Posted by Dan Gunter on July 20, 1999 at 08:28:14:
In Reply to: Re: On Shant posted by Nick on July 20, 1999 at 01:56:06:
: : : Has the board been purged of wrong thinkers, or is it dead?
: : I think it's me. My last post send everyone into a coma; or perhaps they all inflicted upon themselves the Spell of Forlorn Encystment.
: : Maybe I could say something outrageous and wake Nick, Martin, Willem, and David Rose from their fretful slumbers. How about this: Gastel Etzwane's political changes to Shant in "The Brave Free Men" represent Vance's political thinking: a bicameral system with a president selected by the literally "patrician" upper house: something like the original Constitution. The first two Durdane books show the potential flaws in a weak federal system (like the U.S. system under the Articles of Confederation). Vance posits the federal government as a defender of individual rights against local systems that inflict various wrongs on women and the poor. The withe-cutting camps are perhaps analogues to the prison camps of the southern United
: : States (Parchman Farm, the prison camps on the Brazos River, where cane was cut). This system--in which the central government defends individual rights--is potentially a reflection of U.S. conditions toward the end of the Warren/Burger Court era, when "The Anome" was initially published.
: : Nick, start firing; but remember that Vance's thinking--colored though it may be by his knowledge of European and other world history--must nevertheless reflect his experience in the United States.
:
: Interesting post Dan,
: I'm going to go and read the books again and refresh my memory.
: On Shant I think you may have a point in drawing an analogy between it and US history. I would suggest, btw, that Vance's own life is THE decisive influence on his writing.
: Would it possible to argue that:
: ...the system Etzwane overthrows is moribund because the citizens have given over too much responsibility to the state(the Faceless Man)? The Torcs are a symbol of abject submission to a greater authority: free thought leading to the loss of you're head. I would propose that Shant represents a repressed, regimented society, which has lost its vigour. A picture Vance paints many times in his novels.
: (Please, I am not trying to make a point about his politics, neither the mainstream left nor right favours repression and regimentation as far as I know.)
: That is off the top of my head without studying the texts at all. As I say, I need to re-read the Durdane Trilogy.
: I look forward to hearing more on this.
: Nick
Nick--
Good points. I especially like your comment that "neither the mainstream left nor right favours repression and regimentation."
More specifically in regard to Durdane: I agree that part of the moribund quality of the society derives from the virtual enslavement of the people. However, they are enslaved not so much to the Anome as to their own local or cantonal systems. The Anome merely enforces canton law. The only "federal" law that I can identify (off the top of my head) is the "law" against disrespect to the Anome. But I'll also admit that Vance is a bit vague on some of this.
Shant's new political system does require that the citizens of Shant take a more direct role in enforcement of their own laws, but it is nevertheless a strongly federal system. In terms of U.S. history, the preference for a strong federal system has usually been a hallmark of the liberals. (Please note the "usually.") The advocates of "states' rights" have usually been aligned with conservative factions in the United States. Southern conservatives in particular have long resisted what they see as federal incursions on local matters. (These issues are still being played out, and the tide has recently turned in favor of the states' rights advocates: under Rehnquist's leadership, the Supreme Court has reduced the power of the federal government over the states; the Supreme Court's recent Eleventh Amendment decisions pose significant barriers to imposition of federal law on states. I disaagree sharply with these decisions.)
I actually started rereading the Durdane novels because I couldn't remember how much I liked them in a strictly aesthetic sense. I haven't made it into "The Asutra" yet, so I haven't made up my mind on the trilogy as a whole. In general, though, I think that they hold up well. But I have to admit that Gastel Etzwane's image is a bit like his reflection in carbon fume mirrors (and Vance twice uses the hackneyed technique of having the protagonist view himself in a mirror so that he can get across his appearance): a bit on the dim side. Also, Ifness is something of a deus ex machina, especially in "The Brave Free Men," where we learn in retrospect that he saved Gastel from the insertion of an asutra.
On that motif: Vance is apparently reusing an idea from "Eyes of the Overworld" (Firx), but I wonder if there's also a connection to the Burroughs Barsoom book that has all-brain crablike creatures riding around on animate (but barely sentient) humanlike torsos.
I look forward to hearing more from Nick, Martin G., et al.
--Dan