Oct 29, 2024
To:Mo
A lie as applied to this novel is certainly how you describe it. Later on, he describes illusion, lies, magician-ing as comprised of three principles - “The first principle of a magician is to distract. The second principle is that the distraction must have a purpose, a leading goal. The third principle is that the distraction must lead the audience to the hidden truth behind the ordeal, creating a wonderful spectacle for them to enjoy."
This can be reasonably twisted to match what you've said here, and what he usually applies towards his 'lying' as is used to trick opponents or allies. The first is to create a reasonable belief. This cannot be half-assed, and is actually intentional in how he acts in Act II. This is the most important tenant to abide by, as it is the foundation of the lie itself. Without belief, one cannot be moved to action, and a lie might have no purpose at all.
For acting as a magician, the first course of action was to distract the audience. They are made to 'believe' that what they are looking at is the only thing occurring, when in reality, the magician is using sleight of hand to make something happen behind the scenes. This occurrence is presented right after as a new 'truth' - this is the purpose of a lie, what it is mainly comprised of, its outcome, its goal, its purpose. The third tenant is that one must lead the audience to the hidden truth, that newly created- yet false- purpose. However, it can also be the case that this third step can also become a fourth step.
This fourth step is true revelation, that the truth that was made to perceive was a lie all along. This would create despair, and that is the ultimate ideal outcome for a sinner.
If someone is made to believe, through both lie and illusion, then this is certainly the case. Creating either a 'lie' or an 'illusion' is just a matter of how many steps one uses. He can create reasonable belief, a lie, and leave it at that. However, if he actualises that lie by using the second tenant, that is when it becomes an illusion, something that people believe and that people see.
It could be said that Asmodeus called him out on his lie because he only used his first tenant, to make one believe without providing any evidence through the second tenant.
I like to liken his actions to an argumentative essay - a claim, its reasoning, and the outcome of all of the rambling. One could take the claim at face value, and some certainly do, but more often than not, the reasoning is the most important part of the essay. This is something he will slowly come to know, and his actions will shape to fit that sequence of steps, but I thought it would be nice to start off with a bit of a foolish man who bit off more than he could chew. I thought the growth in his capabilities to manipulate would be way cooler.
There was a parallel in this scenario that I had been building up to through the arc. The cards they played were obviously pretty important, as they showed that Lumière retained some semblance of cardistry from his work as a magician. The second was when he 'created' the illusion of the clue that Asmodeus obviously hadn't left behind, and therefore became suspicious of him through. This was part of the 'belief' that probably shook Lumière's evidenceless lie about being a Demon. Of course, this failure of a lie was the parallel to the success of one. Lumière is constantly trying to get the upper hand by using all of the 'cards' in his hand, so to speak, no pun intended. Although he begins with a 'failure' he eventually ends with a 'win'. While one might be the 'fool' in the beginning they hold the 'world' in their hands in the end.
I really appreciate you continuing to read! I promise it gets worse! I love reading your comments and am glad you've stuck around this long. Thank you so much, as always! ^.^
