It's the pressure of Barrayar's environment and the need for the power to survive it that drives him so far.
Yeah, exactly. The way Mark develops an almost completely different personality from the same genes is proof of that. He's driven to survive too, but in different ways.
We had a conversation on a mailing list a while back when someone was talking about people who take as fact the idea that Hercules takes Iolaus for granted and treats him terribly and where on earth they get this idea, since it isn't in the show.
Huh. I seem to recall this exact same issue occurring in Sentinel fandom, with Blair. Is it the curly hair, or what?
I think you're right: that must be what people want to see. If they want Iolaus to be a victim, that's their thing, but why call it canon? I mean, I don't call slash canon, for crying out loud. (Myth-canon, yes.)
I grant that "Gladiator" shows Hercules' obstinate side, but I actually love how Iolaus reacts, complaining and rolling his eyes but going along with the plan anyway. Come to think of it, the exact same thing that happens in "North", only in reverse, with Hercules tagging along and wondering what the hell Iolaus is dragging him into. So I guess Herc is a victim, too. :-)
I also think it's partly the fault of the US educational system that for the most part doesn't teach textual analysis.
I wonder. We got textual analysis out the wazoo in high school ('why do you think X does this? What does Y symbolize? What are the themes of this novel? Is Z a flat or round character?') and I hated it. I thought it a great way to kill anyone's joy in reading. (Not mine, but still.)
I'm not sure how I feel about it now, since I'm obviously happy to talk about characterization til the cows come home.
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Date: 2003-09-23 09:59 am (UTC)Yeah, exactly. The way Mark develops an almost completely different personality from the same genes is proof of that. He's driven to survive too, but in different ways.
We had a conversation on a mailing list a while back when someone was talking about people who take as fact the idea that Hercules takes Iolaus for granted and treats him terribly and where on earth they get this idea, since it isn't in the show.
Huh. I seem to recall this exact same issue occurring in Sentinel fandom, with Blair. Is it the curly hair, or what?
I think you're right: that must be what people want to see. If they want Iolaus to be a victim, that's their thing, but why call it canon? I mean, I don't call slash canon, for crying out loud. (Myth-canon, yes.)
I grant that "Gladiator" shows Hercules' obstinate side, but I actually love how Iolaus reacts, complaining and rolling his eyes but going along with the plan anyway. Come to think of it, the exact same thing that happens in "North", only in reverse, with Hercules tagging along and wondering what the hell Iolaus is dragging him into. So I guess Herc is a victim, too. :-)
I also think it's partly the fault of the US educational system that for the most part doesn't teach textual analysis.
I wonder. We got textual analysis out the wazoo in high school ('why do you think X does this? What does Y symbolize? What are the themes of this novel? Is Z a flat or round character?') and I hated it. I thought it a great way to kill anyone's joy in reading. (Not mine, but still.)
I'm not sure how I feel about it now, since I'm obviously happy to talk about characterization til the cows come home.