Tuesday, 1 August 2023

A Name, The Wind And The Shrew, Runa

The Dog And The Wolf, XII.

Gratillonius' son-in-law names his son Johannes to gain the powerful patronage of John the Baptist. Christians have replaced one set of powerful supernatural beings with another.

Although I have stopped drawing attention to every reference to the wind, some cannot be overlooked. When Gratillonius walks home, wind flaps his cloak and the streets are deserted except for the wind. Nothing unusual so far. However, when Apuleius' daughter, Verania, runs out to tell Gratillonius that he is still the King of Ys, he reflects that she is now a young woman:

"What was her age now - sixteen, seventeen? More or less the same as Dahilis' when Gratillonius came to her.
"Or Dahut's when she died.
"It was as if the wind blew between his ribs. He hastened onward." (3, p. 247)

His future wife.

Runa accuses Gratillonius of lending his daughter her agreement:

"'...to her running off, with everything that that led to - seeking the death of her unborn child for her - and doing away with yours, Gratillonius!'" (4, p. 249)

Nemeta killed her own son but what is this about Gratillonius'? Runa got pregnant and Nemeta performed an abortion?

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I never noticed that oddity about Runa before! I don't think we see about her possible pregnancy again in the story. It could have been a "glitch" in the text the Andersons overlooked smoothing out.

Ad astra! Sean