The Name of the Wind
question
What, if any, are Kvothe's weaknesses or faults?
Jeff
Mar 21, 2016 11:15AM
Kvothe seems to have almost no weaknesses or faults. Am I missing them or is he a perfect character who ends up in bad situations?
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That's because...Kvothe is The Most Interesting Man in the World. Stay thirsty, my friend.
Sure, he doesn't kill people for their shoes or lust after his sister. But there are plenty of times I find him to be annoying, selfish, arrogant, vain, and a general a$$.
He loves to show off and is certainly nothing resembling humble. Something he proves by his constant references to how poor he is and how no one could possibly understand how much he has suffered. Comments that certainly don't make me pity him.
A Mary Sue wouldn't put themselves in a position to show how good they are at magic by taking on the 2nd and 3rd best students at the same time, in front of the entire class. They would lose on purpose so everyone would like them.
The fact that he is telling the story only amplifies how self absorbed he is, because he is intentionally leaving in what others would recognize as personal propaganda.
Skill and genius do not equal likability. In fact they probably subtract from it unless balance with honest humility. Kvothe's humility comes off as forced, as if he knows what it means and knows he should have it, but can't make it convincing.
I get the feeling that his faults are often overlooked by readers, as if they assume the author was trying to make him perfect and failed. That his "You can't understand how poor I was" commentary was just a faulty attempt to gain reader sympathy and not show him as stuck up.
We are told, by Kvothe, that the best looking girl in the university liked him. Of course he would say that. In the story about himself and how awesome he is, he's isn't going to say "Only the blind girl with one leg would talk to me."
He loves to show off and is certainly nothing resembling humble. Something he proves by his constant references to how poor he is and how no one could possibly understand how much he has suffered. Comments that certainly don't make me pity him.
A Mary Sue wouldn't put themselves in a position to show how good they are at magic by taking on the 2nd and 3rd best students at the same time, in front of the entire class. They would lose on purpose so everyone would like them.
The fact that he is telling the story only amplifies how self absorbed he is, because he is intentionally leaving in what others would recognize as personal propaganda.
Skill and genius do not equal likability. In fact they probably subtract from it unless balance with honest humility. Kvothe's humility comes off as forced, as if he knows what it means and knows he should have it, but can't make it convincing.
I get the feeling that his faults are often overlooked by readers, as if they assume the author was trying to make him perfect and failed. That his "You can't understand how poor I was" commentary was just a faulty attempt to gain reader sympathy and not show him as stuck up.
We are told, by Kvothe, that the best looking girl in the university liked him. Of course he would say that. In the story about himself and how awesome he is, he's isn't going to say "Only the blind girl with one leg would talk to me."
I'm sure he has many but there's a key thing that a few people seem to be missing.
This story is being narrated by Kvothe himself and it's from his perspective. Obviously he's amazing! He's the narrator!
This story is being narrated by Kvothe himself and it's from his perspective. Obviously he's amazing! He's the narrator!
Even though this story is narrated by Kvothe himself, he still points out some of the faults he sees in his younger self. He mentions his arrogance, and hotheadedness on several occasions. There were several instances were he mentions how his character flaws almost led to disaster on his adventures as well, like alienating Deaden on his job for the Maer, or almost destroying Trebon by thinking he could take on a Drakkus without help.
Any news on the third book.
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