Would Enherrian really be so blinkered as to assume that his attitude to death was shared by two human beings? Peter Berg says, of the other Ythrians on the expedition, that they:
"'...varied, just like humans. Some were also devout, some less, some agnostics or atheists; two were pagans, following the bloody rites of what was called the Old Faith.'" (p. 32)
Sometimes in sf aliens find human beings surprisingly complex and diverse. Sometimes the aliens' comparative simplicity might be rationalized: they are more genetically uniform, their acculturation was more homogeneous etc. Poul Anderson makes sure that his aliens are as diverse as humanity. In any case, Enherrian's fellow Ythrians include pagans and secularists. Further, Olga had asked him about belief in survival after death. Although, he rejected this belief, it surely would have alerted him that her approach to dying might differ from his. I feel some personal anecdotes about human attitudes to death coming on but will resist them.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Yes, I can see some non humans, like Enherrian, being as blinkered as we saw him in "The Problem of Pain" (and that can apply to humans, of course). I think it was a realistic touch by Anderson to show this flaw in Enherrian.
Ad astra! Sean
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