On page 159, Scile's reaction to the assassination of Beehive reveals her ability to empathize despite the fact that she fundamentally disagrees with what Hasser did and also cannot understand Ariekene feelings. She describes her reaction, " I had so much sadness in me. I cried, only when I was alone. I was so sorry for Hasser, silly secret zealot; and for Valdick who I still believed never knew he'd been a distraction" (159). Avice mourns for the loss of two men who murdered an Ariekei she felt deserved to live. Despite this crucial disagreement, Avice feels a sense of loss and pity for the two radicals. She understands that they have been used and that from their perspective they were saving Embassytown. Avice also shows empathy on page 159 when she is able to mourn for the death of Beehive. She felt a connection with the Ariekei, despite the language and cultural barriers. "So sorry for surl/tesh-echer. I never knew what emotion would have been appropriate for Ariekene loss, so I settled for sadness" (159). Avice is physically incapable of knowing what Beehive's supporters felt when he was assassinated. She deals with this barrier by using the closest human expression she can think of to signify her sense of grief. Though she does not understand Ariekene culture or emotion, Avice is able to connect herself with them through her empathy.
This ability to connect through empathy is what ultimately allows Avice to see that the Absurd have been able to communicate without Language, they just needed a revelation to show them. She realizes this on pages 295. "The code they'd created was quite unlike the precise mapping they'd grown up knowing. But it was Language that was the anomaly: this new crude thing of flailing fingers and murderous stamping was closer by far to what we spoke" (295). By watching the Absurd interact, Avice is able to discover that they created the word "that" and therefore, their own non-speaking language. Without the ability to imagine what the Absurd wanted, Avice would not have discovered the language, let alone be able to teach it to Spanish Dancer and Theuth and save Embassytown later in the novel.
Avice's empathy also allows for the formation of a unique relationship with Spanish Dancer that we see hinted at towards the end of the novel when she refers to the Ariekei as the first Lieutenant on her ship. At the start of the story, Avice and the other inhabitants of Embassytown keep a respectful and almost fearful distance from the Hosts, only interacting through Ambassadors or when necessary, like the emergency with Yohn. At the tail end of the novel Bren, Avice and Spanish Dancer are clearly working towards the same end of revitalizing Embassytown, displaying the first of truly peaceful relations between the three species.
ReplyDeleteIt is unclear whether or not this drastic shift in attitude toward the Ariekei is mirrored in other citizens of Embassytown. Despite this, the fact that a major leader like Avice has changed her stance suggests that the overall atmosphere in Embassytown has changed from one of staunch rules, borders and hierarchy to one with internal communication and external growth.
The new era of communication that the new Language brought in will likely foster more understanding relationships between humans, exots, Ariekei and any other creatures that come to Embassytown. The new Language seems to allow empathy to be easily expressed and can allow citizens to be a united force against the uncertain future Bremen ships bring for them.
Avice seems to be very capable of empathizing with all of the characters she comes across in the novel. I completely agree with your viewpoint here and I think that Avice's ability to empathize with characters, both Hosts and humans, adds a lot of value for the reader.
ReplyDeleteAvice is able to put herself in the position of the other characters in the book, and I think this is how Avice, and therefore the reader, is able to make sense of or gain understanding of the events that are happening, despite her frequent lack of material knowledge of the events happening around her. In other words, she is not always aware of what is happening in Embassytown, but she is very receptive of the motives of the town's people. She also seems very well able to read people and sense their emotions.
There are a couple other really good examples I came across of Avice's empathy. One of them is her relationship with the other similes. She claims that she despises them, yet she understands them and can empathize with them and therefore builds a somewhat meaningful relationship with them. Her empathy is also displayed when she discovers all the Ambassadors that never were. She expresses her disgust at the way they are forced to live, and would rather them be free, despite the negative effect it might have on that society.