There is a sense of finality in the last entry of the Tawny Man trilogy. Plot lines, that were started way back in the Farseer trilogy are brought to a conclusion and this time around, much suffering FitzChivalry Farseer has his happy ending. Or at least as happy an ending a man, who pretended to be dead for everyone who loved him will get after a passage of a decade and a half.
Prince Dutiful intends to fulfil his pledge to his bride-to-be, Elliania. The young princess demanded him to bring the head of the dragon to her motherhouse and this is what he sets out to do. Chade and Fitz are still unsure what the reason behind the request is, but there seems to be no other way around the union that could ensure long-lasting peace. Fitz on the other hand is worried, that the newly found group of Prince's Skill users are not good enough. And the Wit group in the court causes some raised eyebrows as well.
On top of political problems, it seems that the cat is getting out of the bag in terms of Fitz's past catching up with him. People he chose to keep safe by keeping them in the dark are now circling around the castle, so it's only a question of time before they know that the humble fighter Tom Badgerlock is more than meets the eye. But there's no time to control any of it, as a boat ride to Aslevjal, the island dragon Icefyre awaits.
The people of the Out Islands are not really welcoming of a foreign prince, who is about to try and take one of their women out of her motherhouse. In their culture, women rule the homes, men are merely tolerated guests and marriages last as long as women see them fit to last. A princess leaving her motherhome is unheard of, as her children belong to the motherhouse.
No matter, the band ventures on and arrives at Aslevjal, only to find Fool waiting for them there. As he had told Fitz that the island was the place where he'd die, he tried to make sure that his dear friend would not end there, but there he is, nonetheless, fulfilling his prophecy, where he sees Fitz saving the dragon and ensuring that the beasts are not lost from the world forever.
In the end, the truth is finally revealed. The reason why Elliana demanded the head of the dragon is, that her mother and sister are held captive by the sadistic White Prophet, the Pale Woman who helped the islanders years ago in their war against the Duchies and forged the people into mindless beasts. There, on the island, she has tried for years to kill the dragon in order to set the world towards her future, her prophecy, wholly different from what Fool has prophecied. This would be the world without dragons and without the Fareers. She tries to force Fitz to do her bidding by torturing Fool, but he ends up helping Icefyre free, thus breaking her prophecy.
When Fitz finally returns to Buckskeep, he finds that his daughter Nettle now knows who he is. She's not happy that she's been lied to for years and Fitz feels this all rougher than ever, as he has been given back his old emotions he pushed inside a stone dragon years ago (in the Farseer trilogy). His emotions have returned thanks to Fool, who bargained with the dragon statue in order to make his Beloved whole again, in order to help him finally live his life with people, not apart from them. Dutiful is also happy to have a cousin of his own age. But this now means Fitz has yet another woman to appease, a situation not wholly unfamiliar to him.
So, the happy ending then. It takes time, of course, for a fool of a man to mend what he once broke. But mend it he does, first with the only woman that he remembers calling him a son, Patience, his father's wife. 16 years have passed and the old woman is angry and happy to get her son back. And she is happy to have a granddaughter as well, Nettle. And then, even slowlier, Fitz mends his relationship with Molly after the death of her husband Burrich, his friend and the man who fostered him for Chivalry and who took it upon himself to take care of Molly and Nettle after they both thought Fitz dead.
And that, I reckon, is the happiest ending a man who lost a decade and a half because of his own stubbornness can ever get.
Is there perhaps even a feeling of an overabundance of happy endings? Perhaps there is. As I stated, there's a sense of finality in Fool's Fate. The Farseer trilogy ends with Fitz retreating to his own loneliness, together with his wolf Nighteyes. The Tawny Man trilogy sees him brought back to people who love him, faults and all. It's both a sweet and bittersweet ending for Fitz, albeit it needs to be said that it's not a complete end, as Robin Hobb did write a 3rd trilogy of FitzChivalry 2014-2017. That said, the way Hobb concludes The Tawny Man feels like it could have been the end, had she chosen so. Happily ever after and all that.
Personally, I did find the conclusion satisfactory. The ball that was set in motion in the Farseer trilogy feels now more complete. Despite the losses, Fitz now has his life back. Not as Fitz, not as the bastard king, but as Tom Badgerlock, at least for the public eye, whereas those who love him the most know who he is. And, as he himself said it, that's really the only thing he has ever cared about.
Comments
Post a Comment