In an exchange between Matthew Vickery, President of the Parliament of Man, and Daniel Holm, First Marchwarden of the Lauran System, we begin to wonder who is right and even who is sane. Vickery claims that fanatical letters received by Members of Parliament, display "...latent insanity..." (p. 565) Holm replies:
"'It's insane to fight for your home?'" (p. 566)
I expect that there is some truth on both sides here. Letters from constituents can be emotional and extreme without being fanatical or insane but Holm would probably downplay any that did seem fanatical.
Vickery thinks that incorporation into the Empire is both inevitable and unobjectionable whereas Holm cites deathpride and quotes:
"'"...their finest hour..."'" (p. 567)
Now Holm sounds fanatical. Are Avalon and Empire comparable to Britain and Nazi Germany?
Tabitha Falkayn and her prisoner-of-war house guest, Philippe Rochefort, have that same debate although their conversation is friendly instead of rancorous. As in his other main political novel, Mirkheim, Poul Anderson ensures that we read every perspective and might take different sides.
8 comments:
Avalon is fighting for independence and self-government, both worthy aims, one would think.
I agree with that. Avalonians themselves cover the whole gamut from accommodationist at one end to fanatical and Terran-hating at the other.
Well, if someone's trying to kill you, it's sort of natural to dislike them. Quite emphatically...
Kaor, Paul and Mr. Stirling!
Paul: I remember that bit, Holm quoting from Churchill's "Finest Hour" speech, and I agree, the First Marchwarden was being overwrought, even if understandably so. The Empire was nothing like National Socialist Germany.
Mr. Stirling: Fighting for one's home and independence are worthy things, I agree. And the Empire was also fighting for worthy goals: an end to a situation where Ythrian freelances were apparently attacking Imperial citizens without the Domain stopping them. Caused by too ambiguously defined borders and spheres of interest.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: and the fact that the Domain isn't really a government at that point. The defining characteristic of the State is that it claims, and to a substantial degree enforces, a monopoly of violence.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I agree! And I have no doubt that defeat at the hands of the Empire forced the Domain to get serious about putting some real limits on what choths could do outside the Domain.
Judges 20.24b: "In those days there was no king in Israel, but everyone did that which seemed right to himself."
Ad astra! Sean
Ythrians, as shown, are less prone to -massive- organized violence than humans; OTOH, they're also more prone to individual and small-group violence.
This would make them intolerable neighbors for a civilized community, unless they could be hammered in to taking more control of their sub-communities.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Absolutely! So the war with the Domain was necessary, to force Ythrians into learning better manners.
Ad astra! Sean
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