#patrick rothfuss

When I read Rothfuss's work, I actually imagine things quite differently from how I draw them; this is the best I can do for now.

Cuando leo la obra de Rothfuss en realidad imagino bastante diferente las cosas a como lo dibujo, esto es lo mejor que puedo de momento.

However, one thing that I remember being particularly critical about that first time I read it, and still to this day, is the characterisation of women. Most of the female characters seem to be there for Kvothe to save them (Denna tries to be independent but ultimately needs him to help her almost every time, he heroically saves Fela from the fire so she dedicates her life to try to help him in favour...), a dangerous opponent because of their high power (Devi, economically and Felurian... well, I'll talk about her in a minute), or an object of his desire (Felurian, again, in a sexual matter along many others, and Denna too as his ideal but imposible love). Even Auri, who seems like the most independent woman whose power doesn't threaten Kvothe, is perceived by him as a kid or a lost puppy he has to feed and help, even though in her own book Rothfuss doesn't present her as such. Which leads me to my maybe controversial take (?): this series is unnecessarily misogynistic. I know, it's set in some kind of medieval world, but when you're writing about dragons getting high on tree resin the historical accuracy is already lost, so why not change things a bit more? Or, if you're trying to write this as a critic to a patriarchal society, why is the lesson that these poor girls can't survive without the main character and that women in positions of power are scary? Because it doesn't seem to help the feminist cause.

Finally, on a similar matter, I really believe that the hole Kvothe loses his virginity to a magical sex fairy, becomes incredibly good at sex and fucks every woman he makes contact with is completely unnecessary, especially when it takes a big chunk of the second book. When Felurian was first mentioned in the synopsis I thought she'd be some cool witch or something like that, so I was very unhappy when I realized she was actually a fairy that seduces men and gives them a heart attack because of her majestic sex skills. Like, really, come on. Another scene that really grossed me out was the time when, after he learns the art of sex from Felurian, he starts learning how to fight with a female coach and straight up gets a boner because "it smells like sex". And maybe it's just my asexual ass, but I think it's kind of logical that if you're fighting and doing exercise you'll smell of sweat, but for him to necessarily identify it with sex... idk, it feels kinda weird.

I think what makes it worse is how much Kvothe brags about it. He skips really interesting parts of the story, but explains in great detail how he had sex with multiple women. If he'd been doing that at the time I'd kinda get it (but still would be judgemental) because he's a teenager trying to impress other boys. But by the time he's narrating the story he's an adult!! It especially pisses me off that Kvothe and Bast can be openly sexual and celebrated by it, but if it's a woman, like Felurian, she's evil and criticised. I think the terrible seductress trope is really overdone and also plainly sexist.

Wie schade! Denn dass er schlicht wunderbar schreibt, steht ja wohl außer Frage. Ich habe seine Bücher über Kvothe weggefressen wie nix. Als es dann nicht mehr weiterging, hat mich das wirklich fertiggemacht. 😢

Es hat mich tatsächlich so fertiggemacht, dass ich mich nicht getraut hätte, auch nur ein einziges Wort zu veröffentlichen, bevor nicht die ganze Geschichte vollendet ist. Komplett. Alle 7 Bände. (Ich habe nicht mal rumerzählt, dass ich überhaupt schreibe – hallo, Paranoia)

Nachdem Frears Glück & Eskiels Schicksal jetzt aber fertig ist (und ich mich außerdem entschlossen habe, alle Marketing-Tipps zu ignorieren), bringe ich einfach einen Band nach dem anderen raus, jeden Monat einen. Man muss sich also keine Sorgen machen, dass es plötzlich nicht mehr weitergeht.

Daily writing promptIf you could change the ending of any book, which one would it be?View all responses If you’ve been with me any length of time, you know the answer to this one: I would change the ending of The Wheel of Time. Of all the books I have ever read, this is the only ending that gags me. If The Wheel of Time were a single book, it wouldn’t matter. I’d do the same thing I always do…