wants to make Vlad feel in charge
#> and at ease without making him feel patronized, she can.

	[Philip, round 2]
#It just seems to me that Vlad has such a dangerous mix of ignorance of
#and insight into Dragaeran culture (see for example my assertion
#parallel to this branch that Teldra obviously doesn't need to pick her
#way through any forest - I could imagine Vlad being of that opinion, even
#if he doesn't present himself that way here) that such subterfuge seems
#like a bad idea and out of character.

I don't think it's subterfuge at all, unless you apply that word to,
say, saying "Good morning" (and looking and sounding as though you mean
it) when you don't feel especially good, just because you want the
person you're addressing to feel good. It's possible to act pleasantly
and be doing it honestly even with the knowledge that you're doing so.
Doesn't Vlad say somewhere that part of Teldra's charm is that she
genuinely *wants* people to feel at ease, OWTTE?

#Any comments on the "friend" issue?

Ummm... sorry, I've lost track. Refresh my memory, please?

#- Philip, now driving 400 miles to a boring party out of friendship

Ah ha! And this, I say, is not a dishonest deed; nor is it subterfuge,
or at least it isn't culpable subterfuge, if you say you enjoyed it even
if you were bored.

But I may have lost enough of the context of this discussion to be
answering somewhat aslant of your questions.

-- Mark A. Mandel
   http://world.std.com/~mam/Cracks-and-Shards/
   a Steven Brust Dragaera fan website