The one thing I do like about this novella is that Rothfuss has stayed true to the character of Auri. He hasn’t strayed away from the character he created in the other two novels. While Auri is not the character I want to read about, at least I am reading about someone connected to the trilogy. Today, I want to look at Auri much like we did in class on Tuesday using the method of inputting a character into the phrase, ‘Something is wrong here’. There is definitely something wrong with Auri. Living in a tunnel system beneath the world in isolation is a clear indicator to begin with.
Before we get there, let me explain Auri a little better. I completely forgot that, in the previous novels, I learned Auri was once a patient in Haven, the magical universities asylum for cuckoo students that fall off the path, or can’t handle magic. That is all I know about it. Whenever Kvothe brings it up Auri scampers off. Auri is weir and I am sure her past has something to do with it. She is also so innocent and delightful that her strange way of living is overshadowed by her personality. She believes in objects that are not living. She was excited about the gear she found underwater because that was not its ‘rightful place’ and she has found the chamber she has made home. In the earlier novels Auri would not accept any food from Kvothe unless it was an apple with ‘a ray of sunshine’ or a fish with a ‘secret inside’. She truly believes that certain objects have qualities that they surely do not.
Auri discovers a room that is closer to the surface then any she has before. There are boot prints in the dust that cakes the floor. Someone had been there before. There is a door atop a flight of stairs that she refuses to open or name. Inside the room is a lavish wardrobe cabinet with many feminine items inside including dresses and sheets. Auri, who lives in tunnels with barely enough to scrape by, does not take any of these items because they are ‘already in their rightful place’.
‘Something is wrong here’----Auri has been somehow mistreated in her past and has decided to isolate herself from the world. She is scared of people. It took Kvothe weeks to finally meet her face to face. The only reason they even crossed paths was because he was looking for a secluded area to play his lute and found her listening. Whenever he tried to ask of her past she would disappear for weeks at a time. In class we also talked about how it is the story that allows the character to be this way. Something happened to Auri but we don’t know what it was. Rothfuss avoids telling us this by creating an escape for Auri every time she is questioned about it. There are dozens of areas in the Underthing for Auri to disappear to when she feels frightened. I learned about Auri’s time in Haven from a different character. Because Kvothe is busy, and does not want to scare Auri, the subject of her past is mainly left in the dark. This makes Auri even more mysterious and interesting. The story won’t let her past come to light.
Before we get there, let me explain Auri a little better. I completely forgot that, in the previous novels, I learned Auri was once a patient in Haven, the magical universities asylum for cuckoo students that fall off the path, or can’t handle magic. That is all I know about it. Whenever Kvothe brings it up Auri scampers off. Auri is weir and I am sure her past has something to do with it. She is also so innocent and delightful that her strange way of living is overshadowed by her personality. She believes in objects that are not living. She was excited about the gear she found underwater because that was not its ‘rightful place’ and she has found the chamber she has made home. In the earlier novels Auri would not accept any food from Kvothe unless it was an apple with ‘a ray of sunshine’ or a fish with a ‘secret inside’. She truly believes that certain objects have qualities that they surely do not.
Auri discovers a room that is closer to the surface then any she has before. There are boot prints in the dust that cakes the floor. Someone had been there before. There is a door atop a flight of stairs that she refuses to open or name. Inside the room is a lavish wardrobe cabinet with many feminine items inside including dresses and sheets. Auri, who lives in tunnels with barely enough to scrape by, does not take any of these items because they are ‘already in their rightful place’.
‘Something is wrong here’----Auri has been somehow mistreated in her past and has decided to isolate herself from the world. She is scared of people. It took Kvothe weeks to finally meet her face to face. The only reason they even crossed paths was because he was looking for a secluded area to play his lute and found her listening. Whenever he tried to ask of her past she would disappear for weeks at a time. In class we also talked about how it is the story that allows the character to be this way. Something happened to Auri but we don’t know what it was. Rothfuss avoids telling us this by creating an escape for Auri every time she is questioned about it. There are dozens of areas in the Underthing for Auri to disappear to when she feels frightened. I learned about Auri’s time in Haven from a different character. Because Kvothe is busy, and does not want to scare Auri, the subject of her past is mainly left in the dark. This makes Auri even more mysterious and interesting. The story won’t let her past come to light.