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The REAL reason Morpheus is the better man
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Alyssa
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Mar 21, 2015 08:45PM
We all know Morpheus is better than Jeb, but not or superficial reasons like he has sexy wings and eyeliner. At the end of the day it's because Alyssa's relationship with Jeb is a controlling, unhealthy one based on him giving her mandates and her feeling responsible for curing his depression. Her relationship with Morpheus is a healthy one based on mutual respect and freedom. I have all the proof and details here http://alyssawaugh.com/2015/03/05/tru...
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Alyssa wrote: "We all know Morpheus is better than Jeb, but not or superficial reasons like he has sexy wings and eyeliner. At the end of the day it's because Alyssa's relationship with Jeb is a controlling, unhe..."Okay. I read your review and I completely agree with you. I`m interested what will you think of mine, so here it is:
In the beggining it may look as if I am completely happy with the ending, but by the time you reach the end you`ll see that`s not entirely true.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Now about your review:
"From a woman’s standpoint, two guys might be fun at first. But I know I couldn’t truly love and accept my life with someone knowing I’m spending eternity with someone else after he dies. I would just be waiting, dying to get to that part of my life. Which it seems, a bit, like Alyssa does at the end."
You are right. I think every one of us secretly wishes to be immortal and I hate it that Alyssa just goes on and on and on about how PERFECT it is to be human. HUMANITY IS OVERRATED!
I also read that she cut 10,000 words out of the final draft to meet publishing requirements and I’m perplexed as to why a chunk of those 10,000 came out of the all-important ending, and not, say, the beginning where we’re learning all about the dad’s family and were thinking: can we get to AnyElsewhere already? Another problem with the ending is that is was rushed.
Yeah, we can agree that the beggining nestled everyone into deep sleep. I NEEDED 13 CHAPTERS TO ACTUALLY GET EXCITED! LOL! :D
Jeb was violent throughout the series, always threatening to beat someone down, holding Alyssa’s wrists, knocking her down, even if that action was aided by magic, abuse is not okay.
That is it pretty much. I have a very strong oppinion when it comes to women and their freedom to choose and do what they want, so if Jeb was real I would`ve gone to a crazy killing rampage, because of his constant: "It`s not safe, I`ll do it for you"...GRRRR!
We see too few female characters stand on their own in YA lit. If Morpheus is still single in 1000 years and they still want to have the dream child, have at it. What’s the rush into marriage Alyssa? You’re immortal. By the way, marriage to more than one person, that’s polygamy. I mean I guess she technically waited for Jeb to die, but still. She was in a relationship with both of them her entire life.
EXACTLY! LOL, I have been rambling about that for ages. (Poor @Natalia who had to listen to me :D :D )
I AM COMPLETELY AGAINST ANY MARRIAGE OR EVEN MORE !!!!BABIES!!!! ON THE AGE OF 18! 18!!!!!!! What even?
I guess Thomas and Alison are selfish enough to want a grand-child IMMEADIATELY....no comment...
Remember when I said my little rant about Jeb losing his virginity would be relevant later? Here it is: I have a big problem with the fact that Jeb can lose his virginity to another girl yet simultaneously be so controlling of Alyssa. He was going to have sex with Alyssa too on prom night because I guess he can do whatever and whomever he wants and remain infallible in Alyssa’s eyes for whatever reason. Aside from the fact that Jeb is a total jerk, controlling, and despite what the author keeps saying, will probably turn out abusive like his father—aside from all of that, it upsets me on a smaller scale that Alyssa loses her virginity to Jeb in the mortal realm and Jeb silently pleads her not to sleep with Morpheus on their one, last night together—Morpheus doesn’t even try, making him far the superior gentleman. Since Jeb already lost his virginity, Alyssa should have gotten to sleep with Morpheus. I mean the author wanted to make things even, right? Heart split right down the middle and all that? So why is Jeb her first, but not the other way around? No fair. Meanwhile Morpheus has to wait, unable to touch her, while she has children and a full life with Jeb. How is any guy anywhere okay with that? Jeb too, has to live knowing full well that when he’s gone Alyssa will have an eternity with another man she loves. He says that it’s the same as a wife remarrying after her husband dies. I disagree. This is a whole new ballgame.
You basically read my mind. I second that.
Furthermore, I have a problem with this disturbing trend of jealous, possessive, psychotic, broken, abused, depressed, scary guys somehow being portrayed as sexy and romantic in YA lit. It’s not okay.
Have you read the Grisha trilogy? I don`t know why I keep recommending it to everyone, but these books just have a magnetic pull on me. (I cried the most because of them) Anyways, there is that character Mal and your description fits him like in a dictionary. And the virginity control thing FITS HIM EVEN MORE. I hate this guy with the passion of thousand burning suns! :D
Nessy wrote: "Anyways, there is that character Mal and your description fits him like in a dictionary."Nessy, that's because Jeb and Mal are practically literary twins. I bet people who love Jeb would also love Mal and vice versa.
Seriously, if any Jeb fans are reading this, check out Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. Mal will be your hero. I'm not being sarcastic right now, I really mean it.
@ Alyssa BTW in that other thread about why Morpheus is better than Jeb we didn't talk only about eyeliner and sexiness. Sure, there were a couple of comments in the very beginning of the thread, but we long since discussed all the possible reasons (before Ensnared was released) and had fun along the way.And for some reason it bothers me when people say Morpheus is wearing eyeliner. He doesn't have an ounce of makeup on his face. He has netherling eye patches.
And it's not his fault that he is so sexy either. Haha ;P
Also, I couldn't not point out the fact that the thread named "The REAL reason Morpheus is the better man" was started by a girl named Alyssa. Hehe. It's not a coincidence. It's UNIVERSAL TRUTH.
Oh I didn't mean to offend anyone about the eyeliner and wings. I read a lot of it and I know many people made good points similar to mine. I was just referring to the Jeb fans who say all Morpheus has going for him is the weird look. It's not true. I read as much of the other thread as I could (there were hundreds of posts) and i in particular liked the discussion about Morpheus being selfless in the end. One selfless act was all he needed but he ended up with many. In the end, he did everything for Wonderland and Alyssa and nothing for himself. In fact he lost her for a lifetime. You guys were right on :)
Oh man Nessy, there is so much to love about your review! I'll have to do a more detailed response later. You commented on one thing I didn't, which is that it's annoying how Thomas is controlling too! i kept thinking, why should I care about this guy? And the fact that he tried to control her wasn't helping. Sure, all dads will be protective of their daughters, but he probably should have hated both guys that wanna hve sex with his barely adult daughter. Instead it read like he couldn't wait for Jeb to bed her and start havig some grand kids. No wonder he likes Jeb though-he's sort of like him himself. UGH. This ending really frustrates me because I loved this series-love love loved it-and now I feel like I can't enjoy it over and over because I know how it ends. I've tried to look past the endin and enjoy it like most other fans do and I just can't get past it because it's not little stuff, it's HUGE stuff that runs me the wrong way.
I haven't yet read the other books mentioned but I will :) this Mal guy doesn't seem like someone I'd like.
Alyssa, I'm not offended at all. :) I wasn't saying that to anyone in particular. It's just that I read that other thread too sometime ago, and now that you brought it up, I remembered it always irked me how people said Morpheus wore eyeliner. Not that I have anything against eyeliner, but he just didn't wear makeup.
Hahaha I know exactly what you mean! It's not like he sat there in front of a mirror and put eyeliner on. He's a netherling (and the wings and jewels ARE sexy) there's just much more to talk about than his sexiness. But man, I do have to say I'd love to see the actor who would play him.
Also, maybe you should add something like *spoiler alert* on the topic's name? Not everyone has read Ensnared yet, and people may get accidentally spoiled. It would be better and more convenient to have a warning in the topic than to have to hide everything under spoiler brackets when commenting.
Just another note that popped into my head about the virginity thing-When I first started reading Splitered I truly thought Jeb was going to be an ANTAGONIST! The fact that he slept with some random older waitress and was going to get in Taelor's pants too (a girl who was mean to Alyssa) made him seem like this total scumbag jerk and I couldn't figure why Alyssa liked him as anything more than a friend. I thought the book would be about a strong woman saying "screw you Jeb. I'll go to Wonderland, alone, without your permission, and find a guy who treats me better." Alas.
Alyssa wrote: "I thought the book would be about a strong woman saying "screw you Jeb. I'll go to Wonderland, alone, without your permission, and find a guy who treats me better." Alas. "Yes, I like that version. ;)
*SPOILERS*
Actually, I thought the story romance-wise would be about a girl moving on from one relationship to the next, realizing that the other guy is better suited for her, that they are a better match, and that your first crush is not necessarily your true love.
I don't like the idea that if Alyssa didn't spent her human life with Jeb, it would be equalled to her living alone in the cage like Alice. Excuse me, but there are about 7 billion people on this planet. She didn't have to age alone. There are family and friends.
Because the way it turned out, I don't know how this resolution could have worked.
Alyssa was married to Jeb, but at the same time every night she was meeting Morpheus, and was supposed to be falling in love with him more and more as the time passed. It was said that Alyssa's marriage to Jeb was at the same time her COURTING TIME with Morpheus. o_O. There is just something inherently wrong with this situation.
Natalia wrote: "Alyssa wrote: "I thought the book would be about a strong woman saying "screw you Jeb. I'll go to Wonderland, alone, without your permission, and find a guy who treats me better." Alas. "Yes, I l..."
Something inherently wrong with the situation is that A.G. loves both her guys and chooses the easy ending. AND SHE IS SO NICE! AND AWESOME! YOU JUST CAN`T HATE HER! AND THAT FRUSTRATES ME! It is nothing like my love-hate relationship with Leigh Bardugo!
* I`m not serious when I say "hate", so don`t take the word literally. If I really hated A.G.Howard and Leigh Bardugo I wouldn`t have both or read their work.
I actually don't think that ending was easy for anyone.
Natalia wrote: "@ Alyssa BTW in that other thread about why Morpheus is better than Jeb we didn't talk only about eyeliner and sexiness. Sure, there were a couple of comments in the very beginning of the thread, b..."To both @Natalia and @Alyssa about Morpheus not wearing eyeliner. I guess girls around the world are comparing Morpheus to their other book/movie boyfriends...who usually are with eyeliner! Here are examples from my personal list:
#1
#2
And both are pirates...K!
Anyways, I think there are other more sexier aspects in Morpheus` look and that is:
(I prefer Ben Barnes as my Morpheus, thank you)
THE SUIT.
THE BLACK EYES!
THE BRITISH ACCENT!
AND HIS LOVE FOR TEA AND SMOKING!
The pictures of Ben Barnes are from the movie The picture of Dorian Gray (a favourite of mine). Sadly, the only thing he can`t have is wings! :D
Alyssa wrote: "Oh man Nessy, there is so much to love about your review! I'll have to do a more detailed response later. You commented on one thing I didn't, which is that it's annoying how Thomas is controlling ..."@Alyssa, here are all the links to the Grisha Trilogy and to Leigh Bardugo
First is: Shadow and Bone
Second: Siege and Storm
The third killer of my heart: Ruin and Rising
Ruin, yeah, deffinitely!
The link to the first book, of Leigh`s other duology, set in the same world - The Dregs.
Six of Crows
And lastly, my one and only book love.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF8lb...
The book trailers:
Shadow and Bone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GFt5...
Siege and Storm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FRJY...
Ruin and Rising: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOgUm...
The trilogy`s theme song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USRqv...
Leigh Bardugo`s site: http://www.leighbardugo.com/
Leigh Bardugo`s twitter: https://twitter.com/lbardugo
Leigh Bardugo`s tumblr: http://lbardugo.tumblr.com/
And yes, in case you were wondering, I am the finest of masochists. :D :D :D :P
BTW guys if you want to discuss the ending and Ensnared, there is a thread for this here , where spoilers are allowed. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
FUN FACT: i decided to go through the entire series and do a proper close reading, because idk i think it's fun, and i'm keeping track of, among other things, every instance of abusive behavior from the love interests.i just finished chapter two of splintered, and jeb's count? IS AT TWENTY-TWO. TWENTY-TWO.
in chapter one he did something abusive on average once per every hundred and fifty words.
also somehow during my first read i'd missed the fact that jeb almost killed somebody when he was like sixteen. what.
i just. am staggered.
TWENTY-TWO.
*zooms away*
wait no i will add something. it's possible to love more than one person at a time it's called polyamory and being polyamorous doesn't mean you love your individual partners any less there's just more love to go around. i ramble about that a lot on the ensnared ending thread and also my thoughts on the ending so i won't get into it here, but yeah. try not to invalidate the experiences of poly people while talking about why you didn't like the ending?
*zooms away again*
@ Haley: Did you ever read Jeb's "lost" chapters, from the original version of Splintered the way it was supposed to be? You really should.
Natalia wrote: "@ Haley: Did you ever read Jeb's "lost" chapters, from the original version of Splintered the way it was supposed to be? You really should."i haven't, where can i find them? (also: should i be afraid?)
Haley wrote: "also: should i be afraid?) "I'm curious about your opinion. I know for myself that I can't stand being in Jeb's head. I don't feel well afterwards.
The link is here https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B784...
These chapters were revealed during the winter blog tour.
Natalia wrote: "Haley wrote: "also: should i be afraid?) "I'm curious about your opinion. I know for myself that I can't stand being in Jeb's head. I don't feel well afterwards.
The link is here https://drive.g..."
These chapters scared the hell out of me!!!
Natalia wrote: "Haley wrote: "also: should i be afraid?) "I'm curious about your opinion. I know for myself that I can't stand being in Jeb's head. I don't feel well afterwards.
The link is here https://drive.g..."
...
.....................
WELL THEN.
i read the first chapter. it took me a very long time because i started off with "well, i'll give it the same style of close read i'm giving splintered" because i thought it would be fun, and it was not fun. it was very not fun. it was very extremely not fun.
*deep breath*
if you want to read it, it's here. that link is to a google doc. it is extremely non-complimentary like the point of the close reads in the first place is to approach the work as a critic rather than a fan, so i'm restraining myself from gushing about the parts i like to begin with, and on top of that this chapter made me really angry so i basically shredded it.
fair warning. although i can't imagine anyone here will be all that upset about seeing me rant and rail about how horrifying jeb's behavior is.
there is some swearing towards the end because... well, like i said. rage.
i'm going to keep going and then probably scream a lot.
ETA: OH MY GOD, IT GOT WORSE.
Haley, I read your analysis of chapter 5, and WOW!!! I was so impressed! It was painful reading, but your points are SO clear! Is there a way to read your analysis of the other chapters you've done? The Jeb POV chapters bothered me when I first read them, and I remember thinking I was glad that Anita took them out. When I read Splintered the first time, I just wrote off Jeb's behavior as "typical" YA protectiveness mode, if that makes sense. But with each re-read, his behavior has bothered me more, and with Ensnared, I hated that Thomas seemed to start acting like Jeb and was in such a hurry to pair Alyssa up with Jeb. Anyway, you are clearly showing how disturbing his behavior is. Are you analyzing Moroheus', Thomas', and Alison's behaviors, too?
*Morpheus, obviously. Too early for me to be spelling. ;)
Haley wrote: "Natalia wrote: "Haley wrote: "also: should i be afraid?) "I'm curious about your opinion. I know for myself that I can't stand being in Jeb's head. I don't feel well afterwards.
The link is here..."
ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR YOU, HALEY, FROM THE MOST GORGEOUS MAN ALIVE!
Diane wrote: "Haley, I read your analysis of chapter 5, and WOW!!! I was so impressed! It was painful reading, but your points are SO clear! Is there a way to read your analysis of the other chapters you've d..."oh, thank you!
if you mean the chapters of splintered that i've done—no, not yet. i want to get through the whole book so i can get the counts organized properly, and then i'm going to post it on my writing/art blog
i... might not actually link directly to it from here, because this is a fanboard and the entire point of this project is to approach the books as a critic rather than as a fan. so it's going to get harsh, in some places—i can already tell you that chapter nine? is going to provoke rage similar to jeb's chapter five. for example. but if you're really interested i can certainly drop a line when i start posting (i imagine i'll be posting one chapter at a time, possibly on a weekly schedule) for anyone who wants to look it up.
and yeah, in the main project i plan to examine everybody's behavior. morpheus, jeb, and alyssa will get most of the focus because they're the main characters, but there's definitely stuff to talk about wrt alison and thomas and taelor. and i'm going to go on and on about red, because i haven't a whit of self-control when it comes to my faves. plus i also have several counts to track various types of weak writing/lack of research/plot holes—mainly because i came away from ensnared feeling like a.g. improved tremendously as a writer, technically speaking, over the course of the series, and i want to have some numbers i can point to to objectively back up that impression.
yeah.
i am gonna finish up jeb's chapters and i'll post them in this thread once i do, though, since they're immediately relevant to the topic.
Nessy wrote: "ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR YOU, HALEY, FROM THE MOST GORGEOUS MAN ALIVE!"
heh, thanks!
Nessy wrote: "Natalia wrote: "@ Alyssa BTW in that other thread about why Morpheus is better than Jeb we didn't talk only about eyeliner and sexiness. Sure, there were a couple of comments in the very beginning ..."Yes, I totally agree with all of that above, and it made me sad when Hook from Once Upon A Time stopped wearing eyeliner....
Haley, thanks! And I'd love a link or a hint for where to look for your analysis when you're done. And I have to add, since I read your first link just a bit ago ( I missed it ) that I appreciate how you talked about Taelor and her reactions. While I pictured her as the "typical" mean girl in school, I didn't care for the way Jeb treated her. And the chapters from his POV were even worse than in the regular book. You did a great job in pointing out other reasons that she would act the way she did other than just "hating" Alyssa. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Diane wrote: "Haley, thanks! And I'd love a link or a hint for where to look for your analysis when you're done. And I have to add, since I read your first link just a bit ago ( I missed it ) that I appreciate..."taelor is my favorite minor character, in part because a.g. took this classic mean girl archetype and took it to the logical conclusion of "this person has deep-seated emotional problems that explain but don't excuse her behavior" in such a beautifully understated way. tho i am bummed she didn't get a heel face turn in ensnared—all the set up was there.
anyway yeah, no matter what she acts like, no girl deserves to be treated like a thing. /:
Bing Guan wrote: "Nessy wrote: "Natalia wrote: "@ Alyssa BTW in that other thread about why Morpheus is better than Jeb we didn't talk only about eyeliner and sexiness. Sure, there were a couple of comments in the v..."I KNOW RIGHT! ONCE UPON A TIME RUINED CAPTAIN HOOK!!!!! NOW HE`S JUST LIKE A PUPPY AFTER EMMA!
Nessy wrote: "I KNOW RIGHT! ONCE UPON A TIME RUINED CAPTAIN HOOK!!!!! NOW HE`S JUST LIKE A PUPPY AFTER EMMA! "
well, it's not the first time ouat's aggressive heteronormativity has totally derailed and destroyed characters. (see also: the outlaw queen debacle, the complete waste of zelena as a potentially phenomenal villain, mulan being confirmed bi and then promptly shoved out of the show without so much as a smidgen of self-awareness, etc.)
((#swanqueen5ever))
/unrelated
i finished chapter seven and it was oh so very painful.
Haley, wow! Just wow!!! I have to say again how I am finding your analysis so very informative! Some things I wrote off as stereotypes/extremes to heighten the drama or tension in the story - your explanations shed a whole new light on it. I wish I could be reading the other chapters of the official story as you go along - I always thought the Jeb POV chapters were disturbing, and was glad they weren't used in the published story. I am so curious as to how you see Morpheus' behavior, and Alyssa's, too. Clearly I am a Morpheus fan, but I wonder what I will think about his actions after I see your interpretation of what he's done. And I'll just say it - there are many times when I get very frustrated with Alyssa for not taking stronger action as the Queen of Wonderland, for seeming to neglect her land and its citizens. Thanks for sharing these posts with us.
Diane wrote: "Haley, wow! Just wow!!! I have to say again how I am finding your analysis so very informative! Some things I wrote off as stereotypes/extremes to heighten the drama or tension in the story - yo..."mmmm i think part of the issue here is that jeb is very much an archetypal romantic lead—the possessive, broody, temperamental leading man is kind of a romance staple—and i think what happened is a.g. took this classic romantic character type and applied it without ever stopping to think about how those kinds of behaviors actually impact other people. (which isn't, necessarily, entirely her fault—abuse is SO frequently normalized and romanticized in u.s. culture that it's really easy to just flat out not notice the signs unless you have done huge amounts of research or been abused yourself, and even then one of the reasons abuse victims stay with their abusers is that abuse itself can render you unable to fully realize that you're being abused)
so i'll bet a lot of the worst stuff was tossed in with the intention of heightening the drama and emotion of the scene, and it just... heightened it in a lot of really unpleasant ways.
um, fair warning, i also do not like morpheus. at all. well, no—as a character he has redeeming points (and manipulators always end up being some of my favorite characters), but i... don't... like his treatment of alyssa any more than i like jeb's. although for different reasons because morpheus has a completely different MO.
alyssa... i mostly like. i wish she hadn't spun her wheels and done nothing in unhinged but. on the whole i find her very sympathetic. and i have a WHOLE LOT of feelings about her relationship with wonderland.
Haley, I can't wait! :)
I totally agree with everything thats been said. Fist off Jeb is kind of sucky, one just having girlfriends all over the place and letting a naked fairy give him a bath, like yeah sure. Then he was just so controlling. "do this don't do this" all the time. He was always wanting to fight and when Taylor says that he's like his dad I almost had to agree with her. He was always fighting something even if he was saying he was doing it for a good cause. He would hold her down, keep her wrists together, Alyssa doesn't deserve an abusive guy.
Even when they were kissing he would hold her against something which doesn't seem so bad but it was almost a way of subcontiously controlling her.
When she and Morpheus kissed she felt free, they would fly and she wouldn't be held down at all.Morpheus was kind of creepy but totally awesome! He's the best!
Splintered Fan Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Shadow and Bone (other topics)Siege and Storm (other topics)
Ruin and Rising (other topics)
Six of Crows (other topics)
Shadow and Bone (other topics)
