So yep, more on The Ship Who Sang- Helva is presented to us as being very, very human. All of her thoughts and desires and feelings are nothing but human.
But is she really human? Can she truly have a mate without having the intimacy of close skin to skin contact? I mean it doesn't have to be sex- but choosing a mate without being able to touch them just seems so squicky to me. Parollen himself desires to touch her, to be with her and "look upon her beautiful face" he struggles with the not touching thing himself. Although in the end, he does become Helva's "brawn" which is to say mate. We see into Helva's thoughts on this many times throughout the book.
Our attention is drawn to it over and over- starting with Jennan, on to the Corviki and in the end with Parollen. (did I spell that right?) He urges her to take a body that is not her's-after the Corviki incident. Why? Well he wants that intimacy-he wants to be with her not only in mind, but in the flesh. In the end he seems actually obsessed with her and shows stalkerish mannerisms. I mean he even had a picture made of how she should look. WTH?
I think Helva is all too human, and so is Parollen. But in different ways- Helva is all mind and soul-Parollen is all body and soul. Until he realizes he can be with her without that intimacy that he so desires.
It's been far too long~
7 years ago
I think that Parollen is supposed to be represented as immature in his relationships with other people. Niall is known for practically engineering what he wants to see happen, happen, and in this willingness to manipulate we see part of Nialls immaturity. I think that in the end, when Helva requests him to be her brawn, he has such a hard time with this because he has finally been out-played, and not only that, but by the person he loves. I think that Niall truly does love Helva, in the way that true love only stems from intellectual and emotional companionship, however, this love is, in a way, incomplete, because it lacks the physical affirmation of Helva that he needs. In this way, what could first come off as scary stalker-ish-ness could actually be intense passion and love for Helva, however, unfulfilled, due to the fact that Helva’s existence is only truly verifiable through her interactions as a ship and as a voice over the intercom. This being said, with these arguments in mind, I do that that Niall will eventually overcome his immaturity and find a way to love Helva, if only for her voice and her presence as a ship.
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