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The objection to Yeesha's character here has overlooked something substantial. Yes, it's true, Yeesha is far from perfect; but she never claimed to be, and that was her strength. When she implored the stranger not to trust her with the final decision, it was not a self-character assassination; it was an admission of humanity. She knew the power that such a token had and knew it must be in an objective hand. Now that's her father showing through. That's in fact the heart of the scientific spirit: you realise your own limitations, and therefore you find a way to avoid the problems that your biases create. It was the responsible thing to do. It's also very spiritual: she has embraced this role of The Grower, and she must not overstep that role, or risk succumbing to hubris. Every D'Ni tragedy story has come because good people have fallen to hubris, and begun to think of themselves as gods, as choosers of who wins and who falls. That is the story of her entire family, and she, like her father, insisted on breaking the cycle.
Yes, it's true, Yeesha changed in her adolescence. She became old too soon, and yet playful at the same time. She was proof of the old adage, "Those who wish to be young when they are old, must be old when they are young". The Catherine in her came out as she grew up. Atrus was always the scientist, the thinker; but Catherine challenged all his conclusions... she was the dreamer. Only through that spirit did she grow past the lessons of her father, and discover something more. Most important is that we hold no illusions that she is a deity, or flawless; she is wondrous for her humanity. The lessons of the Rivenese, the Serenians, and countless more have taught her to see gods in all things. She reminds me of my friend Alisa: Alisa is overbearing, she's opinionated, she's overemotional, and visibly visceral... and she's lovely. I love her not because she is flawless, but because she is extremely human. She's a woman, who exists in her body, and feels more than thinks.
You mistake us if you think we admire Yeesha for being "perfect" or godlike. We love her because she's the first to reject the hubris that comes with the art and thereby finally create a just society, together with her father. We don't forgive her her foibles, but embrace them, which is difficult to explain: she's the human equation in the new D'Ni: the irrational, the chaotic, the loving, the questioning, and the dreaming. We need this imperfection, or Releeshan will have no heart, and too will fall.
Shorah, everyone. I'm back around town; I used to be "Ro'Kyle". I'll change my name again when Uru goes Live once more, but to something else you'd never heard.
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