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message 1: by Bill (new)

Bill What's the relationship between Ambrose Jakis and Jax? Is Ambrose a descendant? There is already support in the text for names evolving over time, and Jakis and Jax are phonetically pretty similar. Let's put it this way, it would surprise me if there weren't a relationship of some sort.


message 2: by Amber, Master Sympathist (new)

Amber (ivorydoom) | 1471 comments Mod
eh, never considered it really. Not sure how it would play into the story even.

It may depend on what Jax' last name was. I don't think it could be disputed, but I also don't know if it could be supported.


message 3: by Chris, Master Artificer (new)

Chris (chris300) | 388 comments Mod
It would surprise me if there *were* a relationship. It would be be fiction for fiction's sake. I think Jakis is just an ass, not inherently evil.


message 4: by Bill (new)

Bill Chris wrote: "It would surprise me if there *were* a relationship. It would be be fiction for fiction's sake. I think Jakis is just an ass, not inherently evil."

It's certainly rampant speculation, but...

1: Names are clearly a very important part of this series.

2: It's been shown that names evolve over time. Lockless to Lackless, Iax to Jax, etc.

3. PR has shown a lot of attention to even the smallest details.

SO....while this idea is extremely speculative, it would surprise me if the names were similar by accident.


message 5: by Amber, Master Sympathist (new)

Amber (ivorydoom) | 1471 comments Mod
I've never seen Ambrose as evil either. Mostly just spoiled and rich. By the time we make it through WMF he's hardly the only antagonist of the situation between him and Kvothe. They become less nemesis more rival.
We also know that Kvothe is doing more than Ambrose even knows about to torment him. We don't know if Ambrose is doing the same, but my guess would be likely not.

Kvothe is obsessed with Ambrose.
I don't know if Ambrose is so obsessed with Kvothe as much as he wants to save face and seem cool.

Though I don't disagree about the evolution of names in the series and how some similarities are definitely present in the two names.


message 6: by Noah (new)

Noah (kingbobson) | 43 comments I would say that the fact that he abuses women makes him pretty evil.


message 7: by Amber, Master Sympathist (new)

Amber (ivorydoom) | 1471 comments Mod
Well - thats a valid point LOL.

Ambrose is a womanizer and I'm against that so I guess I have to agree, he has evil in him. He's just on the weak scale compared to what other evil people are doing in the story.

I have to wonder how many illegitimate children his character might have.


message 8: by Ashley (new)

Ashley Fox | 72 comments So...torturing & attempted murder of K via maelfeseance was just Ambrose saving face and being cool?

Anywho. do not think it likely that there is a strong/pertinant connection tween the two. It doesnt sit ight with me. Jax the name is as corrupted as the story in which it appears.

The symmetry is enough in terms of their shared roles as antagonists.

Though, who knows?


message 9: by Chris, Master Artificer (new)

Chris (chris300) | 388 comments Mod
Ashley - That was Jakis being an ass. He's a noble, and a spoilt brat, when he doesn't get his way he'll kick up a trantrum. I interpreted the malfeasance as just that, he doesn't really understand the scope of how bad it is. He just wants his own way. Period.

I kind of see Ambrose as something that K has to experience on his trip to adulthood. Always dicks about, K has to rise above it (which he doesn't).

I don't know if he abuses women. He just uses them, abuse seems a bit strong.


message 10: by Ashley (new)

Ashley Fox | 72 comments Ok. Im confused. I know I dont always see eye to eye. But really?

I find it strange that Ambrose (who coerces women into sex, assaults them and perhaps rapes. Tortures K (and this when he didnt know it was K), attempts to kill K - with magic, and whose family is in the process of a vioent move for the throne inc the murder of an entire family+) is seen as JUST anything, let alone an ass or cool boy. "He doesnt know how bad it is"....Yes. He does.

From the same group who thought D was a whore/bitch who should get punched in the face and whom they could wait to read a grisly end for. Becuase she dates men. Riiiiiight.

Thats a rather jarring contrast. K underestimates Ambrose. At the end of WMF we can see this begining to come to a head. His friends had kinda assumed that Ambrose had K assasinated. The political shifting in Vintas is heating up. K's still bumbling around pulling pranks.

Ambrose and women. He does abuse them. It is quite clear in the text. If your unsure reread the section where Fela is going on a date with him and she is getting advice from the other women. He uses his power to put women in a vulnerable position then coerces them into sex. He touches them sexually, whether they are willing or no. Thats sexua assualt. It's known that if he does that it's very difficult to make him stop. That's approaching rape. Women have known to have disappeared after dating him.

And these are women who hold some relative power. They have noble families of their own, and/or their affliation with the uni. What of lower class women? The servant girl D rescues actually describes the Jakis farrel, at a time when Ambrose may have been home. Loose evidence sure, but it demonstrates, along with Fela et al's concerns, how accepted and widespread such abuse of women is.


message 11: by Jessica (new)

Jessica | 117 comments Ashley wrote: "Ok. Im confused. I know I dont always see eye to eye. But really?

I find it strange that Ambrose (who coerces women into sex, assaults them and perhaps rapes. Tortures K (and this when he didnt kn..."


I am with Ashley on this one. I don't think Ambrose is nearly as innocent as he comes off to some people. It is hard for me to believe that someone just picked up maelfeseance as a hobby to see what would happen. PR has gone through quite a lot of detail and explanation about the doings of maelfeseance. I don't think it is curiosity that would make on toy with it. I think it is a well-known fact what the repercussions of this act would be, by all who live in the KKC world.

Also Ambrose is not thought of highly by many females at the university. I would think it isn't just a reputation he has but rather a "I should stay away from him" gut feeling that many girls warn others about (Does that makes sense). He makes me extremely umcomfortable and I am on ly a reader...Let's leave it at that.

I guess I do not see him as just a spoiled ass kid, but a pretty evil person. Due to his place in society of this world he thinks everything is his, and I have a big problem with that because it has made him the creepy, asshole that he is, to say the least.

That is my 2 cents on the matter.


message 12: by Ashley (new)

Ashley Fox | 72 comments Jess. Mal' being played up: definately. I think the fact thaqt the Maer now has a gram, and will become the Penitant King, with the Penitant part's relation to the Tehlin church and ther views on magic...frrriction.


message 13: by thistlepong, Master Namer (new)

thistlepong | 340 comments Mod
We think Ambrose is Kvothe's malfeasant 'cause of circumstantial evidence collected by a first person narrator, right? We never actually see the simulacra, do we?


message 14: by Amber, Master Sympathist (new)

Amber (ivorydoom) | 1471 comments Mod
I don't recall seeing the simulacra. That'd be an interesting twist on the story.

I think the suggestion that Kvothe is bumbling around pulling pranks is a bit off.

He burned down Ambrose's rooms and business venture. Thus risking the lives of an entire town. Or maybe we're forgetting a little incident in Trebon that confirms, for sure, in story, that Kvothe DOES know better. Suggesting Kvothe is an innocent idiot is just biased to the story.

I don't like Ambrose any better than the next lady, he's crude and I agree, totally creepy. I'd avoid him at all costs. But I do see his attitude reflecting the idea that things are his way or the highway. He doesn't even directly attack Kvothe with Malfeasence on purpose, he attacks the person who robbed and invaded his home, there are state laws in todays world that would allow you to kill someone who did that. It's even possible he did this in an attempt to identify him not kill him, which we can see by the fact he didn't just murder the invader right off the bat.

I don't want to be Ambrose' defender, because I hate his character, and he's disgusting. But I do want to veiw the story in full scope.

On the same hand, whether Ambrose knows how bad it is or not, I can't help but think back to the lesson Master Lorren tried to teach Kvothe at the beginning of the story when he was banned from the Archives. Just because you don't know any better, doesn't make it any less bad.


Reads with Scotch  | 178 comments I think it started off as a feud between; a noble prat, and a nobody. Then morphed into a nobody that everyone was starting to know- in part by defying Ambrose. It is a steady escalation of force. It is clear Ambrose will escalate as high as necessary to protect is image and prerogatives. Kvothe, just doesn’t care. It is a case of two people following their nature. Kvothe wont bend, Ambrose cannot bend.


message 16: by Soap! (last edited May 12, 2013 05:03AM) (new)

Soap! | 46 comments Jakis changes into Anso in spanish. It's deppends on the language you read the book. So I think there's no relation between Jakis and Jax.


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