--- Lalith Vipulananthan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Debbi wrote: <snippage> > > > instead the reader is asked to > > accept that a violent, brutal act is the first > impulse of a "hero." :P > > Well, this forms part of the fundamental reason why > the first Covenant > trilogy strays from the majority of fantasy and also > why I like it so much: > the fact that Covenant does *not* act like a hero. > He refuses to believe > that the Land is real, he refuses to act decisively > on a number of > occasions, he refuses to kill even to save himself, > and he continuely > insists that nothing he does matters *because* it's > not real. Donaldson > describes this at the start of _Lord Foul's Bane_ as > 'the fundamental > question of ethics'. Is the man who refuses to save >something he believes is a dream, a coward, or a hero?
But he could think and do (or not do) all those things *without* having raped a girl. > The key events of the trilogy all center around this > one despicable act that > Covenant carries out, and no one can really forsee > the consequences that result, least of all him. <snip> > > I love these books and would recommend that you try > them again. However, if > you were that badly put off by the rape scene first > time round, do you think > the intervening years will make any difference to > that reaction? Doubtful, as since then I have dealt more with the consequences of violence directed at women (eg. beating, rape, physical isolation), and find absolutely *no* "romantic" elements in forced sex. (I should add that I have also worked with a man who was attacked as a pre-teen, and I find a male character raping another man equally repugnant.) Now *seduction* is another matter entirely, and I'd be flat lying if I said I didn't indulge in such fantasies from time to time... ;} But seduction is about the seduced yielding to their own sexual desires, while rape is forced or coerced sex, having nothing to do with the rapee's desire. I think that's one of the appealing features of some of the modern vampires - you yearn to yield "to your dark side," even though you know it's dangerous... Debbi who BTW isn't an Ann Rice fan __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Platinum - Watch CBS' NCAA March Madness, live on your desktop! http://platinum.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
