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i_read_whatSo last time, we saw Bruenor doing some fairly important dwarf crafting ritual in which he created some sort of amazing hammer, while Drizzt watched voyeuristically. This chapter, we see what he does with it.
So we start off with Wulfgar, who is sitting high up on Bruenor's Climb. Apparently, it is his favorite place to think and listen to the wind. It also lets him look at the pass that leads to his homeland. Aw. I'm still very concerned about the ethics of putting a kid in indentured servitude, Bruenor.
Anyway, we're told that Bruenor has gone off for a few days, and Wulfgar "was happy for the relief from the dwarf's constant grumbling and criticism. But he found his relief short-lived."
He's joined by Catti-Brie, who is officially the first female character to get a speaking line. Twelve chapters in. Thanks, Mr. Salvatore. She was admittedly name-dropped earlier, as the young human girl that Bruenor took in some time ago.
Wulfgar and Catti-Brie appear to know each other quite well, and we get a fair bit of description here:
She was an outwardly calm girl, but packed with an inner fire and spirit that Wulfgar had been unaccustomed to in a woman. Barbarian girls were raised to keep their thoughts and opinions, unimportant by the standards of men, to themselves. Like her mentor, Catti-brie said exactly what was on her mind and left little doubt as to how she felt about a situation.
We're told that Catti-brie helped Wulfgar a lot during his first year and treated him with respect, even though they rarely agreed. We get some more description that seems a little inconsistent, but not in a poorly written way. More in the "our viewpoint character has a crush and is kind of gushing" way.
She was his own age, but in many ways Catti-brie seemed much older, with a solid inner sense of reality that kept her temperament on an even level. In other ways, however, such as the skipping spring in her step, Catti-brie would forever be a child. This unusual balance of spirit and calm, of serenity and unbridled joy, intrigued Wulfgar and kept him off-balance whenever he spoke with the girl.
Of course, there were other emotions that put Wulfgar at a disadvantage when he was with Catti-brie. Undeniably, she was beautiful, with thick waves of rich, auburn hair rolling down over her shoulders and the darkest blue, penetrating eyes that would make any suitor blush under their knowing scrutiny. Still, there was something beyond any physical attraction that interested Wulfgar. Catti-brie was beyond his experience, a young woman who did not fit the role as it had been defined to him on the tundra. He wasn't sure if he liked this independence or not. But he found himself unable to deny the attraction that he felt for her.
And of course, here we go, into one of my least favorite stereotypes. The straw misogynist. Look, I'm a feminist and I make no bones about it, but I do feel like fantasy writers, especially in the 80s, were really quick to showcase particularly cartoonish woman-hating in some of their lead characters. (See also: Kelemvor).
It never really makes sense in execution. Like here, Wulfgar is a nomadic barbarian. Generally speaking, nomadic tribes tended to be much more egalitarian than their agrarian counterparts. There was simply too much that needed to be done to allow for the kind of division of labor that tends to lead to some of the grosser forms of sexism. Women had to hunt and gather, they had to carry belongings. They generally had to fight to defend themselves.
Here's a real world example: when the Mongolians conquered China in the 1200s, they created the Yuan Dynasty. That was during the time when foot-binding was becoming very popular among the Han Chinese as a mark of wealth and status. Mongolian women did not adopt the practice. It became something of an ethnic signifier.
We've seen how battle is prized by the Barbarians, if anything, it'd make more sense for the women to be fighting alongside the men. But Wulfgar is meant to be primitive.
I wouldn't care that much if there was a point to Wulfgar's sexism, but there really isn't. Like Kelemvor in other Forgotten Realms books, it's a tacked on feature that disappears as soon as we're supposed to take his romantic plot seriously.
So anyway, Catti-brie asks what he's looking for, and Wulfgar says "things that a woman would not understand." Of course he does. Catti-brie "smiled away the unintentional insult".
...I'm pretty sure that was an intentional insult. I'm pretty sure he meant to say that as a woman, Catti-brie wouldn't understand him. It's not like he said "people raised by dwarves eat rocks" forgetting that Catti-brie was a human raised by dwarves. He didn't forget she's a woman.
We get even MORE gushing about her physical appearance and more sexism:
Wulfgar marveled at her graceful movements. Like the polarity of her curious emotional blend, Catti-brie also proved an enigma physically. She was tall and slender, delicate by all appearances, but growing into womanhood in the caverns of the dwarves, she was accustomed to hard and heavy work.
"Of adventures and an unfulfilled vow," Wulfgar said mysteriously, perhaps to impress the young girl, but moreso to reinforce his own opinion about what a woman should and should not care about.
I think what annoys me most about the use of sexism as a character signifier here is the way it's reinforced by Salvatore's writing.
Leaving aside that Wulfgar's beliefs don't really make sense given real world cultural practices, when exactly has he had a chance to learn anything differently about women?
He's been among dwarves for five years. Has he ever spoken to a dwarven woman? ARE there dwarven women? We've never seen one. Has he ever spoken to a human woman besides Catti-brie? ARE there human women?
We saw the council of the Ten Towns. There was no mention of a woman on it. There's no mention of Bruenor consulting with old women of his tribe. So...
Look, if you're going to tell me that Wulfgar has sexist ideas about the place of women, fine. Okay. But have we seen anything to indicate that either Bruenor or the Ten Towns are actually any better? Where are the women?
So anyway, Wulfgar tells Catti-brie and us about his vow, which has to do with a burden passed to him when his father died.
We're not told exactly what he intends to do, but Catti-brie recognizes that underneath his mysterious facade he's talking about a potential suicide mission. She tries to tell him that if a vow is the only reason he's taking on this adventure, then he's wasting his life.
Of COURSE, of COURSE Wulfgar replies with "What could a woman know of honor?"
Catti-brie of course has a good retort, asking if he thinks he holds all honor in his "oversized hands for no better reason than what you hold in your pants?"
Catti-brie calls him out on worrying about Bruenor, and says Wulfgar and Bruenor are very alike: stubborn, proud, and unwilling to express how much they care.
Wulfgar watched her go, admiring the sway of her slender hips and the graceful dance of her step, despite the anger that he felt. He didn't stop to think of why he was so mad at Catti-brie.
He knew that if he did, he would find, as usual, that he was angry because her observations hit the mark.. It kind of sounds like you are thinking about it dude. But okay.
--
Now we go to Drizzt, who is standing vigil over Bruenor, who has been unconscious for two days. I kind of regret not making an orgasm joke last chapter now. Oh well.
Anyway, Bruenor wakes up, sees the hammer is and entranced, knowing he'll never duplicate this level of craft again. It makes him wonder if he'll ever be able to smith again.
I feel like if a ritual makes you no longer willing to produce your craft, which your race relies on, maybe don't do the ritual? But I'm probably missing some nuance.
Anyway, he comes upon Drizzt's camp, and they have a conversation. Drizzt lies about havng been a voyeur. When Bruenor's eating, Drizzt examines the hammer, noting that it's too big for a dwarf and too heavy for someone slender as an elf.
It comes out that the hammer is a gift for Wulfgar. Bruenor is trying to downplay it of course, calling it an "old hammer", but Drizzt can feel it's balance. It's also made from Mithril, adamantite and diamond.
...isn't Adamant another name for Diamond?
Anyway. Bruenor really called Drizzt here to talk about Wulfgar. His term of indentured servitude is almost up, but he needs formal warrior training. He'd like Drizzt to teach him.
Prediction: Wulfgar will not only be sexist, but also will have prejudices about Drizzt's race.
These prejudices will be treated as irrational, despite what drow actually do in this setting.
I do like that Salvatore isn't afraid to make his lead character flawed. (As opposed to the paragon that is Drizzt.) But at the same time, I wish there was more thought put into it.
--
The next scene is about Wulfgar and Bruenor. Wulfgar actually smiles with relief when he sees him, though he quickly catches his show of weakness which makes me a little sad.
Bruenor notes that he can't call Wulfgar a boy anymore because he's seven feet tall and growing a beard. Wulfgar points out that he can call him whatever he wants, since Wulfgar is a slave.
Bruenor retorts that with his wild spirit, Wulfgar has never been a slave to dwarf or man, which Wulfgar takes as a compliment and I take as a fundamental mischaracterization of slavery.
Slavery is something done to another person. It has nothing to do with character. Wulfgar has been imprisoned and forced to work. He hasn't seen the sun in five years. He is working to pay for his people's crimes, despite the fact that he was an adolescent at the time.
So yeah, actually, he is your slave, Bruenor.
But anyway, Bruenor claims he never saw him as a slave, which...okay. But that doesn't really change the reality. We also see a really disturbing aspect of their dynamic:
"Yer a good smith, with a good feel for the stone, but ye don't belong in a dwarf's cave. It's time ye felt the sun on yer face again."
"Freedom?" Wulfgar whispered.
"Get the notion outa yer head!" Bruenor snapped. He pointed a stubby finger at the barbarian and growled threateningly. "Yer mine 'til the last days of fall, don't ye forget that!"
Wulfgar had to bite his lip to stem a laugh. As always, the dwarf's awkward combination of compassion and borderline rage had confused him and kept him off balance. It no longer came as a shock, though. Four years at Bruenor's side had taught him to expect - and disregard - the sudden outbursts of gruffness.
...I think that's stockholm syndrome. And I'm creeped out by this. Again, Wulfgar was a CHILD when this all started. Old enough to fight, but specifically established to be a child.
But anyway, Bruenor's going to take Wulfgar to meet his teacher tomorrow, and Wulfgar will spend the last months of his servitude learning from him. Bruenor wants Wulfgar to vow that he'll never again raise a weapon against the people of Ten Towns.
Wulfgar refuses, because he wants to leave a "man of free will". Bruenor respects that and he gives him the magic hammer, Aegis-fang. Bruenor again wants his oath about not raising the weapon against the people of the Ten Towns, and overcome, Wulfgar agrees.
Next time Wulfgar meets Drizzt, and I think we can all tell how it's going to go. Somehow, Bruenor never bothered to tell Wulfgar that he's friends with a renegade member of a race that basically tries to genocide the surface people at every opportunity. Because why on Earth would that ever come up?
So we start off with Wulfgar, who is sitting high up on Bruenor's Climb. Apparently, it is his favorite place to think and listen to the wind. It also lets him look at the pass that leads to his homeland. Aw. I'm still very concerned about the ethics of putting a kid in indentured servitude, Bruenor.
Anyway, we're told that Bruenor has gone off for a few days, and Wulfgar "was happy for the relief from the dwarf's constant grumbling and criticism. But he found his relief short-lived."
He's joined by Catti-Brie, who is officially the first female character to get a speaking line. Twelve chapters in. Thanks, Mr. Salvatore. She was admittedly name-dropped earlier, as the young human girl that Bruenor took in some time ago.
Wulfgar and Catti-Brie appear to know each other quite well, and we get a fair bit of description here:
She was an outwardly calm girl, but packed with an inner fire and spirit that Wulfgar had been unaccustomed to in a woman. Barbarian girls were raised to keep their thoughts and opinions, unimportant by the standards of men, to themselves. Like her mentor, Catti-brie said exactly what was on her mind and left little doubt as to how she felt about a situation.
We're told that Catti-brie helped Wulfgar a lot during his first year and treated him with respect, even though they rarely agreed. We get some more description that seems a little inconsistent, but not in a poorly written way. More in the "our viewpoint character has a crush and is kind of gushing" way.
She was his own age, but in many ways Catti-brie seemed much older, with a solid inner sense of reality that kept her temperament on an even level. In other ways, however, such as the skipping spring in her step, Catti-brie would forever be a child. This unusual balance of spirit and calm, of serenity and unbridled joy, intrigued Wulfgar and kept him off-balance whenever he spoke with the girl.
Of course, there were other emotions that put Wulfgar at a disadvantage when he was with Catti-brie. Undeniably, she was beautiful, with thick waves of rich, auburn hair rolling down over her shoulders and the darkest blue, penetrating eyes that would make any suitor blush under their knowing scrutiny. Still, there was something beyond any physical attraction that interested Wulfgar. Catti-brie was beyond his experience, a young woman who did not fit the role as it had been defined to him on the tundra. He wasn't sure if he liked this independence or not. But he found himself unable to deny the attraction that he felt for her.
And of course, here we go, into one of my least favorite stereotypes. The straw misogynist. Look, I'm a feminist and I make no bones about it, but I do feel like fantasy writers, especially in the 80s, were really quick to showcase particularly cartoonish woman-hating in some of their lead characters. (See also: Kelemvor).
It never really makes sense in execution. Like here, Wulfgar is a nomadic barbarian. Generally speaking, nomadic tribes tended to be much more egalitarian than their agrarian counterparts. There was simply too much that needed to be done to allow for the kind of division of labor that tends to lead to some of the grosser forms of sexism. Women had to hunt and gather, they had to carry belongings. They generally had to fight to defend themselves.
Here's a real world example: when the Mongolians conquered China in the 1200s, they created the Yuan Dynasty. That was during the time when foot-binding was becoming very popular among the Han Chinese as a mark of wealth and status. Mongolian women did not adopt the practice. It became something of an ethnic signifier.
We've seen how battle is prized by the Barbarians, if anything, it'd make more sense for the women to be fighting alongside the men. But Wulfgar is meant to be primitive.
I wouldn't care that much if there was a point to Wulfgar's sexism, but there really isn't. Like Kelemvor in other Forgotten Realms books, it's a tacked on feature that disappears as soon as we're supposed to take his romantic plot seriously.
So anyway, Catti-brie asks what he's looking for, and Wulfgar says "things that a woman would not understand." Of course he does. Catti-brie "smiled away the unintentional insult".
...I'm pretty sure that was an intentional insult. I'm pretty sure he meant to say that as a woman, Catti-brie wouldn't understand him. It's not like he said "people raised by dwarves eat rocks" forgetting that Catti-brie was a human raised by dwarves. He didn't forget she's a woman.
We get even MORE gushing about her physical appearance and more sexism:
Wulfgar marveled at her graceful movements. Like the polarity of her curious emotional blend, Catti-brie also proved an enigma physically. She was tall and slender, delicate by all appearances, but growing into womanhood in the caverns of the dwarves, she was accustomed to hard and heavy work.
"Of adventures and an unfulfilled vow," Wulfgar said mysteriously, perhaps to impress the young girl, but moreso to reinforce his own opinion about what a woman should and should not care about.
I think what annoys me most about the use of sexism as a character signifier here is the way it's reinforced by Salvatore's writing.
Leaving aside that Wulfgar's beliefs don't really make sense given real world cultural practices, when exactly has he had a chance to learn anything differently about women?
He's been among dwarves for five years. Has he ever spoken to a dwarven woman? ARE there dwarven women? We've never seen one. Has he ever spoken to a human woman besides Catti-brie? ARE there human women?
We saw the council of the Ten Towns. There was no mention of a woman on it. There's no mention of Bruenor consulting with old women of his tribe. So...
Look, if you're going to tell me that Wulfgar has sexist ideas about the place of women, fine. Okay. But have we seen anything to indicate that either Bruenor or the Ten Towns are actually any better? Where are the women?
So anyway, Wulfgar tells Catti-brie and us about his vow, which has to do with a burden passed to him when his father died.
We're not told exactly what he intends to do, but Catti-brie recognizes that underneath his mysterious facade he's talking about a potential suicide mission. She tries to tell him that if a vow is the only reason he's taking on this adventure, then he's wasting his life.
Of COURSE, of COURSE Wulfgar replies with "What could a woman know of honor?"
Catti-brie of course has a good retort, asking if he thinks he holds all honor in his "oversized hands for no better reason than what you hold in your pants?"
Catti-brie calls him out on worrying about Bruenor, and says Wulfgar and Bruenor are very alike: stubborn, proud, and unwilling to express how much they care.
Wulfgar watched her go, admiring the sway of her slender hips and the graceful dance of her step, despite the anger that he felt. He didn't stop to think of why he was so mad at Catti-brie.
He knew that if he did, he would find, as usual, that he was angry because her observations hit the mark.. It kind of sounds like you are thinking about it dude. But okay.
--
Now we go to Drizzt, who is standing vigil over Bruenor, who has been unconscious for two days. I kind of regret not making an orgasm joke last chapter now. Oh well.
Anyway, Bruenor wakes up, sees the hammer is and entranced, knowing he'll never duplicate this level of craft again. It makes him wonder if he'll ever be able to smith again.
I feel like if a ritual makes you no longer willing to produce your craft, which your race relies on, maybe don't do the ritual? But I'm probably missing some nuance.
Anyway, he comes upon Drizzt's camp, and they have a conversation. Drizzt lies about havng been a voyeur. When Bruenor's eating, Drizzt examines the hammer, noting that it's too big for a dwarf and too heavy for someone slender as an elf.
It comes out that the hammer is a gift for Wulfgar. Bruenor is trying to downplay it of course, calling it an "old hammer", but Drizzt can feel it's balance. It's also made from Mithril, adamantite and diamond.
...isn't Adamant another name for Diamond?
Anyway. Bruenor really called Drizzt here to talk about Wulfgar. His term of indentured servitude is almost up, but he needs formal warrior training. He'd like Drizzt to teach him.
Prediction: Wulfgar will not only be sexist, but also will have prejudices about Drizzt's race.
These prejudices will be treated as irrational, despite what drow actually do in this setting.
I do like that Salvatore isn't afraid to make his lead character flawed. (As opposed to the paragon that is Drizzt.) But at the same time, I wish there was more thought put into it.
--
The next scene is about Wulfgar and Bruenor. Wulfgar actually smiles with relief when he sees him, though he quickly catches his show of weakness which makes me a little sad.
Bruenor notes that he can't call Wulfgar a boy anymore because he's seven feet tall and growing a beard. Wulfgar points out that he can call him whatever he wants, since Wulfgar is a slave.
Bruenor retorts that with his wild spirit, Wulfgar has never been a slave to dwarf or man, which Wulfgar takes as a compliment and I take as a fundamental mischaracterization of slavery.
Slavery is something done to another person. It has nothing to do with character. Wulfgar has been imprisoned and forced to work. He hasn't seen the sun in five years. He is working to pay for his people's crimes, despite the fact that he was an adolescent at the time.
So yeah, actually, he is your slave, Bruenor.
But anyway, Bruenor claims he never saw him as a slave, which...okay. But that doesn't really change the reality. We also see a really disturbing aspect of their dynamic:
"Yer a good smith, with a good feel for the stone, but ye don't belong in a dwarf's cave. It's time ye felt the sun on yer face again."
"Freedom?" Wulfgar whispered.
"Get the notion outa yer head!" Bruenor snapped. He pointed a stubby finger at the barbarian and growled threateningly. "Yer mine 'til the last days of fall, don't ye forget that!"
Wulfgar had to bite his lip to stem a laugh. As always, the dwarf's awkward combination of compassion and borderline rage had confused him and kept him off balance. It no longer came as a shock, though. Four years at Bruenor's side had taught him to expect - and disregard - the sudden outbursts of gruffness.
...I think that's stockholm syndrome. And I'm creeped out by this. Again, Wulfgar was a CHILD when this all started. Old enough to fight, but specifically established to be a child.
But anyway, Bruenor's going to take Wulfgar to meet his teacher tomorrow, and Wulfgar will spend the last months of his servitude learning from him. Bruenor wants Wulfgar to vow that he'll never again raise a weapon against the people of Ten Towns.
Wulfgar refuses, because he wants to leave a "man of free will". Bruenor respects that and he gives him the magic hammer, Aegis-fang. Bruenor again wants his oath about not raising the weapon against the people of the Ten Towns, and overcome, Wulfgar agrees.
Next time Wulfgar meets Drizzt, and I think we can all tell how it's going to go. Somehow, Bruenor never bothered to tell Wulfgar that he's friends with a renegade member of a race that basically tries to genocide the surface people at every opportunity. Because why on Earth would that ever come up?
no subject
Date: 2019-02-18 02:38 am (UTC)That's my main reaction to this chapter. Everything here just makes me so frustrated!
no subject
Date: 2019-02-19 07:13 am (UTC)