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FOR LOVE OF ARYA…..
The relationships that surround Arya fascinate me. I’ve
heard Arya described as cold, unfeeling, and stoic by many on the boards and in
the comments section here. I don’t see that in her and think she is
misunderstood to a certain degree. But hopefully in discussing 3 of her
relationships, I can put a different light on the true Arya. And maybe you can
sympathize with her alittle and possibly you will like her as much as I do.
First let’s look at the mother / daughter relationship between Arya and
Islanzadi, why do you think this has been such an adversarial relationship?
It began when Arya decided to become an ambassador to the
Varden and the dwarves. When Eragon asked her why she was “allowed” to do this
she replied – In Eldest, Under the Menoa Tree pg 308-309, Eragon speaking, “I
don’t understand why you were allowed to become an ambassador to the Varden and
dwarves, as well as ferry Saphira’s egg from here to Tronjheim. It’s too
dangerous an errand for a princess, much less a queen-in-waiting. You mean it’s
too dangerous for a human woman. I told you before that I am not one of your
helpless females. What you fail to realize is that we view our monarchs
differently than you or the dwarves. To us, a king or queen’s highest
responsibility is to serve their people however and wherever possible. If that
means forfeiting our lives in the process, we welcome the opportunity to prove
our devotion to-as the dwarves say-hearth, hall and honor.” Which brings me
to pg 231, also in Eldest-Queen Islanzadi, (speaking of Eragon watching Arya and
Islanzadi) “He noticed that, while everyone was occupied by the flowers,
Islanzadi touched Arya gently on the shoulder and murmured, almost too softly to
hear, You never would have suffered so if you had taken my counsel. I was right
to oppose your decision to accept the Yawe. (Arya) It was my decision to make”.
By accepting the Yawe, what wrong has Arya done? The Yawe,
by definition according to CP is a “Bond of trust”, so was it the accepting of
the Yawe or was it what accepting the Yawe represented that created the
problem? Arya saw this as her duty to her people and placed it higher on her
priority list than waiting to someday be Queen. Still in Eldest-Queen Islanzadi,
pg 226-227. “Islanzadi Drottning, said Arya formally. The queen withdrew as
if she had been stung and then repeated in the ancient language, “My daughter, I
have wronged you. She covered her face. Ever since you disappeared, I’ve
barely slept or eaten. I was haunted by your fate, and feared that I would
never see you again. Banning you from my presence was the greatest mistake I
have ever made…Can you forgive me?” End of page – Arya’s response was
long in coming, but at last she said, for seventy years, I have lived and loved,
fought and killed without ever speaking to you, my mother. Our lives are long,
but even so, that is no small span. Islanzadi drew herself upright, lifting her
chin. A tremor ran her length. I cannot undo the past, Arya, no matter how
much I might desire to. And I cannot forget what I endured. Nor should you.
Islanzadi clasped her daughter’s hands. Arya, I love you. You are my only
family. Go if you must, but unless you wish to renounce me, I would be
reconciled with you.”
Let’s leave mother and daughter for just a minute, we’ll
come back and go on to the 2nd relationship. At the very beginning
of this story, In Eragon-Prologue: Shade of Fear pg 2, “Three white horses
with riders cantered toward the ambush, their heads held high and proud, their
coats rippling in the moonlight like liquid silver”…next page “The
Urgal’s deadly arrows quickly brought down the two elves. They fell from the
noble horses, blood pooling in the dirt. As the Urgals rushed to the slain
elves, the Shade screamed, After her! She is the one I want! The monsters
grunted and rushed down the trail. A cry tore from the elf’s lips as she saw
her dead companions. She took a step toward them, then cursed her enemies and
bounded into the forest”
We hear his name in Eldest-Celbedeil pg 122, “Three of
us were sent forth from Ellesmera. Faolin and Glenwing always traveled with me
when we transported Saphira’s egg between Du Weldenvarden and Tronjheim. Only I
survived Durza’s ambush. What were they like? Proud warriors. Glenwing loved
speaking to birds with his mind. He would stand in the forest surrounded by a
flock of songbirds and listen to their music for hours. Afterward, he might
sing us the prettiest melodies. And Faolin? This time Arya refused to answer,
though her hands tightened on her bow.
Then he’s mentioned by name again in Eldest-Black Morning
Glory pg 364, “Blowing on them, Arya whispered, Open. The petals rustled as
they unfurled, fanning their inky robes to expose the hoard of nectar in their
centers. A starburst of royal blue filled the flowers’ throats, diffusing into
the sable corolla like the vestiges of day into night. Is it not the most
perfect and lovely flower? Asked Arya. Eragon gazed at her, exquisitely aware
of how close they were and said Yes…it is. Before his courage deserted him, he
added As are you. Eragon! Exclaimed Saphira. Arya fixed her eyes upon him,
studying him until he was forced to look away. When he dared face her again, he
was mortified to see her wearing a faint smile, as if amused by his reaction.
You are too kind, she murmured. Reaching up, she touched the rim of the blossom
and glanced from it to him. Faolin created this especially for me one summer
solstice, long ago”. And again he’s mentioned when Eragon goes to Arya’s
home to apologize for the fairth that he had created of her, In Eldest-The
Beginning of Wisdom pg 432, “Two fairths decorated the walls a portrait of a
stern, proud elf with silver hair, who Eragon guessed was King Evandar, and that
of a younger male elf whom he did not recognize.”
His name was Faolin…and I believe Arya’s first love. Could
the problems between mother and daughter have come about because Arya decided to
accept the Yawe and join Faolin as the guardian for Saphira’s egg? Perhaps they
believed that he had talked her into doing this. But what about that would make
Islanzadi ban Arya from her presence? It’s possible that she felt that he was
not a suitable mate for her only daughter. Wishing for someone instead of like
lineage, someone suitable to be the future king of Ellesmera. That’s not to say
anything bad about Faolin, because we know very little about him, but something
or someone had put a wedge between mother and daughter that was strong enough to
last 70+ years.
Arya tells her mother that she has loved since she’s been
away from her, so then why couldn’t the reason why Arya is pushing Eragon away
be out of grief and mourning for her lost love? Or even perhaps she is trying
to show appropriate respect for her love with Faolin and not rush into another
relationship so quickly.
Even one of the elves that were escorting them, Lifaen
eluded to the fact that Arya had suffered greatly, but that they would not tell
her tales. In Eldest-Arrow to the Heart pg 206, Eragon speaking, “Lifaen, he
asked softly so that Orik would not hear, why is Arya so…unhappy? You and-
Lifaen’s shoulders stiffened underneath his russet tunic and he whispered, so
low that Eragon could barely hear, We are honored to serve Arya Drottningu. She
has suffered more than you can imagine for our people. We celebrate out of joy
for what she has achieved with Saphira, and we weep in our dreams for her
sacrifice…and her loss. Her sorrows are her own, though, and I cannot reveal
them without her permission”.
Of all the relationships that Arya has, her relationship
with Eragon is the most important one. As you will see below, Master Oromis
doesn’t believe this to be a good idea. Even Orik has apprehensions about this
paring, He doesn’t say much to Eragon, but it’s how he doesn’t say it that is
telling. You know that because Arya, Faolin and Glenwing were Saphira’s
guardians for all those years and with Arya being the Ambassador to the Varden
she had been staying with the dwarves, so Orik had to have known about the
relationship between Arya and Faolin. It seems that maybe Orik feels that this
knowledge is best divulged from Arya herself also.
I know that Master Oromis told Eragon in Eldest-Image of
Perfection pg 387, “Perhaps said Oromis, Arya was frightened by you”…then
farther down on the same page, “Eragon-why would I frighten her? He asked
please tell me. Oromis stood and walked to the edge of the stream, where he
scattered the fragments of slate over the bank, letting the gray flakes trickle
through his fingers. Fairths only show what you want them to. It’s impossible
to lie with them, to create a false image, but to do so requires more skill than
you yet have. Arya knows this. She also knows, then, that your fairth was an
accurate representation of your feelings for her. But why would that frighten
her? Oromis smiled sadly. Because it revealed the depth of your infatuation.
He pressed his fingertips together, forming a series of arches. Let us analyze
the situation, Eragon. While you are old enough to be considered a man among
your people, in our eyes, you are no more than a child. Eragon frowned, hearing
echoes of Saphira’s words from the previous night. Normally, I would not
compare a human’s age to an elf’s but since you share our longevity, you must
also be judged by our standards.” Next page…”How should Arya have
responded to your fairth? Its clear that you see her in a romantic light,
yet-while I have no doubt Arya is fond of you-a union between the two of you is
impossible due to your own youth, culture, race, and responsibilities. Your
interest has placed Arya in an uncomfortable position. She dare not confront
you, for fear of disrupting your training. But, as the queen’s daughter, she
cannot ignore you and risk offending a Rider-especially one upon which so much
depends…Even if you were a fit match, Arya would refrain from encouraging you so
that you could devote all of your energy to the task at hand. She would
sacrifice her happiness for the greater good.”
Master Oromis says that she was frightened. But this is
all conjecture on his part. I’m not saying that what he said isn’t possible and
it’s probably partially true. Couldn’t she also be frightened because she does
care for Eragon and IS afraid that showing her feelings for him
would somehow diminish what she felt for Faolin?
There are so many references in both books where Eragon is
attempting to show his feelings for her that I feel it’s important to explore
some of what Arya is trying to hide during these passages. She tries to deny
him and tries to dissuade him In Eldest-Under the Menoa Tree pg 308, “Arya
stared at him until he was forced to avert his gaze. They weren’t suited for
each other”. She’s trying to use inferences to what happened to Linnea &
her young suitor to show that the difference in their ages is a problem also. A
thought worth mentioning here is in Eragon-The Witch and the Werecat pg 205,
“Angela smiled and said, An epic romance is in your future, extraordinary, as
the moon indicates-for it is a magical symbol.” And then at the end of the
Under the Menoa Tree, pg 310 there is mention of the moon again, “Together
they sat small and still at the base of the ancient tree and watched the moon
arch high over the peaceful forest…..”. Angela’s reading referred to the
moon overhead and she says it is a magical symbol, and then they sit side by
side with the moon overhead as Blagden shrieks WYRDA overhead. All symbolic,
but telling.
The other thing that I think is really important is how
Eragon was able to “SEE” Arya as a prisoner of Durza even though he’d never seen
her. That’s how we know it wasn’t scurrying, so how was this possible? She
tells him that she thinks that it was because her mind was calling out for help
and reached for anything familiar and so reached Saphira and thus reached him
since he and Saphira are linked. But I don’t think so, at least not
completely. If she was reaching out for help…why didn’t she reach Master Oromis
who had been scurrying the land to keep appraised of things happening? Why
didn’t Master Oromis feel her? I think that Eragon and Arya are linked somehow
because they are destined to be together in an “epic romance that was strong
enough to outlast empires”.
There’s also the paragraph where Eragon is injured from
Durza, but is concerned for Murtagh. He asks Arya if she will pursue them
because he can’t and her response is, “Wio ono, or For you”. Not, it’s
too dangerous, or I’ll do it, she says she’ll go for him. I can see this whole
scene in my mind…it’s a very tender and loving moment. At this moment she does
feel love for him and possibly this does scare her.
Her biggest move to push him away came in Eldest-In a
Starry Glade, pg 473-474 “He ignored her warning. Arya, I’ll do anything to
win your hand. I would follow you to the ends of the earth. I would build a
palace for you with nothing but my bare hands. I would-Will you stop pursing
me? Can you promise me that? When he hesitated, she stepped closer and said,
low and gentle, Eragon, this cannot be. You are young and I am old, and that
shall never change. Do you feel nothing for me? My feelings for you, she said,
are those of a friend and nothing more. I am grateful to you for rescuing me
from Gil’ead, and I find your company pleasant. That is all…Relinquish this
quest of yours –it will only bring you heartache-and find someone your own age
to spend the years with”. Her basic outward argument is always their ages.
Yeah, ok…maybe Master Oromis is right…she is frightened, but not for the reasons
that he thinks. He thinks she’s frightened because she doesn’t want to disrupt
his training, but it has more to do with the age thing that she’s afraid of.
Like maybe by being with her at her age it would deny him the opportunity of
experiencing some great feeling. What she hasn’t realized yet is that he is
experiencing a great feeling and it is his love for her.
See I believe that Arya and Eragon are destined to be
together. And I think that Arya and Eragon are the 2 figures that he sees in
his premonition In Eragon-Deathwatch, pg 81, “The figures slowly boarded the
vessel; two of them, taller than the rest, walked arm in arm. Their faces were
obscured by cowls, but he could tell that one was a woman”.
After all this,…after all is said and done, I leave you
with Angela’s words In Eragon-The Witch and the Werecat pg 206, “…Few young
men with empty pockets can expect to be loved by a noble women”. Bottom
line…Angela said TO BE LOVED BY A NOBLE WOMEN, not to love a noble women
as she had said in the beginning of his reading. So despite all of Arya’s
attempts to push Eragon away, it is all for not…she does love him or will come
to realize that fact soon enough.
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