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AO: Mor or Mor? Did anybody else catch this? (Spoiler)
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Ah... I hadn't remembered the date of the signed entry, so I skipped over that thread. [facepalm]Thanks. :)
Congrats though. I never noticed.
I'm only half way through but if its for protection from her mother, so far she refers to the face burning in the pictures as 'her face' so it doesn't seem to be working
I saw #1 as well but I was so painfully bored at the time I thought perhaps it was an just an error and didn't give it any more thought. Your theory definitely makes sense though!
Amy - Good point. I hadn't even thought about the fact that the Wicked Mum of the Welsh had burned the surviving twin's face out of the pics.
I picked up on that too, and you are correct. I actually thought for a shoprt while, that given the way the magic system works in this book that maybe it was the sister that died originally, but then some time later she used magic to trade places; to make it where she was the one that died and her sister survived. The result was the sister, who now survived in her place, "decided" to use her name in grief as the magic's way of compinsating for this change in history without rewriting too much history or making it too impactfull on bystanders.
Based on the author's FAQ (http://papersky.livejournal.com/50411...) it turns out I was over thinking it,.. but it was a fun theory while it lasted.
Rob wrote: "I picked up on that too, and you are correct. I actually thought for a shoprt while, that given the way the magic system works in this book that maybe it was the sister that died originally, but ..."
What an interesting theory, I really like.
I noticed #2 and it makes a lot of sense, both making a connection to the dead Mor and to have magic protection against her mother, since most traditions consider that words, and specially names have power.Actually, in some cultures children would be given a "public" name, but their real name was a secret, so as to prevent magical influence. Also why magicians would choose secret names for themselves - a bit surprised that the Mor's didn't choose secret names, must have been very attached to their Mor-Mor.
Does Morganna also mean something in Welsh?
Didn't she mentioned to Janine that Morwenna meant something like "breaking waves" or "white sea"?
I don't think the reason she took the new name was for magic/protection reasons. She says a few times that names and nouns in general have no magical power. I think it was just over grief.
I noticed #2, but reading your post #3 really makes sense. Throughout the book, Mori references the fear of letting magic control her (and others). Using her twin's name could make sense in that context.
Rob wrote: "I actually thought for a short while, that given the way the magic system works in this book that maybe it was the sister that died originally, but but then some time later she used magic to trade places; to make it where she was the one that died and her sister survived. The result was the sister, who now survived in her place, "decided" to use her name in grief as the magic's way of compinsating for this change in history without rewriting too much history or making it too impactfull on bystanders. ..."That is a fun theory, but it also makes my head hurt.
Because it would mean Mor died, and Mor survived, but Mor changed places with Mor, who then took Mor's name as a tribute and to appease the forces of probability and/or continuity for disrupting things by (A) having a twin sister with the same name in the first place, and (B) trading places with that sister posthumously via magical intervention.
I think I just broke my cogitator.
Ya, made my head hurt a bit too :)
yes, I picked up on this. I was confused when I saw the vow and wondered if it was typo, but then it made sense when she said about taking her dead sister's name and no one noticing. She used her real name for the vow.
What about the theory that there never was a twin sister? I finished the book a while ago so I can't remember if anyone besides Mor references her twin. I didn't start thinking about this until Tom brought it up in the latest podcast. I think Mor got a letter from her mother mentioning both twins. But I can't remember for sure. I don't recall her father, auntie, or grampar ever speaking about the other twin. It is an interesting idea that the "twin" could be her imaginary friend and the trauma from the accident could have "killed" her.Although didn't she tell the whole story, twin sister and all, to Wim? Maybe I need a re-read.
The twin sister comes up when Mor goes to the party at her old friends' house, and Nasreen is wearing a red sweater, and says they're twins. Then everyone is REALLY awkward, because other!Mor is dead.
I'm pretty sure narrator wasn't actually Morwenna, it was Morganna. She just started using her twin sister's name after the accident that killed her. I'm basing this on three things I noticed:
1. The one time Mori signs her name, after her "vow" to only use magic under special circumstances, she signs it "Morganna" (At least, that's how it was in the copy I read).
2. Later in the book, she says something about taking her sister's name after the accident, and that she thought her Welsh relatives knew but they never said anything.
3. There's a long tradition in magic and fantasy lore that knowing your true name gives other's power over you. It makes sense that feeling like she was in hostile territory, Mori would not give her real name. Also, it might have been an additional way of protecting herself from her mother, if she hoped her mother wouldn't know for sure which twin had survived.
Am I the only person who noticed this?