Clearing My Bookshelf: Elantris, full show notes

Elantris full notes

Podcast episode

Quotes

Raoden

“Remember the past need not become our future as well.” (Raoden, Elantris 219)

“That’s when I finally understood that they weren’t gods, for a god could never feel such agony.” (Galladon, Elantris 348)

“People don’t want to live with something so superior to themselves - they can’t stand such a visible sign of their own inferiority.” (Gallodon, Elantris 348)

“You optimists just can’t understand that a depressed person doesn’t want you to try and cheer them up. It makes us sick.” (Gallodon, Elantris 348)

Hrathen

“He knew of the prince’s saintly reputation; the people regarded Radoden with a level of idolizing adoration that was given only to dead men.” (Hrathen, Elantris 542)

Plot Summary:

• Raoden

• “Joy was more than just an absence of discomfort.” (Raoden, Elantris 389)

• “Give men an honest choice, and I believe they will choose wisely.” (Raoden, Elantris 534)

• “Sarene knew that faith somewhere - that pure belief in the basic goodness of all men” (Sarene about Raoden, Elantris 534)

• Gets turned by the Shoad and thrown into Elantris

• Is trying to make Elantris a better place for the people who live there (talk about Galladon)

• Seeks to have a stable territory, food and shelter for the inhabitants, and give people the will to live by having purpose

• Found out if the people have purpose that they are less likely to go through the mind break as their bodies accumulate damage and do not heal (hoed)

• Surrounded by books so decides to start studying magic in case it’s useful

• Spoiler this will be very useful

• Sarene (talk about the group)

• “She had grown up without affection outside of her family, and it appeared she would continue that way.” (Sarene, Elantris 361)

• “The others hadn’t noticed the change, but Sarene - dear suspicious Sarene - hadn’t been so lax.” (Raoden about Sarene, Elantric 535).

• Went to Arelon to get married to Raoden, but the contract said that it was still valid if he died

• There wasn’t a monarchy until 10 years ago, then titles were given out on wealth

• King Iadon is not that great at ruling, the people are unhappy, and there is civil unrest coming because he subjugates the poor, turning tradespeople into serfs, and took away possession of private land

• Religion in Elantris

• “Keseg taught of unity. But what did he mean? Unity of mind as my people assume? Unity of love as your priest claims? Or unity of obedience as the Derethi believe? In the end, I am left to ponder how mankind managed to complicate such a simple concept.” (Shuden, Elantris 195)

• Derethi has a military bent and is part of an empire

• Hrathen IS in armor, described as thus consistently, put a pin in this it will be important later.

• Hrathen (talk about Dilaf)

• “He was not a zealot; he would never be a man of extreme passion. In the end, he followed Derethi because it made sense. That would have to be enough.” (Hrathen, Elantris 415)

• “He might lack passion, but he had an ample serving of determination.” (Hrathen, Elantris 415)

• Gyorn of Derethi on a mission to convert the people of Arelon into Derethi or they will be subject to an invasion and before being folded into the Fjorn Empire

• He is in a battle of wits with Sarene (politically) to gain the nobles’ favor

• He is in a battle of wits with Dilaf (theologically) for public opinion

• Raoden consolidates power in Elantris for the most part

• Cleaning

• Farming

• Making clothes and shelter

• Sarene uses her widow piety move to give item Elantrians and show that they aren’t to be feared

• She meets Raoden but doesn’t know that’s him

• Feels betrayed and hurt by this

• Raoden knows and is in love with her from the get go

• Hrathen goes through a religious crisis but is then re-affirmed of his faith

• Poisoning, intrigue, and luck

• Political maneuvering until we find out that the king is doing blood sacrifices, he dies by suicide but not after leaving a change of succession to be hereditary with the archbishop in Teod

• Elantrian before the group can get someone on the throne

• Sarene and Raoden meet officially and fall in love

• Turns out Sarene didn’t get changed and it was a poison that lasts for 5 days

• Sarene comes back from Elantris and is like “maybe we need to assassinate the new king?”

• Raoden does figure out magic and he uses it to cast seeming on himself and Galladon

• Pair goes to the group to figure out the political situation in Elantris

• The group is betrayed from the inside to the new king

• Refer to them by troupe

• Old mentor has a rival, his rival figures he’ll win by turning them in for treason

• The new king says “yea we’ll not kill him” and proceeds to kill the old mentor

• Old rival has a change of heart to late

• They leave, the general decides “yea it’s time for a violent change of throne/assasination”

• General goes and coups the government but is killed is the same attack as killing new king

• Before the entire kingdom falls to a power vacuum Raoden asserts himself as the rightful king

• New king tries to squeeze the Wyrn and the wyrn just says to slaughter the people in Kae to get them in line

• The wyrn doesn’t know that Raoden is back in a big way so Raoden becomes Dilaf’s problem

• Sarene used as the bargaining piece to get Teod in line, kill King Eventeo, and cover the last foothold they need for their empire

• Dilaf hates Elantris for personal reasons (put a pin in it) and wants to just destroy the city and the people

• Dilaf orders the nobles and city to be burned to the ground then teleports with Sarene to Teod

• Elantris and the surrounding cities are in the shape of the Aon Rao (Spirit), that connecting line got broken and that cause the Reod

• Clever foreshadowing, “He should no more be separated from Elantris than his spirit would be separated from his body.” (Raoden, Elantris 547)

• Raoden figures this out, saves the nobles, then teleports to Teod to save Sarene

• Sarene and Hrathen break off from Dilaf before they can be killed

• Random priest from earlier offs Hrathen

• Sarene is found by Dilaf and about to be killed

• Raoden uses magic to teleport and is in a tight spot

• Galladon and the other Elantrians also teleport and just body the monks with magic

• We don’t talk about Elantris anymore, Sanderson points out plot threads left open, Raoden and Sarene get married, she comments she can’t wait to fuck, epilogue is a set of grave for some of the major characters who were lost along the way

Last minute reveals? Plot twists?

• Dilaf

• Head monk of Dakhor, a monastery that does blood magic to buff themselves

• Outranks Hrathen

• His love was Shoad, but when the Reod happened she was in great pain, went mad, and thrust herself off the Elantris gates

• Kiin (uncle of Sarene)

• Was the scourge pirate Dreok Crushedthroat

• Is the older brother of King Eventeo of Teod but the throne was taken while Kiin was abroad

• Aiden (son of Kiin)

• Has been an Elantrian, and been a hoed for 5 years

• Hrathen -> character progression speedrun

• Goes thematically through the religions different interpretations, obedience, unity, to love

• Shuden 

• Is he channeling magic through physical action? Doing Aons with his arms?

General Notes:

• Sarene foils

• Dilaf and opinions on Elantrians

• Commentary on otherness?

• Hrathen and religiosity 

• Commentary on religion vs faith?

• Raoden foils

• Galladon and personality 

• Dilaf leadership style

• Not the most effective because on page 582/614

• Hrathen foils:

• Dilaf, Omin, and faith

• Difference between three offshots of the same religion

• Dilaf 

• What should their religion look like?

• “Absolute obedience is required Hrathen…Occasional tests and examples bring loyalty from the rest.” (Dilaf, Elantris 582)

• Raoden

• Rule of Arleon

• Love for Sarene

• “She would never know that he had come to love her.” (Hrathen, Elantris 597)

• “She had fought with him over the fate of two countries, but had never really known who he was. She never would.” (Sarene about Hrathen, Elantris 597).

• “He looked toward Raoden and Sarene stood quietly for a moment, then toppled forward lifelessly.” (Hrathen, Elantris 608)

Subsection, not a great look. Alternate title, Sanderson I want to talk:

• Why was Raoden the first person in Elantris to try something?

• Raoden feels to much like “the smart guy”

• Why didn’t Hrathen just have Dilaf killed?

• Hrathen - they thought it was fake armor the whole time?

• The Shoad and Autism?

• Magical autism?

• Why are there so many characters/how to identify who is relevant and who is ancillary