Quick response from my phone at the grocery store: this is awesome! Please don't worry that it's tangential, because Prunaprismia and the politics are everything I could have hoped for.
More when I get home!
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So, first of all I love that Prunaprismia and Miraz had a strong marriage with mutual respect -- they are partners, both knowing how to play the political game, to the point where it seems they planned Caspian's would-be assassination together. I also like how later on she compares Isidro to his father -- thinking Miraz could never have been a shy child -- which helps show how she's come to see Isidro as a person in his own right, not just an abstract ideal or a legacy of her lost husband. I would guess that plays into her growing reluctance to risk their life in Archenland on a gamble to reclaim the Narnian throne.
I like that she finds refuge in Archenland, and also that Caspian (or his advisers) send her stipend. That's interesting for what it implicitly says about the relationship between Archenland and Telmarine Narnia -- I am tempted to wonder whether Archenland ever surreptitiously sponsored Old Narnian rebellions, or whether, being a human-majority country, the Archenlanders found the Telmarines easier to deal with than the Old Narnians (who apparently had been in disarray around the time of the conquest anyhow). A stable Narnia is probably worth a lot to Archenland, even at the expense of the Talking Beasts and other Beings. But anyway, Prunaprismia's flight reminds me a bit of what happened to James II of England and the children of his second marriage during and after the Glorious Revolution. I wonder if Isidro and his children might have ended up doing a repeat of the Bonnie Prince Charlie mess at some point.
I like how, being a noblewoman, Prunaprismia is not used to doing her own chores, or even doing most of the work caring for her own child. I also like how aware she is of the precariousness of her position, and doesn't insist on being addressed by royal titles -- though equally she doesn't corrent Lord Orenz when he uses them. This story makes me wonder what might have happened if Caspian had remained away from Narnia longer than he did. Also, I wonder if Lord Bern sent ships to Narnia to proclaim the Lone Islands' renewed loyalty, and thus give a reminder that Caspian had been alive (and accompanied by Lucy and Edmund, in a sign of supernatural favor!) well into his voyage.
Basically, I love how you've brought Prunaprismia and the complicated tangle of immediately post-PC Narnian politics to life. Thank you very, very, very much!
no subject
More when I get home!
-----
So, first of all I love that Prunaprismia and Miraz had a strong marriage with mutual respect -- they are partners, both knowing how to play the political game, to the point where it seems they planned Caspian's would-be assassination together. I also like how later on she compares Isidro to his father -- thinking Miraz could never have been a shy child -- which helps show how she's come to see Isidro as a person in his own right, not just an abstract ideal or a legacy of her lost husband. I would guess that plays into her growing reluctance to risk their life in Archenland on a gamble to reclaim the Narnian throne.
I like that she finds refuge in Archenland, and also that Caspian (or his advisers) send her stipend. That's interesting for what it implicitly says about the relationship between Archenland and Telmarine Narnia -- I am tempted to wonder whether Archenland ever surreptitiously sponsored Old Narnian rebellions, or whether, being a human-majority country, the Archenlanders found the Telmarines easier to deal with than the Old Narnians (who apparently had been in disarray around the time of the conquest anyhow). A stable Narnia is probably worth a lot to Archenland, even at the expense of the Talking Beasts and other Beings. But anyway, Prunaprismia's flight reminds me a bit of what happened to James II of England and the children of his second marriage during and after the Glorious Revolution. I wonder if Isidro and his children might have ended up doing a repeat of the Bonnie Prince Charlie mess at some point.
I like how, being a noblewoman, Prunaprismia is not used to doing her own chores, or even doing most of the work caring for her own child. I also like how aware she is of the precariousness of her position, and doesn't insist on being addressed by royal titles -- though equally she doesn't corrent Lord Orenz when he uses them. This story makes me wonder what might have happened if Caspian had remained away from Narnia longer than he did. Also, I wonder if Lord Bern sent ships to Narnia to proclaim the Lone Islands' renewed loyalty, and thus give a reminder that Caspian had been alive (and accompanied by Lucy and Edmund, in a sign of supernatural favor!) well into his voyage.
Basically, I love how you've brought Prunaprismia and the complicated tangle of immediately post-PC Narnian politics to life. Thank you very, very, very much!