The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers
Why Didn't Justine Just Abort?
Conspiracy Theorist:
True Love and soul regeneration are separate but related concepts, Harry’s use of Soulfire is analogous to feeding by a hunger, if both are overdone there is nothing left. If time goes by, especially spent in satisfying fulfilling activities then it helps the sole regenerate faster.
Maggie in that respect is a power up for Harry, as is Murphy. Just doing the ordinary loving day to day stuff with them allows his soul to recover much faster. Mouse and Mister also help his soul recover (but if you read Misters POV story “Everything the Light Touches”, it clearly isn’t reciprocated by Mister to the large monkey). Time spent with the Carpenters and Thomas and Eb and the Alphas help. Some of these will have been taken away from him.
Christmas Eve shows a Harry at a low point he will have used Soulfire extensively in Battle Field, cheering him up isn’t just about making him feel better, it’s about refilling his tank for the next time he needs Soulfire. That’s what Mab and Kringle and Uriel (in Christmas with the Carpenters) are doing making sure that his soul grew three sizes.
morriswalters:
Justine didn't abort the child because it would have eliminated the theme Jim wanted to use. And it would have inevitably offended some readers. And a non zero chance of having a child is exactly what it says. Nearly sterile is not sterile. Thousands of couples learn this each year, with the whiney refrain, I didn't think I would get pregnant. That's the answer to the question as unsatisfying as it is.
In the text the answer could be as simple as, Thomas and Justine believe that the child is more important then the risk. Which doesn't mean that Thomas wouldn't sell his soul to the devil to have both the child and Justine.
Conspiracy Theorist:
Narrativity, not just Nativity.
Mira:
--- Quote from: morriswalters on August 05, 2020, 04:29:16 PM ---Justine didn't abort the child because it would have eliminated the theme Jim wanted to use. And it would have inevitably offended some readers. And a non zero chance of having a child is exactly what it says. Nearly sterile is not sterile. Thousands of couples learn this each year, with the whiney refrain, I didn't think I would get pregnant. That's the answer to the question as unsatisfying as it is.
In the text the answer could be as simple as, Thomas and Justine believe that the child is more important then the risk. Which doesn't mean that Thomas wouldn't sell his soul to the devil to have both the child and Justine.
--- End quote ---
Agree with all of that.
--- Quote ---True Love and soul regeneration are separate but related concepts, Harry’s use of Soulfire is analogous to feeding by a hunger, if both are overdone there is nothing left. If time goes by, especially spent in satisfying fulfilling activities then it helps the sole regenerate faster.
--- End quote ---
Possibly, but not as a concept of protection from the White Court in my opinion. Several years ago we went around and around on this subject. One can have true love with more than one person, Harry has shown that. However protection from being fed upon it is very fragile and a bit complex.
True love should be and is totality of heart,mind,and soul, the physical not so much.. Still, the simple act of Justine having loveless sex breaks the protection from being touched or fed upon. What she feels for Thomas is still true love, but she is no longer protected..
Bad Alias:
--- Quote from: Mira on August 04, 2020, 02:47:00 PM ---Justine, who apparently is almost certain to die here.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote ---According to the family records, just over fifty percent either don’t survive the delivery or die shortly after.
--- End quote ---
That's not even close to almost certain. Given advances in medical care over the decades and likely centuries the family records go back, it's probably more likely than not that Justine will survive the pregnancy. A certain, or even large, percentage of that death was likely due to mundane causes, especially when combined with the mother's weakened state. From the 1700's through the invention of antibiotics, the mortality rate for mothers was 400-500 per 100,000 in Britain. Today in the U.S. it's 15 per 100,000.
--- Quote from: Mira on August 04, 2020, 04:56:13 PM ---Especially if she is on birth control, supposedly Thomas is "for intents, sterile," two weeks late for your cycle could mean a lot of things.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote ---And my kind are all but infertile to boot.
--- End quote ---
All but infertile and for all intents and purposes sterile are not the same thing. For example, for all intents and purposes sterile could mean that one could conceive, but the pregnancy would end before any noticeable physiological effects. All but infertile means very nearly or all except. So either Thomas isn't infertile at all because he's an exception to the general rule, or all wamps are just very unlikely to impregnate a woman (or get pregnant for the females) in any given attempt. Eventually unlikely things happen given enough repetitions.
--- Quote from: Mira on August 04, 2020, 06:14:31 PM ---Also even with Molly's help, giving "birth" to her meant he'd live, not his almost certain death. So, no, not the same at all.
--- End quote ---
After Harry found out, Murphy said they'll "get that parasite out of your head." Harry responds that they "can't kill the parasite. We have to save it." Emphasis added. Also, without Molly, it did mean certain death for Harry. I'm not going to lay odds on what were the chances of Molly arriving in time because all we know is that she did. So outside of the slightly more likely to die than live probability being just unknown, it's exactly the same situation Justine is in. I think this shows that Harry wouldn't even consider abortion.
--- Quote from: Conspiracy Theorist on August 05, 2020, 08:38:26 AM ---Exactly, Harry’s opinion as a mother is valid in this context, as a father not so much.
--- End quote ---
Harry has had experience in choosing between his True Love and his child, so he's got the exact experience Thomas needs.
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