the continuation and development of recurring themes in the latter half of the witcher saga is [chef’s kiss]
i appreciate how the writing of geralt’s company remains consistent with its themes, motifs, messages in tower of the swallow, despite being shifted from the main plot to the side plot (in order to give way for ciri’s development as a main character). even though they’re not the main focus of the book now, they continue to develop and change, all in accordance and addition to what occured in baptism of fire. instead of treating it like a separate story, it’s a continuation — like the current lessions build upon the previous ones.
so here are some of the main continued themes that i cannot stop thinking about !!
guilt, atonement, debts — in baptism of fire, the company initially forms out of seeking penance for their individual guilt, they “[pay] off debts by running up debts with others.” the whole company feels guilt — geralt for his abandonment of ciri, dandelion for his inability to help geralt, milva for her unborn child, regis for his terrorizing of humanity, cahir for his kidnapping of ciri. in order to absolve themselves of their past, they join together to do good in the present. the company has already formed — but then, in the tower of the swallow, angoulême joins, and the reason we are given is that she feels “indebted” to geralt for saving her from a graphically violent execution. and she herself has a background of violence and crime to absolve herself from, a perfect addition to the company, the completion of a hansa…
order and chaos bear the same monsters — the brutality of nilfgaardian forces, time and time again, whether it is the terrorizing invasion of brugge and angren and battle of the bridge on the yaruga or the iron grasp of slavery in riedbrune under prefect fulko artevelde, is witnessed by the company. many parallels are made between antagonists of ‘order’ and antagonists of ‘chaos’, that is, soldiers and bandits — they’re often equated in their motivations and results. in baptism of fire, we see nilfgaardians (bringing alleged “order”) and bandits exact the same kind of horrific violence, pillaging and raping, upon settlements and refugees… (of course, dandelion’s famous “brothel on fire” passage comes to mind.) but then to further the equivalency, in tower of the swallow we see fulko artevelde and ‘the bear’, two regional nilfgaardian leaders, actually strike an alliance with nightingale and his team of bandits, as well as the sadistic schirrú. they’re not just similar, they are one and the same! and these three forces are directly paired off with the detachment from the company, our protagonists — the nilfgaardians want cahir, the bandits want angoulême, schirrú wants the witcher…
judgement, punishment, pain, fire — the horseshoe episode in which the girl is judged by whether or not the horseshoe can be pulled from the fire. regis’ drunken death by decapitation, but return to the living and integration into human life. cahir’s stay in the imperial prison for treachery and failure to kidnap ciri, and the brutal scar on his hand where ciri slashed him with her sword, so gruesome some of the fingers still could not move. the battle of the bridge, where the baptism of fire singes geralt’s hair and face, but afterwards, he is knighted and given a chance to begin anew, which he discards to continue suffering in order to find ciri and atone for her loss and abandonment… fulko artevelde’s sadistic authoritarian monologue about deterring crime with violent punishment. angoulême bizarrely fighting for her want to be hanged on the scaffold — we learn it’s because she doesn’t want to have her breasts torn with red-hot iron pincers and to be speared through on a wooden stake. nightingale and schirrú being brutally set on fire in the druids’ wicker cage — geralt’s understanding then that “not all death is the same.”
humility, humiliation, identity — a tower of the swallow special: geralt’s painful and brutal treatment underneath mount gorgon and loss / rejection of his identity as a witcher among the druids relates to ciri’s brutal treatment by bonhart which led her to revealing her true identity, as well as yennefer’s communion with freyja which involved enduring extreme psychological and physical pain, as well as admitting a spiritual force was more powerful than her
i should even extend this post to lady of the lake, but i won’t because it becomes even more complex and lengthy… but things such as fringilla reminding regis, angoulême, and cahir, of “the very guilt and atonement which drives you to depart?”, the humilation involved in geralt and fringilla’s relationship, regis’ own fiery death, and geralt’s monologue in rivia about a new kind of witcher being needed to fight not against monsters of chaos, but monsters of order, also tie in heavily to these recurring themes. it’s all so well-woven
Baptims of fire is my favourite book of the saga. There are many reasons. But look at this gem. That’s how there idiots woke up after night of drinking. Honestly, we don’t need headcanons here. We have original source material.
the word geralt uses is sypać, in the context of “to rat out”, which makes sense in context of being a crown witness, the full definition he gives being “someone who wants to get out of responsibility by ratting out comrades” (thank you to @nightimefairy for confirming :D).
not sure why it was translated as “fingering,” since i’ve never heard that word used in the same context as “informing upon,” “telling on,” “narcing,” “ratting out,” “grassing up,” or even “tattletale-ing”. maybe french meant “pointing fingers at”?
i’d also question the translation just because responsibilities, plural, has a specific connotation of societalresponsibilities, like chores, paying taxes, going to school or work, or taking care of pets or children - which are often things that people do indeed try to “weasel out of.” “getting out of responsibility” or maybe “avoiding responsibility” would fit better with the context of crime and punishment.
also, in regards to said context of crime and punishment… “instytucji świadka koronnego”, what artevelde asks geralt to define, is “the institution of a crown witness,” and i feel like david french’s “the tradition of turning imperial evidence” doesn’t communicate the same thing… because i have no idea what that sentence is supposed to mean. especially since geralt’s definition is very apt if they are literally talking about a crown witness (“a witness in a criminal trial who testifies against accomplices in order to receive a lower sentence from the prosecution”) and they are talking about angoulême, who is playing exactly that role in this chapter.
“Now where?” Geralt asked, looking at the column of smoke that clouded the rosy morning sky. “Where else do you want to visit, Ciri?”
She looked at him and he soon regretted asking. Suddenly he wanted to hug her, he dreamed of holding her in his arms, cuddling her and caressing her hair. To protect her. And never allow her to be alone. To not suffer any more evil. And that nothing would happen to her that would make him crave revenge.
I need this passage from baptism of fire but in English
here you are!!
(although the translation is weird in some parts i think that, at least, “nie, tylko ręce załamać / no, just wring your hands” has become “what have i done to deserve it?” and “któremu idzie na pięćdziesiąty krzyżyk / who is going for his fiftieth cross” has become “who’s about to notch up his fifth century”?)
