Christopher Paolini, the homeschooled author of the famed Inheritance Trilogy (ERAGON, ELDEST, and BRISINGR) would be a lame and cliche author if it weren't for his side plots. Um... wait, let me rephrase that - Christopher Paolini IS a lame and cliche author, but his descriptions are good and his side plots save him from the depths of horrendousness. Now that we all are understood on this fact, let us move along.
One of these excellent side plots is a common theme that has appeared in each of the books he has written so far, having to do with religion. If you'll remember in the first book, Eragon's uncle Garrow is killed by the bad guys that wanted Eragon. (CLICHE in all caps!!!! Just like every Luke Skywalker and Spiderman out there!!! Moving on...) Eragon is heartbroken and yeels, "What god would do this? Show yourself!" It made me raise a brow, hoping that Paolini would continue with this. But in the first book, nary. So I shrugged and washed my hands of stupid young fantasy writers until the second book, where it continued Eragon's questions about whose gods were real and what gods even were and what religion was truth. I again got excited, and the conversation between Eragon and his Elvish teacher ran thus:
Eragon - “Where do you think the world came from, then, if it wasn’t created by the gods?”
Oromis - “Which gods, Eragon?”
“Your gods, the dwarf gods, our gods… someone must have created it.”
Oromis raised an eyebrow. “I would not necessarily agree with you. But be as that may, I cannot prove that gods do not exist. Nor can I prove that the world and everything in it was not created by an entity or entities in the distant past. But I can tell you that in the millennia we elves have studied nature, we have never witnessed an instance where the rules that govern the world have been broken. That is, we have never seen a miracle. Many events have defied our ability to explain, but we are convinced that we failed because we are still woefully ignorant about the universe and not because a deity altered the workings of nature."
...
“We [the elves] give credence only to that which we can prove exists. Since we cannot find evidence that gods, miracles, and other supernatural things are real, we do not trouble ourselves about them. If that were to change, if Helzvog [the dwarf god] were to reveal himself to us, then we would accept the new information and revise our position.”
Eragon - “It seems a cold world without something… more.”
“On the contrary,” said Oromis, “it is a better world. A place where we are responsible for our own actions, where we can be kind to one another because we want to and because it is the right thing to do instead of being frightened into behaving by the threat of divine punishment…"
WHAT??? For the first time in my life, I threw a book to the corner of the couch, not caring or seeing how it landed. Much of the rest of the book followed along the same lines as this conversation. I named ELDEST a horrid book, and figured Paolini's hint at talent from the first book had now been utterly ruined by this next, finer-written book with an awful message.
So in ELDEST we see that Elves are atheist. But I got my hands on the newest book, BRISNGR, again thinking he was done with the religious subject (I mean give me a break, they only discuss it in a couple sentences per book!). But I'll give Paolini this - if he brings up a little side smidgen, he sticks it. Last night I read about a Dwarf woman who had just lost her son, Kvistor, when he was defending Eragon. She goes in and kneels before the statues of the Dwarf gods. Here is the excerpt:
For several minutes, Glumra sang, and then she fell silent and continued to gaze at the figurines, and as she gazed, the lines of her grief-ravaged face softened, and where before Eragon had perceived only anger, distress, and hopelessness, her countenance assumed an air of calm acceptance, of peacefulness, and of sublime transcendence. A soft glow seemed to emanate from her features. So complete was Glumra's transformation, Eragon almost did not recognize her.
She said, "Tonight Kvistor will dine in Morgothal's hall. That I know. I wish I might break bread with him, along with mine husband, Bauden, but it is not mine time to sleep in the catacombs of Tronjheim, and Morgothal refuses entry to his hall to those who quicken their arrival. But in time, our family shall be reunited, including all of our ancestors since Guntera created the world from darkness. That I know."
Eragon knelt next to her, and in a hoarse voice, he asked, "How do you know this?"
"I know because it is so. How could it be otherwise? Since the world could not have created itself any more than a sword or a helm might, and since the only beings with the wherewithal to forge the earth and the heavens into shape are those with divine power, it is to the gods we must look for our answers. Them I trust to ensure the rightness of the world, and by mine trust, I free myself of the burdens of mine flesh."
She spoke with such conviction, Eragon felt a sudden desire to share in her belief. He longed to toss aside his doubts and fears and to know that, however horrible the world might seem at times, life was not mere confusion. He wished to know for certain that who he was would not end if a sword should shear off his head and that one day he would meet again with Brom, Garrow, and everyone else he had cared for and lost. A desperate yearning for hope and comfort filled him, confused him, left him unsteady upon the face of the earth.
And yet.
Part of himself held back and would not allow him to commit to the dwarf gods and bind his identity and his sense of well-being to something he did not understand.
Besides the fact that the Dwarves have multiple gods and put a lot of stock in statues and the like, Glumra's statement of faith (especially the part in red) reminded me a lot of Christianity. I think it is a great quote that states what we Christians believe. We know because it is so!
I do wonder which way Eragon will go in the final book. I don't know about the state of Paolini's faith, but now I think I trust him to finish this thread off.
Why did I write all that? Mostly for you Christian Inheritance fans who needed to see this written down somewhere. And for the rest of you, if you take anything from this, take the quote in red.
