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Rise of Endymion Discussion

"I've just finished the first part of this 2 books and I must say I've been almost crying while reading the two last chapters of Endymion! The way Simmons give us the feeling of the 2 characters is really moving (especially Aenea's letter and the way she remembers the end of there first trip together). In fact the characters are built little by little and its at the end we realize how far they entered our mind. Furthermore I don't think "It was hard to feel the described relationship between Raul and Aenea, why she would like/love him so much." (as you say). Love doesn't think before acting (especially if a kind of prophecy is behind all this!!) and I don't see in Raul a selfishness character! The fact is that the story is told through his eyes, so that certainly makes him more human and weak than Aenea (especially with her dreams and vision we don't understand...). Moreover Raul says himself that he was an idiot at the beginning of the story. And don't forget that he is playing the role of the strong protector that allows Aenea to go through the worlds and this fact brings her to fall in love with him (why did Paul Atreides fell in love with this fremen woman?). But I didn't read the whole story (Rise of... missing) so I may have missed a part of your way of thinking. Furthermore it's hard to express on such a "sentimental" subject in a language that is not mine ;-) Well, hopin' to hear from you soon..." ­ Guillaume 11/24/97

Interesting points, Guillaume. Maybe I'm just having too much trouble with the roll reversal, the woman being the wise and emotionally strong partner while the man instead of taking on the hero role fumbles along with ineptitude. But I don't really like the other version either - the strong, totally competent man and the adoring air head. Writers like Ursula LeGuin pioneered models of sexual equality and many more recent books create an ambiance where gender has very little or no influence on social or psychological status. In Player of Games and Liege Killer, characters go back and forth between male and female manifestations. Culturally I think we're moving away from dependent relationships and toward ones based on mutual competence. To me, Raul and Aenea seem to exemplify a reversal of the old model. Steve 12/9/97

Please email comments to stroy@jade-mtn.com.

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