Marlowe answers “Why is Denna so shittily written? In fact...”

Susan asked this question about The Wise Man's Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #2):

Why is Denna so shittily written? In fact why is this thing full of wish fulfillment cardboard-cutouts? Also, why do women only have a decorative function in it?

Marlowe I actually think Denna is quite well written. When I was a teenager, I had a friend who was in an abusive relationship, and it was so frustrating and …moreI actually think Denna is quite well written. When I was a teenager, I had a friend who was in an abusive relationship, and it was so frustrating and heartbreaking to watch. Like Kvothe, I wanted to be able to snap her out of it, or maybe even to be her rescuer, but it just doesn't work that way. You can't save someone from their own choices.

Instead, I had to learn - just like Kvothe - that all I could do was be there for her. I could be her respite, and I could be a reminder of what she could have in a romantic relationship. And, in the end, she did leave the guy, and I was the one she came to for support, and she's now doing very well. But there were many bridges burned with other friends and her family when they tried to rescue her and broke contact with them.

So for me, I'm really enjoying Denna's character because she reads so real. Even better, she isn't just a woman in an abusive relationship - she's also a musician, one who is very talented when she has the opportunity to learn. She's funny, she's smart, she knows how to blend in with many different cultures and social classes, etc. Yes, like Kvothe, she seems to have a touch of Best-At-Everything-itis, but it seems only fair if he's going to have such a bad case of it.

As for the other women... I don't know. It's rather frustrating, though. It's been a while since I read Name of the Wind, but I feel like it's worse here - especially in the last 1/3 of the book where Kvothe gets to be The Best At Sex. I found that whole bit read so much like a 16 year old boy's fanfics.

But other than that, I do think the female characters are reasonably well written when they are actually present. The world does seem to have a rather pronounced gender imbalance, but I like the fact that all the secondary character women (as opposed to background characters) would be perfectly fine if Kvothe didn't exist. Even the ones he thinks needs him to save him, like Denna and Auri, do perfectly well taking care of themselves when he isn't around. In particular, I'm thinking of the way he gets food and clothes for Auri out of concern that she'd starve and freeze to death without him - then he's gone for the better part of the year and returns to find her totally fine, just like she was before he met her. (less)

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Nathan Hunt Guys tend to make friends with guys, especially around Kvothe's age. It makes sense that he is mostly surrounded by guys, but there are some females t ...more
Nov 05, 2016 08:08PM

Prginocx P. Rothfuss creates a whole society (Admere) where the WOMEN are far, far, far better fist / sword fighters than the men, and in fact the women run th ...more
Apr 04, 2022 05:24PM

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The Wise Man's Fear

by Patrick Rothfuss (Goodreads Author)

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