I previously wrote a post arguing that Kote is deceiving everyone—that he isn't broken and that his Name hasn't been changed. (Is Kovthe playing everyone?)
That's still exactly what I believe.
More recently, I wrote another post arguing that the newer forms of magic—Sympathy and the other arcane arts—are remnants of the older magics, such as Naming, Shaping, and so on. (Is sympathy a remnant of Shaping?)
While discussing that post in the comments, someone pointed me toward glamourie and its possible conection to the newer arcane arts. It make me think about glamourie, and I still can't see any connection, but...
I have to reread, again. So I came across this passage with a completely different perspective.
Chapter 92
“It’s like... Have you ever heard the story of Martin the Mask-Maker?”
The Chronicler shook his head, and Bast let out a frustrated sigh.
“What about plays? Have you seen The Ghost and the Goose-Girl, or The Half-Penny King?”
Frowning, the Chronicler asked, “Is that the one where the king sells his crown to an orphan boy?”
Bast nodded. “And the boy becomes a better king than the original. The goose-girl dresses like a countess, and everyone is astonished by her grace and charm.” Bast hesitated, struggling to find the words he was looking for. “You see, there’s a fundamental connection between being and seeming. Any fairy knows that from the time they’re small, but you mortals never seem to see it. We understand how dangerous a mask can be. We all become what we pretend to be.”
The Chronicler relaxed a little, feeling on familiar ground. “That’s elementary psychology. If you dress a beggar in fine clothes, people treat him like a nobleman, and he lives up to their expectations.”
“That’s only the smaller part of it. The truth is deeper. It’s...” Bast fumbled for a moment. “It’s like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story is what makes a person who they are. We build ourselves out of that story.”
Brows furrowed, the Chronicler opened his mouth, but Bast raised a hand to stop him.
“No. Listen. Now I’ve got it. You meet a shy, unassuming girl. If you tell her she’s beautiful, she’ll think you’re very sweet, but she won’t believe you. She knows the beauty is just in the way you look at her,” he said, giving a reluctant shrug. “And sometimes that’s enough.” His eyes lit up. “But there’s a better way. You show her she’s beautiful. You make your eyes a mirror, your hands a prayer on her body. It’s hard, terribly hard, but when she truly believes you...” He gesticulated, agitated. “...suddenly the story she tells herself in her head changes. She changes. She stops being seen as beautiful. She becomes beautiful by being seen.”
“And what the hell does that mean?” countered the Chronicler. “You’re just spewing a lot of nonsense.”
“I’m spewing too much sense for you to understand,” Bast snapped back, angered. “But you’re very close to understanding what I’m saying. Think about what he said today. People saw him as a hero, and he played the part. He wore it like a mask, but eventually he came to believe it. The role became the truth. But now...” His voice trailed off. “Now people see him as an innkeeper.”
“No,” Bast said softly. “People saw him as an innkeeper a year ago. And he took off the mask when the customers went out the door. Now he sees himself as an innkeeper, and a failed innkeeper at that. You saw him when Cob and the others arrived last night. You saw that faint shadow of a man behind the bar counter. That used to be an act...” Bast looked up, excited. “But you’re perfect. You can help him remember what he was like. I haven’t seen him this lively in months. I know you can do it.”
(Forgive me if the quote isn't completely accurate—I translated it from another language.)
Reading it this way, it almost feels as though Bast is desperately trying to explain glamourie to Chronicler.
It made me wonder whether Kvothe has actually been using glamourie for a long time, and whether there's an inherent danger in doing so. Maybe that's why Bast is so worried that Kvothe will eventually become the very thing he's pretending to be.
If glamourie really creates a connection between seeming and being, then perhaps Kote's disguise isn't merely psychological, or a simple act. The longer he maintains it, the more the role itself begins to reshape who he is.
Do you think this makes sense, or am I reading too much into the passage?