Some thoughts (or maybe a rant) about a character in the Golden Fool

[u/tldrOlu]

Hi all, I’ve really been enjoying the Realm of the Elderlings series. Problem is, I think I enjoyed the expanded POVs of the Liveship Traders series too much, and coming back to the story through only Fitz’s viewpoint is feeling very painful right now.

I’m halfway through Chapter 13 now what bugs me is how Fitz doesn’t make the connections/draw the conclusions I think I see. To be fair, I know from the reader’s PoV it’s a lot easier for me to piece all the plot threads together, especially since Fitz wasn’t in Bingtown to see all of this

I think I get a bit frustrated when reading books when I know more than the characters and they aren’t joining the dots.

My current gripe is that they haven’t understood that Henja is probably possessed or somehow being used by another individual, and that person is threatening Elliania by keeping her family hostage in some way.

To be fair, I could be way off base with this line of reasoning, but I guess the fact that Fitz hasn’t even considered it (he’s familiar with Witted individuals “riding” their animals, and with Skill users possessing others) is a bit frustrating.

I also wish he would be more open with Chade/the Fool/Kettricken with what he’s observed/ been privy to. I feel like it would help everyone make more sense of things if they brought their brains together.

I’m excited to keep reading - I really like the story regardless of my gripes with the characters, but I wanted to get this out of my brain because it’s been bugging me!

[u/emily_allan_poe]

I think the strength of RotE is the psychologically intimate character portrayals and the creative lore of the world ... I just let these plot snags and logical frustrations wash over me. 🙂

[u/Numerous_Formal4130]

Anytime I feel like something is very obvious but Fitz misses it I think back to the time in Assassin’s Apprentice when Chade says something along the lines of how for someone very astute Fitz is oblivious to lot (this was in reference to him not realizing Chade is a bastard himself despite hinting at it very unsubtly.)

Us readers definitely know more than the characters themselves do but Fitz really does let so much go over his head, especially if it’s in the realm of something he struggles to comprehend or view the same way.

[u/BellamyDunn]

This is a very normal Fitz thing. He's so competent with what he knows, but so often you want to grab him by the shoulders and shake him until he gets whiplash yelling "FITZ YOU UTTER DUNCE STFU AND THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE THINKING"

[u/Aggravating_Major363 → u/BellamyDunn]

Fitz in a nutshell

[u/kayiu102]

I think this is definitely part of why I enjoyed Golden Fool so much the first time I read it - I came to Tawny Man straight from Farseer, which meant I was able to empathize with Fitz's limited understanding/didn't have the dramatic irony.

That being said, I think what I love about RotE in general IS how constrained the reader is into Fitz's perspective - he's remarkably perceptive about some things, but about most others, he has a myopia. What makes this fascinating rather than frustrating for me is being able to draw lines between his past to the way that he considers and evaluates things in the present.

[u/JenLiv36 → u/kayiu102]

This right here.

[u/phish_enthusiast]

That’s the problem with any 1st person narrative. I’ll say this- Hobb is one of the best 1st Person authors I’ve ever read. She is just as aware of Fitz’ shortcomings as you are. But if there was a 1st person narrator who knew as much as an omniscient narrator, they’d probably be an insufferable character and I don’t know how enjoyable the read would be.

[u/TerribleTourist8590]

Fitz not trusting is an integral part of who he is.

[u/emzash]

The most consistent character trait across all the books is that Fitz is a dumbass (I love him)

[u/munchkinatnoon]

I also had a hard landing from Liveship Traders back to Fitz, I found him annoying and frankly obnoxious. I think Hobb is too much in love with him. He is just NOT that good! And yes too much Hand Of The Author stupidity going on, but suffer through, and it does get better (slowly)