I thought they covered it less with her jealously over Lawrenece getting close to Nora, and more with Horo going back to rescue him in the icy rain. It was there more than anywhere that she faced losing him and put in the most effort she ever has to keep him. As terrified as Lawrence was about being sold into medieval slavery, Horo was not nearly as concerned until the wolves were involved.Originally Posted by Buffalobiian
I see Horo's current behavior as more of how she simply feels betrayed. She's started to open herself up, and go down to the level of a mortal in terms of her emotions. Horo has never been used to the emotions and attachments she feels toward Lawrence, or if she did in the past, she has forgotten about them. She overreacted, plain and simple.
Horo heard in his word that Lawrence thought she could get to her hometown on her own. We know that Lawrence believed she probably knew the way, so long as she got close. She just didn't know the general region. 'She's a wolf, she should be able to smell her way home, right?' Lawrence didn't know how fragile she's been lately because she never spoke of her recent dreams and fears. While Lawrence was thrilled to find out that he had a much greater chance of finding her home, he was filled with happiness at making what once was a hopeless quest for his human limitations (time, age, normal senses) was now a chance for him to continue on with her. The part of the legend that claimed her home destroyed didn't concern him, since he was quite familiar with how political forces will change the myth to serve them. After all, that's what Horo faced when they first met in her town. He was more concerned in finding out where it was, rather than be concerned whether or not it was still there. He was going to go with her regardless now that there was renewed hope.
Horo took it as something he knew about the whole time, and used that to fill in the gaps about all the other fears she had ever had about Lawrence. That he was spending so much time with Nora instead of Horo because he liked that sort of pitiable character, the same kind that Horo believed she had now become. That he was thinking of abandoning her because he knew it was a fruitless quest, rather than his actual thoughts that he'd never be able to cover so great an area in his lifetime. That his jokes about how much he cost her were actually serious.
The truth of the matter is that Lawrence doesn't like pitiable characters. The reason he admired Nora was because her life was terrible, but she was making the best of it anyway. He was repulsed by Horo's response that he should mate with her, not because he hadn't considered the idea (did he even think it was possible before he asked Deanna?), but because the reason she suddenly thought about it was because it would be a way for him to pity her, and make him stay with her.
It's just Horo overreacting to all the feelings she is suddenly aware of, and all the anxieties that she had been feeling as a result of them. She filled in all the gaps when she felt betrayed by the letter. It would not have happened if she had been around with Lawrence during his search for information, or if the two of them had read the letter together.
(If there are some inconsistencies in the above, I rewrote parts of it about 5 times as I reviewed the material.)
On another matter, I really like Deanna's character.
Reply With Quote