i’ll see that his son grows up a man, not a wolf! (fitzchivalry farseer's character reading)

[fitzchivarly]

this shared moment between fitz and lady grace is somewhat sweet. while fitz lists down his observations of lady grace’s vulnerable position, it reminds me of his own character journey so far into the book. there are echoes of rigid social expectations that i talked about in another post about a scene between fitz and burrich (which is what i’ll be comparing this to).

as fitz described, he realized the vulnerable position lady grace was in. he recognized (or maybe projected?) the despration of a young girl plucked from a commoner background going through a massive class transition, having to adjust herself accordingly as she’s expected to assume a position of power. it felt similar to how fitz had gone through a transition from an unnamed child of a commoner to trudging through the muddy waters of royal life as chivalry’s illegitimate heir.

i say this because fitz even make comparisons to his own experience. he mentions how lady grace doesn’t have a mentor figure that could’ve helped her navigate through her confusing new life. he directly compares it to the way he, at least, had chade.



i also like that fitz mentions how lady grace wouldn’t take the words of a mere ‘dog-boy’ because that would be something a common girl would accept, but not a duchess and that “the only thing she knew about herself right now was that she was no longer a common girl, but a duchess”. to emphasize and recognize that she can no longer afford to carry herself in the manners of a common girl. just like how fitz cannot carry himself the way he used to if he’s meant to blend into castle life.

i want to tie this back to this interaction reminds me of an early on conversation between a much younger fitz and burrich on the difference between man and beast. here, fitz learns directly what is expected of him and what he shouldn’t be. much like how lady grace has learned to make herself worthy becoming a duchess. neither without any preparation of what life ahead of them is like.

 

the two are similar in ways where both lady grace and fitz are reminded that these are the cards handed to them. they have to play into these roles given to them, or suffer the consequences (i.e fitz disgracing the 'blood of kings in [him]’ by becoming beast-like, or lady grace suffering a life of loneliness and ridicule by not acting according to her status). be a man, not a beast.

this also why i like how fitz strategized his approach. instead of an advice, he told her he had a 'vision’ that paints her as a confident and capable figure, inspiring confidence in her own ability to mark her worth and make herself valuable befitting a duchess.

i did think it was funny how fitz was unable to recognize lady grace because she’s not lathered in jewellery and wears a simple dress that had him mistaken her as a common girl. but i feel like this shows how severely unprepared she was for this life. from how fitz describe lady grace, it doesn’t feel like she’s had much preparation before being married off. it was just expected of her to fit in, and like how many characters expected fitz to understand the meaning of being the only son of a crown prince.

his actions, i understand, are informed by the similar rigid expectations enforced on him, which i do think led him to recognize the kind of position she was in. nobody she could personally confide to like fitz does to chade or even burrich. even though i know this tactic was mostly because he couldn’t just give the lady unsolicited advice and that it was the best way he could go about it while being subtle. still, i like he had intentions for her to be able to navigate her life with *some* ease. doing so without making her feel small than she already is.

i like that the two of them found some companionship in their animal companions. that moment of fitz helping her tend to her dog and teaching her to care for him appropriately is a nice. she’s naive, but obviously wants the best for him to let him eat freshly cooked food. it makes me wonder if this reminded fitz of his own old companion, nosy, who’d follow him everywhere he went before burrich separated them.

this became a much longer post than i expected since i’m only breaking down like ONE out of many standout moments in the book, but i sincerely cannot get this mirror between lady grace and fitz out of my head. the way this book explores gender drives me crazy. sorry if this isn’t a well structured piece of writing! hobb certainly has her way of wonderfully writing the intersectionality of gender with class and/or power and the mirror between lady grace and fitz is one of the many great examples of that.

also for reference: i’m sure there are other scenes that also illustrates fitz learning/reflecting on his position as chivalry’s son, specifically being chivalry’s bastard, and what’s expected of him so maybe i’ll edit this post later if more scenes come up! </cut>