In the eleventh chapter of Melting Stones, Evvy is stubborn as a rock. GET IT??? If you’re intrigued, then it’s time for Mark to read Melting Stones.
I do think it’s a good choice for Pierce to write Evvy she has in this chapter. In the video for chapter ten, I do take a moment to express a reason why, but I wanted to open this review by expanding on it. I imagine that it’s not exactly the easiest thing to write a character doing something so selfish, particularly when this series – the entire Emelan collection – is full of people striving to do good for other people at great personal risk to themselves. While Briar and Tris certainly struggled with their roles in a messed up world, they still felt a compulsion to help people that they related to. Briar felt a connection to the street kids that Evvy ran from, and Tris bonded with Keth because she knew how challenging that kind of magic was to control. She even came to sympathize with and help the yaskedasi in Tharios.
Yet Evvy offers no such empathy or sympathy with the people of Starns. She clearly took Luvo’s advice to heart and is so certain that they’re all leaving these people behind that she becomes irritated when Rosethorn says they’re going to remain a while long to help with the evacuation. It’s not like Rosethorn thinks she can stop the eruption. Her dedication might lead her to uncomfortable places, but that doesn’t mean she’s unwilling to live up to that oath. She vowed to help others as best as she can, and in this case, that means assisting with the evacuation.
I loved Rosethorn’s builders vs. destroyers metaphor, and I don’t think Evvy quite understands it, despite that she’s met a number of destroyers throughout the years. She doesn’t see herself as complicit in any of this, especially when it comes to something as “neutral” as a volcanic eruption. To her, Rosethorn’s vows aren’t sensible. But why is that? Why can she detach herself so easily?
I still think this is related to her upbringing. As I said in the video, Evvy’s been through so much shit in her life that she’s had to constantly distrust others in order to survive. When you’re so perpetually in self-preservation mode, it becomes harder to care for others. I say this because I know this. I don’t think Evvy’s selfishness is a sign that she’s a bad person. I think it’s a sign of how long she’s had to prioritize herself over everyone else.
So, is that something that’s going to change? When she arrives at Oswin’s house, she’s not exactly welcomed with open arms, nor does she treat others with a glowing sense of charity. She helps out Nory because she’s asked to, not because she feels compelled to. Her attempt to bathe Meryem doesn’t exactly succeed. I DARE SAY THAT SHE FAILED SPECTACULARLY AT IT, but hey, Meryem’s a handful (and an understandable one at that). Yet I can’t ignore that Evvy does help others. Like Briar and emotions, Evvy denies the nice and helpful things she does for others because it’s easier that way. She plunges her spirit body deep in the Earth because she’s trying to help the people of Starns, to buy them time before Mount Grace blows. I’m still interested to see how this evacuation is going to work out because even if Evvy does affect the spirits, the best that happens is that she delays the inevitable.
It’s creepy, isn’t it? Oswin’s family is packing up their belongings, and it’s very possible they might return to their home some day far into the future to find the entire landscape destroyed. What if it’s all wiped away? Do they just start from scratch? What if the eruption ruins the land and no one can move back? I don’t know how to answer these questions just yet, but I’m guessing that at the bare minimum, Evvy is going to be able to delay the eruption.
But not for long. As I said, it’s painfully inevitable.
The original text contains use of the word “crazy.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsLXGBAbgpw
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