Exactly, it was a stroke of genius putting Isolder with Luke, because Isolder immediately gets embroiled in a situation where his rank, social skills, and other narrative pluses are utterly worthless, while this glorified peasant boy who thinks he's a monk is suddenly extremely effective.
And that's why Dathomir, as awful as it is as a society, is significant to Isolder's arc. Since the men are literally chattel, Isolder is finding himself explicitly evaluated as a product, and because of the values of the society, he is, for the first time, the lesser valued product.
But this is eye-opening to him, because in certain ways, Hapes and Dathomir are not that different. Obviously, Isolder isn't a slave. He has a luxurious life, but it's not the life he would have chosen for himself. Hapes, like Dathomir, is matriarchal, and there's a pretty significant moment where Isolder puts on airs, and Teneniel laughs in his face, pointing out that Isolder doesn't really have power in his own right, it's the woman that he marries that will sit on the Hapan throne. Not him. And while the choice is SUPPOSED to be his, it's not necessarily so simple in practice.
The book is mediocre, but Isolder's arc is actually a genuinely good one. He gets to be both humbled and empowered. As awful as Teneniel herself is, when Isolder chooses her, it's a legitimately good moment for him.
The downside, as I remember, Teneniel doesn't really get a parallel growth arc. The closest she comes is something like "Apparently some men ARE formidable after all", which doesn't really address the underlying issues.
Re: About Isolder
And that's why Dathomir, as awful as it is as a society, is significant to Isolder's arc. Since the men are literally chattel, Isolder is finding himself explicitly evaluated as a product, and because of the values of the society, he is, for the first time, the lesser valued product.
But this is eye-opening to him, because in certain ways, Hapes and Dathomir are not that different. Obviously, Isolder isn't a slave. He has a luxurious life, but it's not the life he would have chosen for himself. Hapes, like Dathomir, is matriarchal, and there's a pretty significant moment where Isolder puts on airs, and Teneniel laughs in his face, pointing out that Isolder doesn't really have power in his own right, it's the woman that he marries that will sit on the Hapan throne. Not him. And while the choice is SUPPOSED to be his, it's not necessarily so simple in practice.
The book is mediocre, but Isolder's arc is actually a genuinely good one. He gets to be both humbled and empowered. As awful as Teneniel herself is, when Isolder chooses her, it's a legitimately good moment for him.
The downside, as I remember, Teneniel doesn't really get a parallel growth arc. The closest she comes is something like "Apparently some men ARE formidable after all", which doesn't really address the underlying issues.