I have been trying to delve deeper into Auri’s character since she is the only present character in the novella I am reading. There are many characters in the series, but so far she is the only character that has been introduced in this book. So my question to myself is who is Auri? I don’t want to answer it in the traditional sense. I want to find out things about Auri that aren’t stated in the book as fact. Or at least accurately predict about her past.
One intertextual code I have seen come up during my reading is the Semic code. The Semic code is when words or phrases (signifiers) are repetitively grouped around a character, object or place. One thing I know about Auri is that she is very clean regardless of the dirty, musky environment she lives in. It is said many times that during the day that, “She washed her face. She washed her hands and feet.” Auri washes whenever she feels unclean which is a lot considering where she lives. Auri probably washes more than I do and she lives in a tunnel with no shower. This leads me to believe that, while Auri has isolated herself from the rest of society, she still lets cultural influences, such as remaing clean and washed, be included in her daily routines. This reinforces the cultural code that women are clean and hygienic and defines part of her character. She is damaged but isn’t fully broken.
I am not sure if this is an example of a symbolic code, but Rothfuss has been very reserved when it comes to letting us readers know about Auri’s past. Since Auri is the only character in the book, I think an opposition has formed between what Rothfuss knows about her and what I the reader, know about her. That fucker is starting to piss me off. He writes this novel based on one secondary character whose past is so secretive it actually makes the thought of reading about her interesting. He is withholding so much. I am more than halfway done the book and nothing about her past has been revealed other than the inferences I made on my own. I think this is a form of symbolic code because he is the person who ‘knows’ about Auri and we the readers are ignorant. It’s quite annoying. I hoped that a 160 page story about Auri would somehow tie into the plot and main story but it doesn’t look like it is going to. If it doesn’t I will be disappointed and mad that Rothfuss fooled his readers. He said this book will not be about Kvothe but come on man, give me something about Auri that actually relates to Kvothe in some way. In my next blog I will be finished with this book because I am over it and am looking forward to moving on.
One intertextual code I have seen come up during my reading is the Semic code. The Semic code is when words or phrases (signifiers) are repetitively grouped around a character, object or place. One thing I know about Auri is that she is very clean regardless of the dirty, musky environment she lives in. It is said many times that during the day that, “She washed her face. She washed her hands and feet.” Auri washes whenever she feels unclean which is a lot considering where she lives. Auri probably washes more than I do and she lives in a tunnel with no shower. This leads me to believe that, while Auri has isolated herself from the rest of society, she still lets cultural influences, such as remaing clean and washed, be included in her daily routines. This reinforces the cultural code that women are clean and hygienic and defines part of her character. She is damaged but isn’t fully broken.
I am not sure if this is an example of a symbolic code, but Rothfuss has been very reserved when it comes to letting us readers know about Auri’s past. Since Auri is the only character in the book, I think an opposition has formed between what Rothfuss knows about her and what I the reader, know about her. That fucker is starting to piss me off. He writes this novel based on one secondary character whose past is so secretive it actually makes the thought of reading about her interesting. He is withholding so much. I am more than halfway done the book and nothing about her past has been revealed other than the inferences I made on my own. I think this is a form of symbolic code because he is the person who ‘knows’ about Auri and we the readers are ignorant. It’s quite annoying. I hoped that a 160 page story about Auri would somehow tie into the plot and main story but it doesn’t look like it is going to. If it doesn’t I will be disappointed and mad that Rothfuss fooled his readers. He said this book will not be about Kvothe but come on man, give me something about Auri that actually relates to Kvothe in some way. In my next blog I will be finished with this book because I am over it and am looking forward to moving on.