In an interview I did with A Smiling World (www.asmilingworld.com), Bill Moore
asked me if Vila and Arowden’s relationship is reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet.
Like with Romeo and Juliet, Vila and Arowden’s relationship would be met with
great conflict if anyone ever found out. Hewenia, the city-state in which Vila
and Arowden live in, is co-habited by the Hennian and Trewanian races. The two
races bear much in common, unlike their human counterparts, and thus, the
city-state of Hewenia was erected in order for these two races to have a place
to celebrate their culture and fuse church and state.
This is a great concept for both races, but it comes
with a few unique twists. Most notably (and as the story progresses, the most
important) is that the city-state of Hewenia does not fall under the Norean
Common Law. Due to religious differences, the Global Alliance of Noreis
discovered that, in order for Hewenia to exist, they would have to have special
laws that were pertinent only to them and thus cannot by governed by the rest
of Noreis. In Vila and Arowden’s case, this means that they cannot be protected
by the government if it is revealed that, not only are they lovers, but Vila is
pregnant with a “child of mixed breed.”
In this chapter, we learn that Vila is one of the most
liberal political leaders in Hewenia. She has cleverly replaced the word “religion”
with the word “culture” in order to get her point across that Hewenia exists so
that Hennians and Trewanians can celebrate their unique way of life. She is
also, brazenly, pushing for the Separation of Religion Act, which would provide
a way for her city-state to not be governed by their religious text, the “Book
of Gods.” Obviously, there are a lot of parallels that can be drawn between
Hewenia and various countries in our world, but I’m not even going to get into
that subject just yet.
The point is that Vila has a clear goal from the very beginning
of this story: she lives in a land dominated by religion, and yet she is still
pushing forward and making great headway as someone who doesn’t follow the
social norms of her people. The first paragraph in her chapter talks about the
Well of Repentance, which is a major symbol in Hewenia. Hennians and Trewanians
come from everywhere across the world to partake in a ritual that is deeply
ingrained in their religion. Vila lives just a few minutes from the Well and
she has never once partaken in the ritual herself. She is an outsider for her
beliefs, and an even bigger outsider for committing the Greatest Sin of All.
“The greatest sin of all is for a
Trewanian to love a Hennian, and for a Hennian to love a Trewanian in return.
Such a love will bring about a child of mixed breed—and with the child bring
about the destruction of the Trenthean and Henthean ways of life.”
Vila has that quote
hidden behind a picture so that she doesn’t have to stare at it all day. She
knows that she’s gotten into enough trouble already, and she doesn’t know how
to get out of it. So, yes, in a way Vila and Arowden have a Romeo and Juliet
relationship, but in her next chapter it is revealed that, while Arowden makes
an excellent Romeo, Vila’s Juliet loves more than just Arowden. As complicated
as her circumstances already are, the pot gets sweetened for her when she’s
presented with a once in a lifetime offer that—well, I shouldn’t get too ahead
of myself.
The second part of
this chapter is the re-introduction (well, a re-introduction if you’ve read “The
Interview”) of Eliza Bennihan. In this scene, Eliza reveals herself to be a
younger, more spastic version of Vila herself. She’s intrigued enough by the
girl’s audacity to hear her out while Eliza is requesting an internship for
her, even though she knows that she’s going to tell Eliza “no” from the very
beginning. Eliza reminds Vila of herself if the Vila had the freedoms brought
by not being in Hennian and living in a city-state that isn’t governed by
religion.
When she does reject
Eliza, the girl is heartbroken, but Vila cannot let her leave looking
distraught. Vila reveals to the girl that she’s had to make compromises to get
to where she is, even if it doesn’t look it. Eliza is shocked by this, and
refuses to make those compromises in her future. Of course, Eliza is half Vila’s
age and hasn’t had any real experience in the political sphere, so she has no
idea what her future is going to hold.
Before leaving, Eliza
suggests that Vila is pregnant and that that’s the reason for why Eliza is
getting an internship (because obviously Vila intends to take some time off for
maternity leave. Eliza has no idea that Vila’s “maternity leave” would involve
disappearing with Arowden forever). Vila is shocked by this allegation and
refuses it. Still, the very comment resonates in both of them, and becomes a
crucial part of the story as it progresses.
When Eliza leaves,
Vila returns to a speech that she has to write and deliver later that day. Yes,
she’s going to have to disappear before coming to term, but if she can least
start the conversation of separating church and state, it will have to be
enough.
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