hippogrif | Discussion thread for Agatha H. and the Clockwork Princess. Beware, Here There be SPOILERS

Discussion thread for Agatha H. and the Clockwork Princess. Beware, Here There be SPOILERS

Welcome.

This is a thread for discussing the Girl Genius novelization Agatha H. and the Clockwork Princess, as well as all Girl Genius in general. The subject matter is the property of Phil and Kaja Foglio.

No spoilers are required in this thread. The assumption is you've read the material already. That is why this thread exists--to provide a place for people to talk without having to try to avoid giving away secrets.

I own this account. If you're rude or a jackass, I will delete your post. If you're debating in good faith and not annoying the natives, I won't. If people really can't behave, I'll delete the whole fershlugginer thread.

Have fun. Talk at will. If you don't want spoilers, run away now.

Hippogrif.

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Oh, definitely. At least, her own mother. I'm of the opinion they have the same mother, but the option remains open that they're half-brother and sister. But Anevka pretty much leaves the strong impression she killed "Mummy."

I wonder whether Selnikov's being an uncle is actually relevant to anything, or whether it's just extra interesting information. Given how Anevka refers to Lady Selnikov (distant, less like a blood relation) and that Selnikov calls Aaronev his brother-in-law, my take is he's likely their mother's brother.

(Considers) I'm not really sure. He's said to look related to the Sturmvoraus, which would suggest that he's related to Aaronev. And he appears to be a Knight of Jove, which also looks suggestive of the Sturmvoraus.

Tarvek says that the Sturmvoraus have been protecting the lineage of Valois for ten generations. That would suggest that the Valois bloodline has been at the very least guarded by the Sturmvoraus, and possibly propagated through marriages. If Tarvek's line is anything like many European royal families, the interconnections and back-breeding could be rather intense.

Well, when Sun revives his head in the Hospital, he says something about his lands and title going to his nephew. Perhaps that's Tarvek?

That would be very interesting. Or it could indicate one of those other contenders Tarvek mentioned to Gil. The ones who would make Gil wish he'd stuck with Tarvek...

Undoubtably, but it's a nice unobtrusive set-up if it does become important later. It's also mentioned a couple of times that Lady Selnikov is in Paris, I'm wondering if that's another quiet hook to hold things together later.

Oh, that would be very nice. And it would provide a good door into the various factions of the conspiracy.

I'd been thinking about that. I see 3 possibilities:
Selinkov married Aaronev's sister. In which case, we have a female Stormvarous out there running free, since Selinkov's wife is alleged to be still extant.

Aaronev married Selinkov's sister, in which case Selinkov's of the Storm King lineage.

Or, Aaronev and Selinkov married two sisters, both of the Storm King lineage, and only one of the sisters managed to procreate, or at least produce a boy child (Tarvek's mother)

I hadn't thought of the 2-sisters option. If that's the case, Aaronev and Selnikov are probably still at least cousins or something, since the book describes him as recently related to the royal family (I'd use the actual quote if I had the book handy).

The Selnikovs might even have children - I don't think it's been said anywhere that they don't, they could be in Paris with mama, and might be numbered among the "unpleasant cousins", although that's less likely since Anevka and Tarvek trusted Selnikov enough to be part of their plan. (Apologies for the grammar, I can't seem to disentangle that sentence)

If Selinkov's lands and titles go to a nephew ("A Star Witness is Revived"), we can be reasonably sure he has no sons. He might have a daughter, but that seems unlikely unless she's too young to have clothes Anevka would want to borrow.

The more I think about this, the more disturbing it gets. Unless Anevka is significantly older than Tarvek, they were likely teenage or near-adult when their mother died, if Anevka had a hand in killing her. On the other hand you have Tarvek claiming that Von Pinn was the only caretaker he had that showed love or kindness - that doesn't sound like something you'd say if you'd been in the care of a loving mother, ever. He also acts unaffected when Anevka brings her up - we know he can hide emotion, but it's as likely that she just wasn't important to him. She also doesn't seem to personally figure in the flow of past events at Sturmhalten. Was she just not there? Was she locked in a tower? Was she just uncaring? There's just no nice answer to this.

I got the impression from Anevka teasing Tarvek about buttoning his shoes together that she was at least three years older than he; quite possibly up to ten years older.

But, yes, the implication that he had no-one to love him at all, even secretly, made my heart go ouch when he said that. No wonder he bonded so strongly to little Gil when they were boys on CW.

It's probably worth noting that for much of the "modern" era the aristocracy largely put their kids in the hands of nurses, governesses, tutors, etc. Which may explain a lot.

That said...

First, yes: Anevak reads as decidedly the elder to me.

Second: every new detail we learn about Tarvek's family and home environment is less reassuring than the last. One thing worth considering if if Mama Sturmvoraus might not have "needed killing," much as Aaronev did...and why.

If nothing else there's every sign Tarvek really did love the original Anevka...and at least some suggestion that the original was pretty scary in her own right, if mecha-Anevka is any reflection of the original at all. If she and Von Pinn were the best Tarvek was ever offered, that's a sad backstory. Live on Castle Wulfenbach, the society of the School kids, and friendship with Gil must have seemed like heaven in comparison--and being tossed out would be a truly Satanic "fall."

One of the reasons I keep hoping against hope they give Tarvek a reasonably happy future is that they've given him such a brutally UNhappy past, and a pretty ragged present. I'd love to see him make it to safe harbor.

One wonders if the reason Tarvek's entirely unshocked by Mama's death is because at the time he saw Anevka as the "protecting angel," acting to save herself (and by extension Tarvek) from someone even worse than Aaronev.

I would guess that many of those nurses, tutors etc. did give their young charges at least some affection; it's hard not to love little kids. So it's tough on Tarvek that none of his did (were allowed to?).

Interesting idea that he may have seen Anevka as a "protecting angel"; not a particularly loving one though. Perhaps that's another reason he worked so hard to save her, protect her.

Agatha will do her best to give him a happy future, not necessarily the one he most desires with her; but she has real affection for him and she would be a mama bear to protect him from harm. Plus, the Foglios *like* their characters and have created an optimistic world, I think he will have a good future, they just don't want to give anything away yet. I will continue to trust them.

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Discussion thread for Agatha H. and the Clockwork Princess. Beware, Here There be SPOILERS

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Uncle Selnikov

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Re: Mom Sturmvarous

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