Anxiety and Elantris

[picksupchickens he/him]

So, I've been having some anxiety and depression related issues, nothing too serious, but still, I felt very much like Raoden; in that, I was being bogged down with anxiety and unpleasant memories. Building up until I broke.

I just think it's very profound that Brandon put, in The Way of Kings, a character with depression, and, in Elantris, a character with (Sort of) anxious build up.

 

Sorry for dumping my thoughts in a very unorganized way, I just want to get this off my chest.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

One thing I've always liked about characters like Kaladin and Shallan (haven't read Elantris yet) is that their suffering isn't tossed in to score empathy points with readers. Too often a character will have a tragic backstory that doesn't have much bearing on their present, but Brandon takes the time to make his characters' tragedies real and to give them lasting effects.

Makes it easier to find a fictions friend, I think.

[Ari he/him]

So, I've been having some anxiety and depression related issues, nothing too serious, but still, I felt very much like Raoden; in that, I was being bogged down with anxiety and unpleasant memories. Building up until I broke.

I just think it's very profound that Brandon put, in The Way of Kings, a character with depression, and, in Elantris, a character with (Sort of) anxious build up.

 

Sorry for dumping my thoughts in a very unorganized way, I just want to get this off my chest.

 

Wait, I didn't notice Raoden having anxiety, I have to re-read that now.

 

That said, yeah, I totally agree that it's nice to see people with mental illnesses popping up in fantasy now as more than a victimhood trope.

[picksupchickens he/him]

It's less actual anxiety, and more "pain-building-up-in-the-way-that-bad-memories-do". It was a bit of a stretch, but I think it can be though of as a metaphor. Or maybe I'm just sentimental.

[Mistrunner]

And that's why I think I relate so well with some of his characters. They're real. The problems they have aren't just external.

 

I've been trying to explain my thoughts on this, writing and deleting sentences, words, and paragraphs, but really, I just want to say I agree 100%.

[Young Bard he/him]

I agree. Everybody else in fantasy seemed either permanently gloomy or completely naive and irritating. Sanderson's characters are more immediately relatable, without the sole purpose of backstory simply to make the character relatable in the first place. Sanderson just makes them like that without thinking about it (or if he does, he does it very, very cleverly).

Edited September 17, 2015 by TheYoungBard

[Quiver he/him]

I haven't finished Elantris, so I can't comment on it.

 

But yes. This is one of the major strengths of Brandon's writing, I think.

 

I've mentioned it elsewhere. The first book of his that I read was The Final Empire, and I fell in love with Vin right away. A big part of that was her voice, and her thought process. It didn't match exactly, but her paranoia -specifically her repeated mantra's to herself about people betraying her, her compulsion decisions to keep quiet and look for avenue's of escape... it all reminded me of my own Obsessive-Compulsive traits.

 

I don't think I've ever related to a protagonist of a series as quickly as I did to Vin; usually, I find the side-characters more interesting, but this time... I finally felt like I'd found a protagonist who I could really relate to.

 

Then, look at his other works. You've already mentioned Raoden, but there's also Kaladin for the depression, or Renarin (who is somewhat autistic). You have Vivenna's self righteousness, Marasi's unashamed love of femininity. 

 

Brandon's characters are great because they cover a wide range of personality types and spectrums. They aren't -as Bard says- all gloomy or niave and irritating; there's a range to them. It makes them moe varied, increases the chance that they will appeal to readers - because there will be at least ONE character who you connect with- and makes them more interesting.

 

Heck, I've said it before: I'm not a fan of Kaladin. I feel like his story goes back to him angsting and brooding too often. But I still find it fascinating that this character -one who is meant to be honorable, who the readership is supposed to respect and admire as an ideal of the Knight Radiant- is so openly racist. The same goes for Vivenna, and her opinion of Hallandren. Racism isn't realty a character trait that we expect to see in our heroes; it's unpleasant and nasty. And including it in Kaladin and Vivenna not only raises awareness of how racist attitudes can express themselves in the real world -beyond blatant slurs and violence- it also makes them, in some ways, more realistic, and offers them ways to develop and grow.

 

After all, Vin learning to trust people, taking the steps to overcome her paranoia -even if she'll never be able to fully forget it- is something that struck a chord with me. Like I said, I related to her because of my OCD; seeing someone address a similar poblem and move on with their life -and become a hero- was inspiring. 

[picksupchickens he/him]

I have OCD too, and I can say for one, that Vin is completely realistic in that regard. Kaladin's depression reached out to me as well. Sheesh, stop writing such good characters...

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

I have OCD too, and I can say for one, that Vin is completely realistic in that regard. Kaladin's depression reached out to me as well. Sheesh, stop writing such good characters...

For me, it was Shallan's relentless love of her father, even when it was clear he didn't deserve it. The way she automatically adopted his attitudes and biases, and made excuses for actions the reader found inexcusable, struck me as particularly authentic.

[Curious Anamaximder he/him]

For me, it was Shallan's relentless love of her father, even when it was clear he didn't deserve it. The way she automatically adopted his attitudes and biases, and made excuses for actions the reader found inexcusable, struck me as particularly authentic.

Shallan was amazingly written.

[Ari he/him]

It's less actual anxiety, and more "pain-building-up-in-the-way-that-bad-memories-do". It was a bit of a stretch, but I think it can be though of as a metaphor. Or maybe I'm just sentimental.

 

Ah, yeah, as someone with an anxiety disorder, that's nothing like anxiety.

[Sera]

Shallan was amazingly written.

 

Agreed. The way she redirected her thoughts was particularly well done. Denial can be hard to write, because denial isn't always as pristine as "No! I'm mulling over X and I'm telling myself X didn't happen!". My first hand experience was much more about catching a whiff of the offending thought and swiftly redirecting my mind to not think about it at all. I knew exactly what happened, yet I never allowed it to even grow into a fully fledged thought, and certainly didn't think in words. The mere sensation my mind was turning to subjects I'd rather not face made me focus on anything else so I'd be able to remain functional.

 

It's no easy task to write about a character avoiding a thought when you can't put this thought in words, when you can't even describe a mental image, because the character turns away at the mere shadow of it. Authentic or not, alluding at something without disclosing it can be certainly frustrating for some readers.

[Paragrin she/her]

I'm taking a General Psychology class in college, and one of the readings we've done was about learned helplessness. I looked at it and thought KALADIN. Seriously, almost every aspect fit. The theory is, people are more likely to be depressed/apathetic if they're deprived of control over their life, especially for long periods of time, which... yeah.

Jeez, Brandon, are you a psychologist? Because you write psychologically-accurate reactions like WOW.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

I'm taking a General Psychology class in college, and one of the readings we've done was about learned helplessness. I looked at it and thought KALADIN. Seriously, almost every aspect fit. The theory is, people are more likely to be depressed/apathetic if they're deprived of control over their life, especially for long periods of time, which... yeah.

Jeez, Brandon, are you a psychologist? Because you write psychologically-accurate reactions like WOW.

 

My sister's a psych major. Maybe, if I tell her about the psychological realism in SA, she'll finally read it.  

[Mistrunner]

Seriously, though. Kaladin's depression. So relatable. The biggest complaint I've heard about him is "He whines all the time!" And I can see that, looking back, but as I was reading, it just connected. I connected Kaladin's depression with my own bad spells, and it's so well described. I read somewhere that Sanderson based it off of his wife's depression, and I can really tell. It's written like it is. And yes, that does mean he comes off as whiny to some. I can't blame ya for that; I'm sorry to say I've disliked characters for much less.

This is just a roundabout way to agree with everybody else. He doesn't downplay mental disorders/illnesses. He doesn't make them little plot devices that can be discarded at a moment's notice. They feel real. And they are so relatable.

[Ari he/him]

I'm taking a General Psychology class in college, and one of the readings we've done was about learned helplessness. I looked at it and thought KALADIN. Seriously, almost every aspect fit. The theory is, people are more likely to be depressed/apathetic if they're deprived of control over their life, especially for long periods of time, which... yeah.

Jeez, Brandon, are you a psychologist? Because you write psychologically-accurate reactions like WOW.

 

He's done his research and has friends with depression, based on what he's said online.

 

Now I'm disappointed that Raoden doesn't have anxiety disorder though. XD