The Imager Portfolio

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Overview

Character

Now we come to take a preliminary look at the central character in this story, to whom everything is happening...

Utilising these human values of Truth, Right Conduct, Love, Peace and Non-violence and the lifelong learning task, we come to consider Rhennthyl as he has lived and learned in the first 23 years of his life, and the changes that come into his life.

Truth is self knowledge and self awareness; it corresponds in action to learning to know. When we are informed, we speak the truth. In the lifelong learning continuum, this is shown as the knowledge below.

Right Conduct is self confidence in action; it corresponds to learning to do. In the lifelong learning continuum, when we act with right conduct, we act in a cultured fashion and express skill.

Peace is self satisfaction. This corresponds to learning to live together. When we act with peace, we are emancipated from the bunds of ego and express balance.

Love is self sacrifice; love makes space for others and always gives of its own self; thus, it is sacrifical and selfless in nature. When we act with love we are emancipated from jealousy and greed, and live our lives with insight.

Non-violence is self realisation; we have understood the purpose of our life and have learned to be our own self. With this realisation and insight into our own selves, we become self-actualised and express our own identity.

So we might observe that the objectives of the lifelong learning processes are knowledge, skill, balance, insight and identity and match these up with the character strokes the author L.E. Modesitt has drawn in this first part of the narrative. There are those who ask, "How shall we judge a man?". Actions speak louder than words; actions are guided by choices; choices are guided by values. Thus, is character defined.

So we are presented with Rhennthyl as a dutiful son avoiding conflict with his father and acquiring a sensible trade. He as learned the trade well, but is insensitive to the unwritten rules of the trade, "An artist must appeal to perception, not accuracy". Son of a factor, three years of journeyman portraiturist completed, and, perhaps due headstrong individuality, lacking some necessary social skills. For all this, Rhennthyl is a likeable young man, earnest as an artist, and wanting to strike out on his own. We can expect he will be successful, and satisfy his parents and duly present them with a wife. Two questions arise from these reflections:

• Does Rhennthyl have maturity?
• What are the uses of power in Rhennthyl's life?

The movement from constrained, dependent teenager to self-determining adult has testing of boundaries, testing of relationships, skill acquisition and rehearsal, peer approval and social inclusion. Maturity is a process whereby we manage ourselves, our presence in society, and our inner and external conflicts. A more robust dimension of maturity, informed maturity with strength of values, incorporates knowledge, skill, balance, insight and identity.

We can say that Rhennthyl, as shown to us in the first 15 chapters, is slowly acquiring adulthood maturity, via his peers, his Master, his trade and his family. He is responsible for himself in large degree, and is tacitly taking his time to find an appropriate woman in his life. He is not ready for marriage, despite his mother's firm intentions. Yet, he is not quite an adult, he is journeyman with very little power at his disposal. Rhennthyl has power over himself, but little or no power beyond his personal boundaries.