The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers
Murphy
Mira:
Okay, the big thing about Murphy has always been what a smart fighter she is. That her advice
to Harry has always been smart, she is called a warrior.. Well, maybe not so much..
In Skin Game she went by her rules and not those of the Sword, broke it and got herself pretty
broken. Then as now, perhaps love has fried her brain a bit? What I am talking about is on
the final couple of pages of Peace Talks on the boat. She is in so much pain she says she can
hardly move. Harry tells her that a good warrior knows when it is best to avoid a fight. He suggests
that there are a group of people, the paranetters who are going to be very scared and need wise
council and protecting, that they need her. She objects to that says she won't sit out this fight, and insists that she is going to join him in the fighting. Harry doesn't argue the point, because he knows he cannot change her.. However what she is doing isn't really brave, it certainly isn't smart, it is very selfish and could get her killed, more to the point get Harry killed because he now cannot fully concentrate on the enemy, he has to worry about her.. Oh I know the argument, Murphy has always taken care of herself and Harry too.. But now the odds are that she cannot and there are people who do need her, especially when things get really hairy. So this kills the idea that if she never improves physically she will be happy running the show from behind a desk. No, she won't. She is good at
fighting, and perhaps it is simply a matter of her that love has once again addled her brain, but she is no warrior, and she is very selfish.. This is may be heavy foreshadowing of her doom..
Arjan:
If Freydis says she is a warrior then she is one. Apparently she is hot as well.
Arjan:
I think I will leave the full explanation to the Murphy Valkyrie crowd but her behaviour is exactly what a good viking warrior would do. Probably why the Einherjar and the Valkyrie like her so much.
Mira:
--- Quote from: Arjan on July 19, 2020, 11:50:46 AM ---If Freydis says she is a warrior then she is one. Apparently she is hot as well.
--- End quote ---
I know, but if she acts like she says she is going to act, she is no warrior, she is just stupid and selfish.
It is true, Murphy is very brave, but it takes more than that. Let's not forget that some of the "warriors" that Freydis halls off to Valhalla are berserkers, they are mindless fighters..
--- Quote ---I think I will leave the full explanation to the Murphy Valkyrie crowd but her behaviour is exactly what a good viking warrior would do. Probably why the Einherjar and the Valkyrie like her so much.
--- End quote ---
Yeah, but in the end they were defeated by a cool head and a brain..
Arjan:
--- Quote from: Mira on July 19, 2020, 12:05:09 PM ---I know, but if she acts like she says she is going to act, she is no warrior, she is just stupid and selfish.
--- End quote ---
According to what definition of warrior? She risks her life to protect others because of who she is. She can help so she does. According to other definitions of warrior she does exactly what she should do.
Or to put it in even more pre christian terms she values her own life maybe less than her reputation, what she does with it and how she will be remembered. She goes to battle because she does not want to be the person who did not. Very much like what Lea said about shame. That is something all the Valkyries and Einherjaren would understand. That is a warrior mindset.
A warrior is not the same as a soldier. Thoug it also fits in with Uriel that your soul is more important than your life.
--- Quote ---It is true, Murphy is very brave, but it takes more than that. Let's not forget that some of the "warriors" that Freydis halls off to Valhalla are berserkers, they are mindless fighters..
Yeah, but in the end they were defeated by a cool head and a brain..
--- End quote ---
Jim clearly shows that Harry still needed Murphy's brain. The plan to get Thomas was her plan for example. Actually he mostly got her around just for that brain. Not that different from Skin Game really and even though that ended badly for her she was still good to have around.
And the all vikings are mindless berserkers is a parody. Even easy inflammable guys like Egil skalagrimson were far from mindless. A good brain was valued also in the Viking era.
And even berserker does not mean stupid. It just means you can flip a switch. Much like Gard did in the short story. In the dresdenverse it is probably a supernatural ability that just makes you a better fighter.
And they were not really defeated. They became something else. To be more precisely their kings used christianity as a tool to expand their power, legitimise their autocratic rule and stamp out dissent and to change their people into more obedient subjects. It is fairly well documented.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heimskringla-History-Norway-Snorri-Sturluson/dp/0292730616
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