The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers
Why is Mab trying to change Harry?
Mira:
--- Quote from: SerScot on January 31, 2023, 08:41:24 PM ---The will and defiance are tied to the consciene and compassion. You don’t get the former without the latter. Surely Mab is bright enough to realize that basic fact?
--- End quote ---
She is, but the last person she'd admit it to is Harry. But she shows it in small ways, like little Maggie's Christmas gift, because she also knows that Harry would never accept the fact that she realizes it.
seanham:
Maybe Mab isn't trying to change Harry. Harry's defining characteristic is his Will, he has overcome dozens of foes that should have beaten him, but he is still around and doing his thing. Mab is forcing Harry to make hard choices and make sacrifices, all while knowing Harry is going to fight her every step of the way. Harry is a knight worth Mab's trouble because he won't cave to Mab's desires. In Cold Days(?) Harry says something to the effect of, "You can't afford a mediocre knight" sorry don't have the exact quote at hand. Most every knight before Harry has been a mindless thug (yes, there are exceptions but not many); Harry won't get to this point because of his Will. Harry Will's himself through big bad after big bad, not because he is the strongest or the smartest in every fight but because he believes it is right and those big bads need to be put down or because it was Right. By Mab pinning Harry into corners and making him make choices, she is sharpening his Will and focusing him on her enemies and on what she thinks needs to be done. Harry will and has gone along with this because he realizes that even though Mab is evil, she is the evil humanity needs. Harry will continue to face down Mab's foes because it is right, and he will come out on top because of his strength of Will, and it's what he needs to do to protect his family, friends, and world. A tangible example of this is when Harry describes "fighting" Mother Winter in CD as a grain of sand against an ocean; the grain of sand can be pushed around but will not break. Harry will not break, he may need to be strengthened and supported, but he won't break or bend that is what Mab needs.
g33k:
Mab isn't trying to change Harry; or if she is, only gently.
Yes, gently.
I know, right?
Mab?
Gently??!?
HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa!<gasp><wheeze>
"Gently" as in: how a master-smith makes a damascene'd blade.
It involves intense fire, and a hammer; but it needs the right materials and must be done carefully... gently.
Mab needs her Knight to be the master of the WK mantle; but the mantle is incredibly powerful, and mostly becomes the master of the Knight (as it did with Lloyd Slate).
So she is forging her knight with intense methods, but carefully-crafted ones, and (however much it doesn't feel like it to Harry) she's being gentle.
Because if Harry breaks, she needs as much time as possible to craft a new Knight.
Because the Stars and Stones are coming soon.
Mira:
--- Quote ---"Gently" as in: how a master-smith makes a damascene'd blade.
It involves intense fire, and a hammer; but it needs the right materials and must be done carefully... gently.
--- End quote ---
Yes, and many layers of the right combo of metals, percentage of carbon, intense heat, yes, but too hot or too cold and the sword will not quench properly, it can become brittle and break or never harden and sharpen properly... There are many layers to Harry, he is a complex man, he is in the fire being brought up to temperature, but yet to be quenched... Will he become a strong sharp blade? Or will he be warped by the process or turn out brittle and break in the final test?
Ed0517:
--- Quote from: SerScot on January 30, 2023, 07:42:19 PM ---Several times Mab has said things like “finally a knight worth the trouble” when Harry defies her. If his defiance and strength are so useful to her why would she want him to simply succumb to the beastial urges of the Winter Mantle as Harry keeps implying or saying in the books since he has become the Winter Knight?
--- End quote ---
I don't know how much she is trying to change him. He's a powerful agent without the mantle. With the mantle, he's likely far more powerful than most past Winter Knights. But that will and power...he's not an iron hand in a velvet glove, he's an iron hand in a spiked cestus. He is going to piss off Summer - getting the Lady killed will do that. He will piss off some other powers - like the Red court. Remember them? He causes trouble. But Mab will take the trouble to have his abilities.
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