Annotation Elantris Chapter 56
Chapter Fifty-Six
This chapter begins with an interesting scene. There’s already a bit of tension between Sarene and Raoden. Nothing big, of course–but I think it’s realistic. People don’t always agree. Loving someone doesn’t change the fact that you sometimes think what they’re doing is flat-out dumb. It does, however, tend to change your reactions. And so, Sarene acknowledges that Raoden is acting like a king, not a friend, and lets the matter drop.
This highlights a difference between the two of them that I have pointed out earlier. Sarene was not raised to rule–Raoden was. That lifetime of preparation has changed the way Raoden sees things; it has made him look at everything in the light of how it effects his people. Actually, there is no ‘Raoden the man’ separate from ‘Raoden the ruler.’ They’re tightly integrated.
Kiin doesn’t take orders, here. Another interesting little character trait, but it shouldn’t be too surprising. Kiin’s personality all along has indicated how little he regards the titles and authority of other men.
So, this section marked one of the biggest changes to the text during the revision process. In the Mad Prince version of the novel, the soldiers who ride up to Kiin’s house were members of the Mad Prince’s army. They arrested Raoden–he went willingly–and tried him for the death of their leader. This took the better part of two chapters, and ended with Raoden almost getting beheaded.
Overall, I kind of happy to lose the scene. The trial was a big distraction, and I’m not sure that I ever pulled it off narratively. There were a few interestingly tense moments, and it did let Raoden show his honor in his defense (he accepted the judgments of the army assuming they promised to make Sarene queen.) However, I sense that the scene in general was just over-written.
Yes, Dilaf manipulating the Dor is supposed to be a major ‘What the. . . ?’ moment in this book. I’m sorry–I didn’t really give you much foreshadowing on this one. There really wasn’t an opportunity; this isn’t the kind of thing that Dilaf would use very often, for fear of betraying his secrets.
I think it works, however, since this scene is actually supposed to be foreshadowing itself. You’ll find out more about Dilaf, obviously, in the next chapter.
If we were in Sarene’s viewpoint here, we’d probably see her thinking about the time this very thing happened to her–at her wedding.
I think her speech makes some good points. However, I think the people of the city have also been through so much lately that they’re ready to accept anything. The combination of moving speech and unresponsive crowd is what let them get away with making Raoden king. Honestly, so many people have been popping in and out of Elantris lately that I suspect the people of the city are beginning to lose their edge of fear. They know that the Shaod isn’t contagious, and they now know that many Elantrians aren’t dangerous. The would see the illusion drop, and finally make the connection between Raoden and the Elantiran Spirit that helped them distribute food.
In this case, hope overcomes fear.
