Posted by Nick on July 09, 1999 at 04:51:08:
In Reply to: Parents and Children posted by Terry on July 08, 1999 at 09:48:03:
: I cannot think of a single Vance hero who inherits great wealth. In fact I can't remember a Vance hero that comes from a fully functional 2 parent family (no, wait, Wyst), although if such there are, I'm sure someone will point it out.
: More often children or young adults are cut off from their families: Durdane, Nightlamp, Araminta Station, Blue World, Demon Princes, etc. In fact a very popular theme in Vance is the loss of one or both parent. No inheritance ensues. Those who inherit are often females of great priveledge who are attracted to Vance's strong silent type heros: The Face or Nightlamp, eg.
I suspect that the lack of a conventional family back-ground is a plot device be-loved of many story-tellers, Luke Skywalker springs to mind. In the same category as the statistically unappealing fate awaiting his protagonists' romantic companions.
As to the rebellion against oppressive societies, I would again place that in the context of a plot-device; an equally common device is the episodic journey (perhaps the ghost of Vance's time as a merchant seaman), but I do not think Jack Vance is neccessarily advocating an itinerent lifestyle.