Heidi Hanley's Blog - Posts Tagged "a-wise-man-s-fear"
The Adem Way of Being
The Wise Man’s Fear
The Kingkiller Chronicle: Day Two
Patrick Rothfuss
The Adem Way of Being
Imagine a place where homes are built into the landscape, unobtrusive and eco-friendly. Imagine a people who are communally and spiritually governed by a way of life that follows a path of integrity, honesty and equanimity. Imagine a people who converse with only the amount of words necessary and small hand movements to convey ideas and emotion. Imagine a people who celebrate sexuality rather than make it something shameful. Imagine a mercenary people who fight with honor, sublime grace and precision.
Haert is an interesting choice for the name of a village created by Patrick Rothfuss in The Wise Man’s Fear. It is the heart of the Adem, a people who are paid mercenaries but who follow the guidance of the Lethani, which is not god, not religion and not even a path but a force that guides them in right action. Tempi, the Adem mercenary who has taken Kvothe under his wing at great personal risk, says that Lethani is something that is felt, not in the brain or heart, but in the gut, or as I interpreted it, the soul. Kvothe admits he doesn’t fully understand the Lethani. Reading this, I was reminded of the Taoist teaching, “The Tao that can be named is not the Tao.”
In Haert, women are in charge and they don’t mess around. Accepting Kvothe as part of their community was only done after rigorous study and brutal testing. Learning the Ketan, a practice somewhat reminiscent of Tai chi with weapons, is challenging to the point of near impossibility. Yet Kvothe finds it in him to take on the challenge. Why? To prevent his friend from being exiled for even bringing an outsider into the Adem community. And because Kvothe is nothing if not thirsty for knowledge and experience.
The Ketan is composed of movements such as Heart of Stone, Spinning Leaf, Maiden Dancing, Hands Like Knives, Catching Sparrows, Catching Rain, Break Lion and Mother at the Stream to maneuver in combat using the least amount of movement to inflict the most amount of damage or to avoid the point of sword or battering of hands. The rules of using the Ketan are also succinct and not for reckless fighting. Honor is at the center of the Ademic teachings and way of life.
When the Adem wise woman and leader, Shehyn, demonstrates the Ketan, Kvothe is brought to tears, and so am I. She asks why he cries. His response is “You are beautiful, Shehyn. For in you is the stone of the wall, the water of the stream, and the motion of the tree in one.” For his compliment, she throws him to the ground. He has a lot to learn. Shehyn doesn’t need his praise. She demands his obedience.
Gentle reproach… Disapproval…Agreement…Understatement…Small amusement…Regret… Curiosity…Questioning…Emphatic…Apology…Approval. For each of these words there is a hand or finger movement that is so small, so imperceptible as to be difficult to master. And yet, one has the sense that much more is communicated with these small hand movements than could ever be shared with words. For a poet and musician, such as Kvothe, it opens a whole new language that is beautiful, precise and far more meaningful than anything he has ever written or sung.
Patrick RothfussThe Wise Man's Fear
I found these chapters about the Adem people, some of the most beautiful and thoughtful in the entire book, which is saying a lot since the book is filled with terrible, beautiful, thoughtful scenes.
They spoke to me of honor and integrity, reminding me that our world is littered with unnecessary action, verbosity and unseemly motivation. We, especially in America, suffer from diarrhea of the mouth, which is only made worse we transfer it through cyber communication which completely disallows for any sort of bodily communication or expression. We would do well to attempt an understanding of the Adem way of life and thinking. Perhaps it would be a quieter, more intentional and just world.
The Kingkiller Chronicle: Day Two
Patrick Rothfuss
The Adem Way of Being
Imagine a place where homes are built into the landscape, unobtrusive and eco-friendly. Imagine a people who are communally and spiritually governed by a way of life that follows a path of integrity, honesty and equanimity. Imagine a people who converse with only the amount of words necessary and small hand movements to convey ideas and emotion. Imagine a people who celebrate sexuality rather than make it something shameful. Imagine a mercenary people who fight with honor, sublime grace and precision.
Haert is an interesting choice for the name of a village created by Patrick Rothfuss in The Wise Man’s Fear. It is the heart of the Adem, a people who are paid mercenaries but who follow the guidance of the Lethani, which is not god, not religion and not even a path but a force that guides them in right action. Tempi, the Adem mercenary who has taken Kvothe under his wing at great personal risk, says that Lethani is something that is felt, not in the brain or heart, but in the gut, or as I interpreted it, the soul. Kvothe admits he doesn’t fully understand the Lethani. Reading this, I was reminded of the Taoist teaching, “The Tao that can be named is not the Tao.”
In Haert, women are in charge and they don’t mess around. Accepting Kvothe as part of their community was only done after rigorous study and brutal testing. Learning the Ketan, a practice somewhat reminiscent of Tai chi with weapons, is challenging to the point of near impossibility. Yet Kvothe finds it in him to take on the challenge. Why? To prevent his friend from being exiled for even bringing an outsider into the Adem community. And because Kvothe is nothing if not thirsty for knowledge and experience.
The Ketan is composed of movements such as Heart of Stone, Spinning Leaf, Maiden Dancing, Hands Like Knives, Catching Sparrows, Catching Rain, Break Lion and Mother at the Stream to maneuver in combat using the least amount of movement to inflict the most amount of damage or to avoid the point of sword or battering of hands. The rules of using the Ketan are also succinct and not for reckless fighting. Honor is at the center of the Ademic teachings and way of life.
When the Adem wise woman and leader, Shehyn, demonstrates the Ketan, Kvothe is brought to tears, and so am I. She asks why he cries. His response is “You are beautiful, Shehyn. For in you is the stone of the wall, the water of the stream, and the motion of the tree in one.” For his compliment, she throws him to the ground. He has a lot to learn. Shehyn doesn’t need his praise. She demands his obedience.
Gentle reproach… Disapproval…Agreement…Understatement…Small amusement…Regret… Curiosity…Questioning…Emphatic…Apology…Approval. For each of these words there is a hand or finger movement that is so small, so imperceptible as to be difficult to master. And yet, one has the sense that much more is communicated with these small hand movements than could ever be shared with words. For a poet and musician, such as Kvothe, it opens a whole new language that is beautiful, precise and far more meaningful than anything he has ever written or sung.
Patrick RothfussThe Wise Man's Fear
I found these chapters about the Adem people, some of the most beautiful and thoughtful in the entire book, which is saying a lot since the book is filled with terrible, beautiful, thoughtful scenes.
They spoke to me of honor and integrity, reminding me that our world is littered with unnecessary action, verbosity and unseemly motivation. We, especially in America, suffer from diarrhea of the mouth, which is only made worse we transfer it through cyber communication which completely disallows for any sort of bodily communication or expression. We would do well to attempt an understanding of the Adem way of life and thinking. Perhaps it would be a quieter, more intentional and just world.
