Darth Revan Posted May 25, 2017 Report Share Posted May 25, 2017 I was reading The Way of Kings and I am a little bit confused about one thing. In Chapter 52, Renarin mentions the Old Magic to Dalinar after one of Dalinar's visions, and then, "The empty place in his memories where [Dalinar's] wife had once existed had never seemed as obvious to him as it did at that moment." When I read that, I guessed that Dalinar had forgotten his wife as a result of a curse from the Old Magic. Later on (I can't find the source material), Dalinar becomes a little more explicit with relating the loss of memories of his wife to the Old Magic, saying that he did consult the Old Magic, but will not reveal his curse. I am wondering two things. First, am I correct in my guess about whether this is his curse or not? (I have just finished The Way of Kings, so this is the only spoiler I am okay with for material from later books.) Second, if I am correct, did Sanderson intend this to be heavy-handed foreshadowing, or is he trusting in the intelligence of his readers to understand this about Dalinar without being explicitly told? Also, I am relatively new to using forums, so I would appreciate any advice related to structuring my posts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy92 Posted May 25, 2017 Report Share Posted May 25, 2017 There are a few different theories regarding what Dalinar actually asked for and what his curse was. Some people think he asked to be able to cope with the pain of losing his wife, so the Nightwatcher wiped all memories of her from his mind. Whether that would have been the boon or the curse in that situation isn't quite as clear. I tend to think he asked for something a little more sinister...like for his brother's throne or to be with Navani, and losing the memory of his wife was the curse. But the real answer to what Dalinar asked for his not been explicitly stated up to this point, and you won't see the answer to it in WoR. If I remember correctly, the answer may be coming in Oathbringer...but I'm not 100% sure on that one. And welcome to the forums! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calderis Posted May 25, 2017 Report Share Posted May 25, 2017 Oathbringer is going to be Dalinar's flashback book. So it's likely we'll get this answered at the end of the year. For now, you're in the same boat as the rest of us. Welcome to the frustrating anticipation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stark Posted May 25, 2017 Report Share Posted May 25, 2017 I for one am hoping that one of the flashbacks will contain the actual interaction with the Nightwatcher. Having a first hand account of how she appears and how the interaction goes is something that I desperately wish to see. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Revan Posted May 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2017 Thanks for the replies! Knowing the curse hasn't been revealed gives me better perspective on how Brandon chose to present Dalinar's failure to remember his wife. I should have known that it wasn't as simple as I made it out to be in my first post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fulminato Posted May 27, 2017 Report Share Posted May 27, 2017 On 25/5/2017 at 6:48 PM, Stark said: I for one am hoping that one of the flashbacks will contain the actual interaction with the Nightwatcher. Having a first hand account of how she appears and how the interaction goes is something that I desperately wish to see. the two book (WotK and WoR) the normal story flow and the flasback story flow converge to a single event (the tien death in the first book, the murder of shallan father in the second), in my opinion the nightwatcher give her boon/curse play the same role in the next book Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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