oh save me from romantic subplots
Jun. 1st, 2012 11:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sunnyskywalkerI just finished Kate Elliott's Jaran, and overall, I enjoyed it. Especially the bits and pieces of how jaran society functions, Tess adapting to jaran life, Charles's mysterious plans for Rhui (which seem to involve printing a lot of old science and philosophy books for some reason), and all the bits about the alien Chapalli being Up To Something Mysterious (and probably no good).
But. There are certain things which make me not believe in a romantic subplot, or at least dislike it strongly, and one partner tricking the other into a binding marriage without the other's knowledge or consent in a way which also happens to put the other's life at risk is one of those things. Especially when part of his motivation is to conquer her because he doesn't like there to be anything he can't have. (He admits this, and admits he has trouble understanding the difference between wanting to make something yours and loving someone. So romantic!) It's one thing to show that in jaran society, women don't have (much of) a say in marriage; it's quite another to have some stranger dropped into this society get over being forced into marriage in... a couple of weeks, I think... because gosh, he's just so compelling and how could you resist! (I mean, he's planning a massive war, technically in defense of his people but also because he's just a dominating kind of guy. What's not to love? Especially with the threat of "there are certain rights I could demand, you know" hanging over her.) Actually I wouldn't have so much of a problem with this if it were presented as unhealthy and due to Tess having a slightly warped view of the situation, but instead it came across as her learning to, like, accept her feelings and choose her own path in life or something. Er...
Now, Elliott's Spiritwalker trilogy (starting with Cold Magic) also has a forced marriage, but I found that scenario much more acceptable, probably because Andevai didn't come up with the plan by himself because he wanted to show Cat who was boss. He did it because his masters ordered them to, and his entire family is effectively hostage to said masters (and, okay, he was arrogant and also got a jolt of "love at first sight," but that was more a side effect, not what made him do it - he would have followed orders regardless, to protect his family if nothing else). And then he risks everything anyway by not killing her when new orders come down. Much more decent.
I'm still going to read the sequels to Jaran, because I really want to know what the Chapalli are up to and why Charles is violating his own Prime Directive by circulating copies of Aristotle et al. and what will happen in the jaran war (and how that will link up with the threat of it all not mattering once the spacefaring powers really start mucking around on the planet). But I'm really hoping that one character's "feeling" that Tess going to outlive Jerkass Husband proves to be correct very soon and she gets to grow up past him.
But. There are certain things which make me not believe in a romantic subplot, or at least dislike it strongly, and one partner tricking the other into a binding marriage without the other's knowledge or consent in a way which also happens to put the other's life at risk is one of those things. Especially when part of his motivation is to conquer her because he doesn't like there to be anything he can't have. (He admits this, and admits he has trouble understanding the difference between wanting to make something yours and loving someone. So romantic!) It's one thing to show that in jaran society, women don't have (much of) a say in marriage; it's quite another to have some stranger dropped into this society get over being forced into marriage in... a couple of weeks, I think... because gosh, he's just so compelling and how could you resist! (I mean, he's planning a massive war, technically in defense of his people but also because he's just a dominating kind of guy. What's not to love? Especially with the threat of "there are certain rights I could demand, you know" hanging over her.) Actually I wouldn't have so much of a problem with this if it were presented as unhealthy and due to Tess having a slightly warped view of the situation, but instead it came across as her learning to, like, accept her feelings and choose her own path in life or something. Er...
Now, Elliott's Spiritwalker trilogy (starting with Cold Magic) also has a forced marriage, but I found that scenario much more acceptable, probably because Andevai didn't come up with the plan by himself because he wanted to show Cat who was boss. He did it because his masters ordered them to, and his entire family is effectively hostage to said masters (and, okay, he was arrogant and also got a jolt of "love at first sight," but that was more a side effect, not what made him do it - he would have followed orders regardless, to protect his family if nothing else). And then he risks everything anyway by not killing her when new orders come down. Much more decent.
I'm still going to read the sequels to Jaran, because I really want to know what the Chapalli are up to and why Charles is violating his own Prime Directive by circulating copies of Aristotle et al. and what will happen in the jaran war (and how that will link up with the threat of it all not mattering once the spacefaring powers really start mucking around on the planet). But I'm really hoping that one character's "feeling" that Tess going to outlive Jerkass Husband proves to be correct very soon and she gets to grow up past him.
