Bloody Tan

[Niteshado]

So i was re-reading Era 2 and i came across this: "Annoyingly, he was probably right. Why else would Bleeder be parading around the city wearing the body of the man who had killed Waxillium’s wife?" talking about Larkspur (the Pathian Priest)

Only thing I've noticed (unless i was blind and missed it) they havent really mentioned Wax's wife any. Obviously its Lessie, i just havent seen it written as wife. But I was also looking at Coppermind and there is no connection between Larkspur and Bloody tan. Are they the same person, if so, should Coppermind be updated to reflect that?

Edited February 17, 2018 by Niteshado

[Calderis]

The shift to thinking about Lessie as his wife was an intentional mental shift to show the way that Wax's memory change, because people do that and memory is horribly fallible. 

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damenleeturks

Was anyone else completely surprised in Bands of Mourning when Wax offhandedly mentions that he and Lessie had been married?

I don't remember any mention of Wax and Lessie being married before that point in the series. Together, yes. But married, not at all.

Did I just miss it? Or did /u/mistborn forget to mention it in earlier books? (Or did he slip in some hand wavy retconning and hope no one noticed)?

Brandon Sanderson

This is one of those things that editors kept trying to change back, but which I insisted stay as it's not a contradiction to the earlier book. Wax's thinking of her in this way is a kind of unconscious defense against what his mind perceives as an attempt by society to wipe her out of existence and force him to move on.

damenleeturks

I appreciate that the intention here was for Wax's state of mind to feel a little off.

Still, with the concrete way he thinks of the relationship as a marriage, with how he remembers the specifics of a ceremony, it's hard for me to resolve your statement that "Wax and Lessie never had a real ceremony" with the conflicting statements in the text (emphasis mine)—

At the very beginning of chapter 1, Wax and Wayne are talking, Wax casually mentions that it's his second marriage and Wayne doesn't bat an eye:

“You gonna be all right?” Wayne asked.

“Of course I am,” Wax said. “This is my second marriage. I’m an old hand at the practice by now.”

Then, after Wax gets to the church and is getting dressed, he muses further on his previous wedding:

Then, after a moment’s hesitation, he strapped on his gunbelt and slid Vindication into her holster. He’d worn a gun to his last wedding, so why not this one?

And finally, Wax contemplates the actual ceremony as he and Steris are walking "down the aisle":

Wax found himself smiling. This was what Lessie had wanted. They’d joked time and time again about their simple Pathian ceremony, finalized on horseback to escape a mob. She said that someday, she’d make him do it proper.

With all three of these in short succession, Wax clearly establishes that 1. he was married before to Lessie (at least in his head), and 2. there was some kind of wedding ceremony (was this in his head, too?).

Brandon Sanderson

So, the following is how I explained it to Peter, I believe, back when he raised these objections during the editing stage. Wax and Lessie had no official marriage, though they did exchange some vows (as Wax notes, on horseback, fleeing a mob.)

Lessie gave him grief, claiming that it didn't count--that she wanted more. She wanted an actual wedding, and a piece of paper to say they were married. Wax figured this was good enough, and resisted wanting to do something more formal. It was his whole, "I am the law" thing he had out in the roughs. Focus on what matters, not what paper-pushers might claim he should do.

Over the years, they talked about getting married for real, and he started to think of the day they would. (Shifting his focus away from thinking of "my wife" but instead of kind of a long-term betrothed/common law wife.) When he lost her, and moved to Elendel, his viewpoint shifted. He wanted more and more to treat what they'd had as a legitimate marriage, for fear that what he and Lessie had would be wiped awaystamped out, by something more grand that society was demanding of him.

So while the event never changed, his perception of it certainly did. I intended for it to be contradictory, but only subtly so, and this is one of those things that I didn't feel like it was right to do in the text. (Much like Wayne's dislike of Steris for stealing Wax away from him and from the memory of Lessie--but this sentiment slowly shifting into a protectiveness of her as she reached the "inside" circle and gained legitimacy by making Wax happy.)

These are things that the characters themselves don't realize, and while I'll occasionally hang a lantern on them, sometimes I just leave it unspoken and subject to interpretation. If every little thing gets spelled out in the text, then I am left feeling that we're being too on the nose.

That said, once in a while, things like this DO annoy Peter. He'd prefer I pin the text down on things that seem to contradict one another.

source

And I don't understand what you mean about Larkspur and Bloody Tan. That quote is talking about Bleeder appearing as Bloody Tan. 

Edited February 17, 2018 by Calderis

[Niteshado]

Maybe i am reading it wrong. I was reading it as "parading around the city wearing the body [Larkspur] of the man who had killed Waxillium’s wife[bloody tan]" 

[RShara]

Here, I'll pasted the quote in context.

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“We should have seen it. She’s trying to drive a wedge between the Pathians and the Survivorists.”

“The governor is Pathian,” Marasi said. “We think Bleeder is trying to get at him.”

“You’re right,” Waxillium said, narrowing his eyes. “But that’s not her true goal. She wants to overthrow the city. Perhaps the governor’s murder will be the capstone. But what does this have to do with me?”

“Everything doesn’t have to be about you, you know.”

“Not everything,” Waxillium agreed. “Just this.”

Annoyingly, he was probably right. Why else would Bleeder be parading around the city wearing the body of the man who had killed Waxillium’s wife? Waxillium left the corpse, pushing out of the building though the rear exit. There a narrow alleyway led out to the street. Marasi followed, joining Waxillium in the darkness and mists.

 

So Wax is wondering why Bleeder is wearing Bloody Tan's body.  Wax had thought he'd seen Bloody Tan earlier.

The corpse they're looking at is Father Bin.  Larkspur in this instance is Bleeder impersonating a Pathian priest, and the one who killed Father Bin.  It's unknown whether Larkspur has always been Bleeder, or if Bleeder is impersonating Larkspur to drive a wedge between the Pathians and Survivorists.

Another thing to note:  this section is Marasi's PoV.  So Marasi is thinking "Wax's wife," not Wax.

Edited February 18, 2018 by RShara

[Niteshado]

1 hour ago, RShara said:

Wax is wondering why Bleeder is wearing Bloody Tan's body.  Wax had thought he'd seen Bloody Tan earlier.

Its Marasi's PoV, yes, so should i have read that as her talking about bloody tan in the first place? only reason that doesnt make sense to me is because she was talking about Larkspur and Father Bin, i dont remember Bloody Tan being mentioned. 

Meaning, i keep interpreting it as her talking about Larkspur, and the man who killed Wax's wife. Meaning Larkspur=Bloody Tan.

Do you kinda see my angle here? @RShara