The Illearth War (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, #2)

by Stephen R. Donaldson

But he knew how it had happened. The health which the Land gave him had taken him by surprise. After months of impotence and repressed fury, he had not been prepared for the sudden rush of his vitality.

Covenant explains his rape of Lena, (to paraphrase), "Oh, I just couldn't help myself. That's why I hit her too. I couldn't help slapping her face before I raped her." Ahhh, the old idea that rape is about desire and not power, and that men are just too filled with lust to control themselves. This is one step away from, "Lena was gagging for it. She was asking for it. She likes to play rough, and I just gave her what she wanted."

He hung up with a shudder. He gave himself a thorough VSE, checking his body from head to foot for danger signs. Then he went about the task of trying to recover all his self-protective habits.

These VSEs while appropriate given Covenants leprosy also feed his self-obsessive narcissim.

But at unexpected moments his sight seemed to go suddenly dim with sorrow as he remembered the spring of the Land. Compared to that, where the very health of the sap and buds was visible, palpable, discernible by touch and scent and sound, the woods he now walked looked sadly superficial.

The Land was more real than his original world ... which is the dream, or is it more sane to assume both are real in their own way. Consider shamanism, and other ecstatic visionary systems. The visionary realm is its own reality and treated as valid without insanity. Insanity is just a label placed by the non-visionary on what they can not participate in.

Like Lena, about whom he could rarely bear to think, she made him ashamed; and with shame came anger—the old familiar leper’s rage on which so much of his endurance depended. By hell! he fumed. They had no right. They had no right! But then the uselessness of his passion rebounded against him, and he was forced to recite to himself as if he were reading the catechism of his illness, Futility is the defining characteristic of life. Pain is the proof of existence. In the extremity of his moral solitude, he had no other answers.

Lena made him ashamed?!?!... (Oh, yeah, it's all her fault how he is feeling bad about himself...) His own actions should fill him with shame. He is the shameful one. Lena offered him nothing but kindness and he raped her. As for futility ... If, Covenant wants to define himself as powerless and meaningless that's on him ... futility is not a necessary feature of life.

If conscious normal men and women could be placed so much at the mercy of their own inner chaos, surely one abject leper in a coma could have a dream that was worse than chaos—a dream specifically self-designed to drive him mad.

Covenant holds to his false dilemma that engagement with the reality of the Land would drive him mad. This is one of the key stupidities of this story. A vivid reality must always be dealt with as real. I.e. Dealt with in it's own terms. Memory remains the life line reaching back across any transition between realms. While you have memory, you are safe to engage - hence not a dilemma. This 'false dilemma,' is just a device by the author to encourage sympathy with a rapist.

The people of the Land had called him the Unbeliever. Now he found that he would have to earn that title whether the Land actually existed or not.

Covenant gave himself this title in the first book. He's lying to himself here.

The man’s geniality touched Covenant. Already he regretted his duplicity. But shame always made him angry, stubborn—a leper’s conditioned reflex.

If shamed, you could apologise and make it right. Is shame -> anger/stubborn actually a feature of lepers or is the author just being derogatory about lepers? You think this is strange? Substitute a racial slur for leper and see how it reads.

“I am Elena,” the voice replied, “High Lord by the choice of the Council, and holder of the Staff of Law. I have called you.”

Anyone with the Staff of Law can summon Covenant, and hence should be able to send him back.

“Hile Troy,” added Elena slowly, almost hesitantly, “comes from your world, Unbeliever.” What?

Cat meet Pidgeons. The evidence for the Land being real begins to appear.

Covenant looked up into Mhoram’s sympathetic face.

According to Donaldson: Mhoram is an external personification of Covenant. Hence Mhoram represents the good nature of Covenant that he has lost (and is implicitly moving towards in a redemptive arc). Pity, Covenant's rape of Lena renders him irredeemable not matter what 'good,' he does or attempts to become. There can be no expiation of this stain of rape. Only the justice of severe punishment can balance the scale of what can not be remediated.

He was trapped in his delusion again. If he meant to survive, he could not afford the luxury of grieving over lost hopes. He was a leper; all his hopes were false. They were his enemies. They could kill him by blinding him to the lethal power of facts.

The false dilemma remains. His best path forward is based on assuming the Land is real and interacting with it to get sent back to his original realm. But because Covenant believes the Land is an illusion he makes his own situation worse. Please save me from stupid (and rapey) main characters that create their own problems.

Lord Mhoram shrugged. “That is the paradox of white gold. Hope and despair run together for us. How could we refuse the risk?

Hope and despair are indeed two sides of the same coin - like good and evil, one can't exist without the potentiality for the other.

We knew that they were named Sheol, Jehannum, and Herem, and that they lived without bodies, feeding upon the souls of others.

Sounds like a dybbuk from Jewish folklore.

Forgive me, my friend. I know that our peril cannot be laid on your head. Dream or no—there is no difference for us. We must serve the Land.

The dreams of gods are reality ... does it follow that Covenant (implicit in Covenant's disbelief) is positioned as a 'God,' within this world?

The stonelore of the rhadhamaerl, and the woodlore of the lillianrill, have been preserved from past ages by the people of Stonedown and Woodhelven.

Stonedown and Woodhelven ... both locations where Cheese showed up - absent cows, dairies, etc.... I still have a mental image of a cow herd in the branches of Woodhelven. How else the cheese? Worldbuilding???

I know, Covenant said like a prophet. I’m going to have to pay for everything.

We'll see if that ever happens. My bet is that he'll never pay (get punished, see justice done) for his rape of Lena.

That cry visibly stunned Troy.

If Troy is so easily intimidated, he should not lead anyone into battle.

He faced the onslaught of Covenant’s glare for a moment longer. Then he turned and left the room, moving quietly, as if he had been humbled.

Why would Troy give in so easily? These characters are incoherent.

When evening came, Thomas Covenant sat on his balcony to watch the sun set behind the Westron Mountains. Though summer was hardly past, there was a gleam of white snow on many of the peaks. As the sun dropped behind them, the western sky shone with a sharing of cold and fire. White silver reflected from the snow across the bottom of a glorious sky, an orange-gold gallant display sailing with full canvas over the horizon.

On the plus side, Donaldson is a dab hand at painting a scenic backdrop. Given that Donaldson (in his own words ref 'EpicFantasy pdf') defines all external characters and events in fantasy as personifications of the character's inner struggles* - perhaps this paragraph expresses Covenant's struggle between his usual chaos and his unrealised serenity. *Or more broadly, all the good characters, features and events of 'the Land,' are unrealised goods in Covenant, and all evils are expressions of his own evil, magnified and personified. To the extent that he fights the evils that plague the Land, is the extent to which he fights his own evil. It's a pity that he is an unrepentant rapist who has not sought justice for Lena.

Chiefest of these was the argument that since the Land was not real it could not kill him; a death here would only force him back into the reality that was the only thing in which he could believe. In his aloneness, he could not tell whether that argument expressed courage or cowardice.

Covenant still believes he is the 'only real thing,' and that the Land and all it's inhabitants are only a dream. To kill or not kill himself as either courage or cowardice is the wrong question derived from a false premise. The land is a vivid reality, failing to engage with it is the core question and Covenant's rejection is pure cowardice.

But behind the experience of responsibility and commitment in her features was something strangely evocative. She seemed distantly familiar, as if in the background of her face she resembled someone he had once known.

Geez, I hope the High Lord 'Elena,' is not his daughter by rape from Lena.

Lena! he cried. A violence of grief and self-recrimination blazed up in him.

Covenant claims to be filled with grief and self-recrimination over his rape of Lena. An experience he first luxuriated in and then fled with nary a thought for Lena's welfare ... if he is so upset, why does he not seek justice for Lena by submitting himself to just punishment. Of course, Covenant must not be duly punished for rape, or else the subtle endorsement of rape culture in this series would be denied.

He grasped the krill in both fists, its blade pointing downward. With a convulsive movement, he stabbed the sword at the heart of the table, trying to break its blunt blade on the stone.

An act of rage and violence within the High Lord's sanctum and not a single Bloodguard comes running - not even after Covenant was explicitly warned against violence mere minutes earlier by the Bloodguard leader, Morin. Pure narrative incoherence. The characters do not have their own agency, their acts are driven by the needs of the narrative. Instead of the characters expressing their agency as they drive the narrative. The narrative drives the actions of the characters robbing them of agency and substance reducing them to ciphers of the author's intentions.

“Unbeliever—you have brought the krill to life.”

High lord + Covenant + newly activated super weapon and the loyal Bloodguard are invisible... Incoherent.

With a look that searched Covenant, she said, “Does it surprise you to hear that I rode a Ranyhyn as a child? There is no other in the Land who has had such good fortune.”

Hint, hint - hello daddy...

There was no aid he could give Atiaran—or my mother.”

Another hint, hint.

My mother understood at once that this was a gift from you. And she shared it with me. It was so easy for her to forget that you had hurt her. Did I not tell you that I also am young? I am Elena daughter of Lena daughter of Atiaran Trell-mate. Lena my mother remains in Mithil Stonedown, for she insists that you will return to her.”

So, according to Elena, Lena forgot that Covenant raped her... and expects Covenant to 'return to her.' Stockholm Syndrome writ large. The implicit message is that rape victims will forget their agony and come to love/desire their abusers... All this is painted by Elena as a good thing. Sick making

“I was impotent.” He forced the jagged confession through his sore throat. “I forgot what it’s like. Then we were alone. And I felt like a man again, but I knew it wasn’t true, it was false, I was dreaming, had to be, it couldn’t happen any other way. It was too much. I couldn’t stand it.”

Oh... the excuses, followed by...

Do you think that mere explanation or apology is sufficient reparation? And without the diseased numbness which justified him, he could not argue. “No,” he said in a shaking voice. “Nothing suffices.”

... a moment of truth. But there will be no reparation as rape can not be undone. Rape can not be remediated like the return of stolen goods could remediate a theft. No remediation. No reparation. Only just punishment can even the scales of justice.

Back in the age of the Old Lords, the Giants had been wanderers of the sea who had lost their way. For that reason, they called themselves the Unhomed. They had roamed for decades in search of their lost homeland, but had not found it.

Kinda like the Ents.

Covenant groaned inwardly. Foamfollower had been his friend—and yet he had not even said goodbye to the Giant when they had parted. He felt an acute regret. He wanted to see Foamfollower again, wanted to apologize.

I don't get why Covenant is both heavily emotionally invested in certain characters like Foamfollower, and yet maintains his belief that 'the Land,' is an unconscious/unwilling fantasy creation of his own mind. Wouldn't it be more natural to take the Land as real (given its vivid and consistent reality) and align emotional investment with rational belief, or contrawise, disengage emotionally from everything in the Land as merely an figment of his own creation imposed upon him by his own tortured mind. Because Covenant's refusal to believe in the vivid reality of the Land (which his emotional response is telling him is true) is so mis-aligned with his emotions, it undercuts the validity of both the belief and his emotional response. Like an irresistable force (the Land) working against an immovable object (Covenant's disbelief) they cancel each other out. In the context in which Covenant is operating - this self-cancellation subverts the possibility of reader immersion into the narrative. This mismatch between vividly experienced reality (the Land) and belief (all a crazy dream) operates like a deep plot hole.

The Lord’s naturally gay eyes held a look of painful somberness.

How the hell does Covenant know that Hyrim's eyes are 'naturally gay?' He's just met him five minutes ago!

There is much that we do not know concerning the Despiser’s intent for this war—and of these one of the greatest is our ignorance of the direction from which he will attack.

According to Sun Tzu, the lords have already lost.

But that argument reminded Covenant bitterly that he was less capable of help than anyone in the Land.

Especially since he stuck the magic sword (Krill) into a stone. Is it still there ... locked in the stone? Ok, Covenant feels helpless because he can't control the 'white gold,' but does he ever ask anyone for help learning to use it? Why doesn't Elena or Mhoram or any of the other lords simply sit down and go, "Right, let's work with Covenant to work out how to use the 'white gold.'" No one thinks of this simple approach because everyone is as thick as two short planks. Really???

That Covenant could not refuse; he was too ashamed of his essential impotence, too angry. Kicking himself vehemently into motion, he strode out of his suite.

Only a short time before he activated a magic sword no one else could activate and thrust it into a rock. And he assumes he is impotent, despite powerful evidence to the contrary. Totally incoherent.

packing their supplies into bundles with clingor thongs.

Clingor - otherwise known as velcro.

If he did, he would soon come to resemble Hile Troy—a man so overwhelmed by the power, of sight that he could not perceive the blindness of his desire to assume responsibility for the Land. That would be suicide for a leper. If he failed, he would die.

Ahhh... Covenant, but you are 'already,' responsible for the land. You are its 'dreaming god,' you are absolutely responsible for the existence of every single thing within 'the Land.' OR The land is real, and your constant withdrawl of any effort to assist the Land and its people in their hour of need is nothing but supreme narcisstic cowardice.

“Have you met success?” Elena asked softly. “Can you withdraw the krill?” “No.” Mhoram’s lips formed the word, but he made no sound.

Right, so the magic sword can't be pulled from the stone - good one, Covenant.

“Is that a fact?” Troy said sourly. “And since you don’t have any power, no one can hold you to blame.”

Indeed. Covenant loves to avoid responsibility.

The only person in life who’s free at all, ever, is a person who’s impotent. Like me. Or what do you think freedom is? Unlimited potential? Unrestricted possibilities? Hellfire! Impotence is freedom. When you’re incapable of anything, no one can expect anything from you. Power has its own limits—even ultimate power. Only the impotent are free.

Free to never make a difference. Covenant makes an argument for apathetic nihilism, but like all his intellectualizing - it's just a form of justification to avoid actually caring about anyone else. After all, there is only room within his soul to truly care about one person - himself. (Quick, stop everything and do a VSE...) But this basic truth has already been denied by his various attachments to characters in the Land such as Foamfollower. He talks a talk, feels something else, does something else again, and always, always, always, - nothing lines up in the chaotic miasma of his incoherence.

He recognized the Stonedownor. In the still place at the center of the spasm, he felt sorrow and remorse for this man whose life he had ruined as if he were incapable of regret.

... and 2 minutes before, Covenant was preaching in favor of apathetic nihilism... now he's filled with sorrow and remorse for a man who's life he ruined... But ... he's impotent ... it's the only way to be free... What a fucking rollercoaster of incoherence Covenant is.

After a while, Covenant went on, “Bannor, you’re practically the only person around here who hasn’t at least tried to forgive me for anything.” “The Bloodguard do not forgive.” “I know. I remember. I should count my blessings.”

The absence of forgiveness is not the presence of justice. Covenant (after some reflection, 'cause he certainly didn't think this during and immediately after raping Lena) has decided that 'rape is wrong,' and feels uncomfortable in the presence of nearly universal forgiveness of nearly everyone in the land. He notes that Bannor's lack of forgiveness is a blessing. It's telling that Covenant never makes a single move to seek justice for Lena.

Treading water and sputtering, he looked around until he located Elena. “Fair warning!” He tried to sound angry despite Glimmermere’s fresh, exuberant chill. “I’ll teach you fair warning!” He reached her in a few swift strokes, and shoved her head down.

1. Apply violence to the victim.

He felt her tugging at his feet. Grabbing a deep breath, he upended himself and plunged after her. For the first time, he opened his eyes underwater, and found that he could see well. Elena swam near him, grinning. He reached her in a moment, and caught her by the waist. Instead of trying to pull away, she turned, put her arms around his neck, and kissed him on the mouth.

2. Now it's 'flirting with,' incest with the progeny of his rape of Lena.

Clenching himself, he rolled over, and found that she sat close to him, regarding him softly. Unable to resist the sensation, he touched a strand of her wet hair, rubbed it between his fingers.

3. Followed by intimate gestures...

“I can’t help it. It’s the simple fact.” “You have a great respect for facts.” He breathed carefully around his sore heart before answering. “No. I hate them. They’re all I’ve got.”

Covenant doesn't have facts, he has assumptions he is unwilling to challenge. This is indistinguishable from hubris.

but when he tried to relax and flow with it, his pulse throbbed uncomfortably in his chest. He was too conscious of Elena’s presence.

4. The close presence of his daughter sets Covenant's heart all fluttery... Simply put, this is normalizing 'being comfortable with incest.'

When his feet were safe from the grass, he sprang up and ran after the interpreter of dreams.

End Ch 9. Given the subtext of the normalisation and validation of sexual predation, the success of this series says a lot about our culture and its subtle and persistent blindness to sexual predation. Ignoring evil is a process of silent endorsement. Writing evil into a story and pretending its good is like ringing a bell for evil.

“Ur-Lord, we have sworn an Oath of Peace which brooks no compromise. Consider—forgive me, my friend, but I must give you a clear example—consider the fate of Atiaran Trell-mate. She dared powers which were beyond her, and was destroyed. Yet the result could have been far worse. She might have destroyed others, or hurt the Land. How could we, the Lords—we who have sworn to uphold all health and beauty—how could we justify such hazards?

The Oath of Peace also seems to block expressing proper punishment of Covenant as well as the defense of the Land. Perhaps an Oath of Self Defense and Justice would have been a better option in the face of Kevin's actions and Lord Foul's threat. When faced with an existential threat, tying one hand behind your back is simply not a smart option.

“He said that I dream the truth. He said that I am very fortunate. He said that people with such dreams are the true enemies of Despite—it isn’t Law, the Staff of Law wasn’t made to fight Foul with—no, it’s wild magic and dreams that are the opposite of Despite.”

This is the 'Hero's call,' - for Covenant, it's a call to embark on a redemptive quest as the true adversary of Lord Foul and his Despair/Despite...