The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers

Does Molly still have her soul?

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DonBugen:
I don’t know the answer to this.  I have a suspicion, but I want to ask the class here and see what your thoughts are.

It’s implied, though never directly stated, that Mab doesn’t have a soul, as she’s not human but Fae.


--- Quote from: ”Summer Knight” --- I didn't meet Mab's eyes. I wasn't worried about a soulgaze any longer. Both parties had to have a soul for that to happen. But plenty of things can get to you if you make eye contact too long. It carries all sorts of emotions and metaphors. I stared at Mab's chin, my hand burning with pain, and said nothing because I was afraid.
--- End quote ---

One could argue that this is just an inexperienced Dresden just assuming that all fae don’t have souls.  However, it appears that Harry and Mab do have moments where they stare deeply at each other and a soul gaze is not started.  Case in point, Harry’s first moments in Cold Days.


--- Quote from: ”Cold Days” --- I hadn't seen her picking up the thick, fluffy pillow beside me while she held my eyes. So I was totally unprepared when she struck, as fast as any snake, and slammed the pillow down over my face.
--- End quote ---

If Mab doesn’t have a soul, this is significant because she once did.  She was human once, after all.


--- Quote from: ”Cold Days” ---Mab did not turn around.  When she spoke, her voice had something in it I had never heard there before and never heard again – uncertainty.  Vulnerability.
“I was mortal once, you know,” she said, very quietly.
--- End quote ---

Evidence seems to show that the mantles of the Queens – at least, the Ladies – don’t come on all at once, but are gradual.  Possibly related to choice.  Evidence is seen with Lily’s first appearance as the Summer Lady.  She says a LOT of untruths – most notably, that it’s the first time this power has come to a mortal.


--- Quote from: ”Summer Knight” --- Lily flushed prettily and nodded. "I know. I didn't want it, but when - when Aurora died, her power flowed into the nearest Summer vessel. Usually it would be one of the other Queens, but I had the Knight's power and it just sort of ... plopped in there."
I lifted my eyebrows and said, "Are you okay?
She frowned. "I'm not sure. It's a lot to think about. And it's the first time this kind of power has fallen to a mortal."
"You mean you're not, uh. You haven't?"
"Chosen?" Lily asked. She shook her head. "It's just me. I don't know what I'm going to do, but Titania said she'd teach me."
--- End quote ---

Now, IF Mab doesn’t have a soul, and the loss of one’s soul happens as one turns into Fae, then it does also follow that there’s a choice which must be made.  The soul, apparently, is protected.


--- Quote from: ”Ghost Story” --- Bob shook his head. "I didn't think it was possible for them to do that to you. According to what I've heard, your soul's your own. I'd have thought you would have to walk into something like this willingly, but . . ."
I held up the heel of my hand and butted my forehead against it in steady rhythm.
"Oh, Harry," Bob said, his voice profoundly disappointed. "You didn't."
"They didn't explain it exactly the way you did," I said. "Not in so many words."
"But they gave you a choice?"
Captain Murphy had done exactly that. It had been phrased in such a way that I hadn't really had much of a choice, but I'd had a choice. "Yeah."
--- End quote ---

And the evidence is pretty plain that Molly didn’t choose the mantle.  It just sorta happened to her, just like Aurora – it just plopped in the closest vessel of winter.

But there’s disturbing things about Molly.  Dresden is beginning to fear that she’s more fae than human.


--- Quote from: ”Skin Game” --- That stopped me in my tracks.
Cell phones were some of the technology that was absolutely the most sensitive to the unbalanced fields of energy around a mortal wizard. When one of us got near a powered-up cell phone, it was likely to kick the bucket right there.
Inhuman practitioners, on the other hand, had no problem with that effect whatsoever.
And I suddenly felt very afraid for Molly.
--- End quote ---

And furthermore, even if she didn’t choose her role in the beginning, she seems to have accepted it now.


--- Quote from: ”Skin Game” --- I smiled at her a little. “Makes two of us,” I said. “How you holding up?”
Her eyes glittered. “It’s . . . been really interesting. It all looks very, very different from the inside.”
“Usually how it works,” I said. “Tell me about it?”
“Can’t, literally,” she said cheerfully and waved an airy hand. “Faerie mystique and all that.”
“Figures. You like it?”
“Not always,” she said without rancor. “But . . . it’s necessary work. Worth doing.”
--- End quote ---

So, everyone, my questions are:
A)   Is Dresden correct, that a full Fae does not have a soul?
B)   Does Molly still have her soul?

Discuss.

Con:
As late as Proven Guilty Lily stil exhibited signs that she was still humanish or had human traits. A willingness to help beyond Fae Balance for instance, as well as old jokes between Friends. I would argue that Molly is like Harry in a battle to save her soul on multiple levels, and is in a lot of ways in more danger than Harry is, particularly since she isolates herself from her family who are her bed rock. Seriously outliving them is going to suuuuuck. Assuming she makes it.

peregrine:
Jim has said that it's inevitable, but not immediate.  That becoming fae (and presumably certain other supernatural entities) will cause a loss of the soul, but it's not an instant thing.  Presumably it means that you've got X soul in you when you become fae, and once you use it up, it's gone, no amount of teppanyaki or sex with your boss brings it back.

So I'd say that, as it stands, Molly does still have her soul.  Maybe even most of it.  But it's only been a few years.

Also, note that Jim has also said that even regular old humans can lose their souls as well, just by being horrible enough.  No supernatural intervention required.

Arjan:
It is not a binary thing though it is presented as such in the earlier books. The whole plot in Cold Days is based on the fact that it is still difficult for Mab to kill her daughter even if her purpose demands it from her, there is still something of her soul left.

There is some later woj about it, the soul is a complicated thing and he is not sure even about Mab yet, we will see how it plays out.

At the moment Molly's soul is still there, these things take time depending on the person and the mantle.

wardenferry419:
I would say her soul has been suppressed by her Mantle in order for her to perform her duties. If Mab still has a remnant after over a thousand years than Molly would still have most of hers even if it is not as easy to access.

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