[Dragaera] Orwell, John M. Ford quotes, Morrolan

[Philip Hart]

On Wed, 6 May 2009, Philip Hart wrote:

> "The distinction that really matters is not between violence and 
> non-violence, but between having and not having the appetite for power."
> (From the essay on Tolstoy.)
>
> "The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power."
> (_1984_, quoted by Ballantine and Ronay in _Growing Up Weightless_)
>
> Somewhere I think there's a relevant quote in _The Last Hot Time_ from Mr. 
> Patrise about power.  Anyway the example is relevant - he's a lot like Vlad's 
> Morrolan in some ways.  Also, "[T]he True Blood is psychically bound to 
> dominant modes of thought - in plainer words, slaves to fashion."

The "relevant quote" above comes at the end of the novel - Stagger Lee 
cites the object quote, saying the bad guy was in the power game for no 
deeper motive.

To make this more understandable to any who haven't read the Ford novels, 
which are in their way about power and its uses, Mr. Patrise, who recruits 
the man character, is a patrician leader from a humble background who is 
collecting objects of magical power.  [Now I wonder if I've discussed 
this on the list.]  M. collects GWs for not entirely clear reasons. 
They're the kind of thing you want to have if you like those kind of 
things.  There's some sense in the novel that Patrise is tainted by it - 
certainly he sees it that way.

I was thinking about how we feel about the power concentrated in the 
hands of Vlad's friends.  Also more generally about power in the early 
Texts - we see V tortured, and we see him torturing, and our reactions 
are probably, "The Organization is vicious" and "that sorceress made him 
do it", resp.  Have we seen Vlad do things which we don't in context 
approve or excuse or cheer?  Ok, he kills King Whatshisname, who we don't 
feel any particular sympathy for, but, well, his goddess told him to.
There's a scene in some book or film where X humiliates Y and is only 
pained because Y's child is watching.  We're meant to question his use 
of Savn's parents in _Athyra_, but even there does anyone hold that 
against him?  Kelly tells Vlad that he's amassing influence, which comes 
to the same thing as power - but maybe Vlad really is seeking 
independence.  It ought to make a difference in how we view him.

And back to the earlier question, _FHYA_ certainly makes us confront the 
downside of too much power in the hands of a few.  M. and Aliera don't 
visibly care, as best I recall - even Sethra never moralizes on the topic. 
I wonder if Vlad will ask them about it now that he's more in their 
league.