Catrin's Parents

Use this forum to discuss the September Book of the Month "Apollo's Raven" by Linnea Tanner.
BookDragon100
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Re: Catrin's Parents

Post by BookDragon100 »

sharkyjen998 wrote: 14 Sep 2018, 19:48
CommMayo wrote: 14 Sep 2018, 11:18 It is not a love match. If you read the book, it is clear that Amren is much older than his Queen and she was pregnant with Trystan's child when they married. Amren only put up with the ongoing affair because of the curse that he was going to have a child that would make his entire world implode. From what I remember, Agrona put a spell on them to get them to make Catrin. They kind of remind me of the lead couple in House of Cards. They had a common goal in their relationship: Power.
Yes, I do think it's realistic and I totally agree with CommMayo! It was all about power and their "duty" to do what was expected of them.
It was defintely a relationship that stemmed from a political need, but I do think Amren loves her. I don't think she cares for him nearly as much, but I wonder if that would change if Trystan wasn't there all the time.
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Post by BookDragon100 »

kdstrack wrote: 14 Sep 2018, 16:03
CommMayo wrote: 14 Sep 2018, 14:22
kdstrack wrote: 14 Sep 2018, 14:12
I wondered, too, about Trystan's motivations. I do believe he truly has a deep love for Rhianna. At the same time, should the king be assassinated and he could get Rhianna to take him back - he would be sitting very pretty!
I agree. I think if the King was out of the picture, she would go right back to Trystan. I think there was a lot of foreshadowing of that happening or of their relationship growing more complex in subsequent books.
But you know, if we start considering Trystan's power play, then you have to bring Vala back into the picture? How power hungry is she?
I didn't even think of the potential story line of the king being out of the picture. If she is treated as an equal and can choose her own husband, she could be free to choose Trystan, barring any political need to marry someone else. But I feel like that would be a slap in the face to Amren, who I do think loves her.
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Post by cpru68 »

I think the Queen did what she had to do in order to keep her husband happy and war from breaking out. She was used as a pawn in a game between men. Yet, at the same time, he seems to look to her for answers. I feel like she has the passionate side of life with Trystan, but there seems to be a sort of an affection for her husband. After all, she does try to save him from death, so that speaks to something of honor, perhaps?
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Post by CommMayo »

cpru68 wrote: 15 Sep 2018, 12:47 I think the Queen did what she had to do in order to keep her husband happy and war from breaking out. She was used as a pawn in a game between men. Yet, at the same time, he seems to look to her for answers. I feel like she has the passionate side of life with Trystan, but there seems to be a sort of an affection for her husband. After all, she does try to save him from death, so that speaks to something of honor, perhaps?
This is really insightful and really points out some great features about the much maligned queen. I agree that she is doing everything to strive towards peace for her people and believe that she only has the best intentions towards her daughters, despite being caught up in the same arranged marriage trap.
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Post by AliceofX »

CommMayo wrote: 14 Sep 2018, 11:18 Amren only put up with the ongoing affair because of the curse that he was going to have a child that would make his entire world implode.
You know, it just occurred to me, but wouldn't the most logical thing for Amren to do would be to not marry at all? It would have been one thing if he thought Rhan's curse was a bunch of nonsense, but he clearly took it seriously from the start. The whole thing seems like a giant plot hole to me.
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Post by CommMayo »

AliceofX wrote: 16 Sep 2018, 05:16
CommMayo wrote: 14 Sep 2018, 11:18 Amren only put up with the ongoing affair because of the curse that he was going to have a child that would make his entire world implode.
You know, it just occurred to me, but wouldn't the most logical thing for Amren to do would be to not marry at all? It would have been one thing if he thought Rhan's curse was a bunch of nonsense, but he clearly took it seriously from the start. The whole thing seems like a giant plot hole to me.
Us modern folks forget that marriage was used as much for creating alliances as anything else. It slips my mind, but wasn't she offered to him as a part of a peace deal?
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Post by Rosemary Khathibe »

It's an arranged marriage. I didn't witness any strong feelings between them.
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Post by fictaddict »

Rhiannon was a real weak spot in my reading, I thought she was less of a conflicted character and more just confusing. We met other characters who had internal conflicts (pretty much everyone in this novel had conflicting loyalties on some level), but I was confused by what Rhiannon actually wanted. Especially with her feelings for Trystan and for her husband!
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Post by KMSingh »

It seemed like a good marriage and I found the relationship believable. What bothered me was that King Amren disappears from the scene very early on and we see nothing of him again until almost the end of the book.
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Post by holsam_87 »

More based on respect than romance, especially since Rhiannon is still in love with Trystan. Ahmren may love Rhiannon, but with Rhan's curse over their heads, that would be hard to build a relationship off of.
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Post by Britty01 »

It was definitely an arranged marriage. Rhiannon's father, the King of Regni had attacked the southern territories of Cantiaci for their fertile farmlands. King Amren decimated his army. To broker a peace agreement, the King of Regni offered Rhiannon to King Amren. She fulfilled her duty to form a political alliance in order to establish peace between the two kingdoms.
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Post by Quinto »

I think the relationship is equivocally portrayed. The author is on one hand portraying their relationship as stable that even the king can be away and the wife rightfully rule, and on the other hand, portraying a queen who is engaged in an illicit affair with the king's best soldier and in effect undermining him.
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Post by Irene C »

It's an arranged marriage, and clearly Amren arranged it (for himself). So, it has been mentioned that it is odd that Rhiannon was "allowed" to still have Trystan as a lover, but I think Amren sort of ... conceded, might be the word, that to her. Because he does love her, and does have all the power. So she got something.
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Post by Linnea Tanner »

I would like to revisit the back story of Amren and Rhiannon and possibly publish a novella about their relationship. Amren is very much in love with Rhiannon and is tolerant of his young wife's affair with Trystan. This is, in part, because Amren is afraid of fathering the daughter foretold in Rhan's curse. Over time, Rhiannon learns to love and to respect Amren, and she chooses to end the affair with Trystan. He, in turn, pledges his fealty to the Amren so he can stay close to Rhiannon and watch over her and their daughters, thus creating a complex dynamic.

I based the above scenario on accounts by Julius Caesar that Celtic women in Gaul and Britain were considered equals in marriage and each owned their property. Women could choose their own husband, but arranged marriages were often contracted among the nobles. Caesar also indicates there was apparent sexual liberalism. Some of the the ancient Celts were polygamous and certain Celts were polyandrous, meaning their women could have multiple husbands. I find it fascinating that the Celtic warrior society viewed women as equals, with historical and legendary accounts of warrior queens.
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Post by Jmteachmom »

BookDragon100 wrote: 15 Sep 2018, 12:15
AliceofX wrote: 12 Sep 2018, 03:39 It seemed like an arranged marriage to me - respectful, but not what we would call love. And this has been mentioned in different discussions, but the fact that Amren tolerated Rhiannon's affair with Trystan just didn't make sense given the time period we're talking about.
It's definitely an arranged marriage, but I think Amren really does love Rhiannon. I think if Trystan wasn't right in front of her face everyday she could even grow to love him.
I agree that this most likely was an arranged marriage because of the time period in history and the statement that Rhiannon was given as a prize to King Amren. I think there is mutual respect for one another, especially on the part if Rhiannon. She found herself with child by another man and the King has taken them in. He could have cast out the child, Vala, at birth but did not. Her fight to save the King may show some affections have grown over the course of time though.
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