(urth) TWK questions and answers

stilskin acronus at yahoo.com
Tue Jan 4 06:22:10 PST 2005


Regarding the giants and giantesses, I wouldn't be
surprised if Wolfe was also thinking of the Ents and
the Entwives.  There are many reworkings of ideas from
LOTR in TWK.  Abel as a Gandalf/Aragorn figure is
another.

P

 
--- James Wynn <thewynns at earthlink.net> wrote:

> >I rather liked Idnn as a character and believe her
> agreeing to marry King
> >Gilling is every bit as noble, selfless and dutiful
> as anything Able, Svon
> >or Toug do in their various undertakings as knights
> aspirant.
> 
> And that was Wolfe's point right? That honor and
> courage are more than just
> carrying a weapon against overwhelming odds or
> protecting your reputation -- 
> although that might be part of the duties of honor
> too. It is about giving
> up what you would really want (including potentially
> a long life) for the
> benefit of others. When Able refuses to carry a
> sword when he knows it will
> go against him in being taken seriously as a knight,
> that is honor. When he
> rebuffs sex with willing women for his love for
> Disiri, that is honor. And
> when Idnn (although terrified) takes on the mantle
> of the duties of being
> King Gilling's wife -- guarding his life and
> well-being when it would be
> better for her if he died -- that is honor and that
> is why Valfather comes
> to visit her.
> 
> >I just
> >found it hard to buy the notion that a brief
> marriage, not known to
> >be consummated, would be taken as conferring
> authority on a
> >foreigner. And maybe I missed why the female
> Angrborn live apart,
> >and why the males prefer human women.
> 
> Male and female giants live apart just as male and
> female elephants live
> apart.
> 
> They accept her as her queen as a matter of honor. 
> Furthermore, I don't
> think you can map human relations to the giants. The
> mothers don't love
> their sons. In fact, they are presumably
> contemptible to them. The male
> giants are attracted to human women because they ARE
> NOT giants.
> 
> >Any thoughts on why the blood of the Angrborn is
> full of parasites?   Aside
> >from just making them seeem extra vile??
> 
> It is taken from the myth of the death of Ymir. Men
> were formed from the
> maggots that formed on his corpse. So when Giants
> die their corpses are
> covered with creepy-crawlies.
> 
> ~ Crush
> 
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=====
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