Sep 10, 2023
Vaar Pietre is a "torn" man
From a physical point of view, this refers to the scar across his face that has caused him to lose the use of one eye - and, with it, his vision of the beauty of the world, if I may say so ( even tho it can be nuanced ) - but also to the neutral expression on his face. An expression where only his furrowed eyebrows bring a little life.
Couldn't we say that he wears the mask of pain in a way ?
Mentally speaking, this could be translated as his puppet heart, or a heart devoid of meaning and emotion. A hollow heart, which feels nothing on its own but only what Pietre wants it to feel. More generally, it's as if his heart were already dead, that it was no longer it who gave life to our council member, but Pietre himself, in the image of puppeteers who give life to puppets that have none.
For him, giving life to his heart means deploying his energy to manipulate/control the story. A story in which every word is linked to his fingers, which, as they see fit, can remove or change them, so that the story takes the direction he wants.
Pietre's manipulative story suggests that he aspires to be master of his life, just as Agreste wanted to be master of his heart... and just as Elin told him he could be master of his life. But it's in the means of "becoming master" that they differ. ( since it is a really new concept for Agreste, I won't develop this point )
As well as mobilizing his energy for this purpose, I think that for Pietre, becoming master of his life is a way of protecting himself, to no longer suffer. The need to control everything is one of a person's first responses to trauma, fear of failure etc...
Nevertheless, in Pietre's case, is it really a need"? Part of me would say yes, and would even push the interpretation as far as a "vital need" in the sense that it has become his reason for living in a way, what "makes his heart work", but on the other hand I think this term should be nuanced. But how ? I don't know yet
To talk about his heart again, we often say metaphorically that the purpose of the human heart is to love, but for Pietre it's to "dislike" and "despise": dislike the mark upon his face, and despise the cold ache of the midnight. In terms of "gradation", despise is higher, in the sense that the hate he feels for the cold ache of the midnight is more important than the one he feels for the mark upon his face.
Now the question is, why? 🤔
Another interesting thing is that he sees it as a game. In a way, it's like making things less serious than they really are...and maybe again a way to protect himself ?
Finally, I think one of the most important points of this chapter is that it heralds a kind of battle of words, with Agreste using them to regain peace and Pietre manipulating them. Here I think there's a very interesting nuance to be made between "employ" and "manipulate": at first glance, we might think that Agreste is somehow manipulating words to spread peace, but I don't think so, because his words come from his heart, more generally they "already have a meaning". With Pietre, I get the impression that the manipulation takes place in the fact that he gives them meaning, not the meaning they actually have, but the meaning he wants to give them... a bit like the meaning the puppeteer will give to a puppet ?
More generally, with his "sincere" words, Agreste conquers hearts, while with his "manipulated" (not sincere) words, Pietre manipulates minds. Hence perhaps his nickname of genius in terms of commanding fools.
So, more generally speaking, it's, perhaps a battle between the heart and the mind.
Once again, it's a "very good choice" made by Kitsch, knowing that Agreste is counting, in part, on the "spread of words" to regain peace among the Spriggans... Now how will he manage to do that if the words he uses lose their meaning ?
Also, what will make his task even more difficult is simply the fact that Pietre is one of the Council members he must've ( maybe ) to convince to bring peace.
Will Agreste succeed in his mission? Will he be able to repair Pietre's heart?
The future will tell.
Side note 1 : I think that this opposition between Pietre and Agreste is a sort of test of the latter by Kitsch, in the sense that the outcome of this "fight" depends on his usefulness as a pawn.
Side note 2: I find it interesting to have introduced an antagonist, or at least someone who is supposed to be in direct opposition to the Baron. This contrasts well with the ondines, where Agreste had no """""""real"""""""" enemies ( except himself )
Side note 3: Kitsch's mask is described explicitly (with adjectives) for the first time since the beginning
Side note 4: there's also something I can't explain about the fact that even though Pietre hates the cold ache of the midnight, he still gets up to gaze at the starry sky.
Side note 5: These bonus chapters were really good. The change of format and perspective gave a fresh look at the story, while introducing some key points for the sequel. I'm really glad you published them after the "end" of the main story, because they were just as enjoyable to read as the others.
As for the last side note: I'm probably going to repeat myself, but I'd just want to thank you once again for taking the time to read all my comments, and especially for responding to them. It was really nice to learn a bit more about the process behind the
story's elaboration , but above all heartwarming to see all the passion you put into it ^^
Wishing you the best for the contest and your author path in general ~
