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13ventrm t1_jcr2utg wrote

I can definitely see it, though I've only read Sower so my view's incomplete. There's some lip service paid by her dad early on about her needing to learn humility which def rings true, but I don't think much comes of that nor does it present much a problem, it kinda just gets softened when she acknowledges that she'll be trying to learn from everyone. Same with her mercenary nature when she Harry and Zara start their road trip, Harry's rightfully unnerved by how different she is from how she presented herself before, but then she just starts softening up. Thoigh to an extent she can kinda control her hyperempathy: if she's not looking at the hurt she doesn't have to feel it.

I think there's something of a wish fulfillment element in her; a lotta folks feel at times that things are gonna go bad and that they're among the few willing to acknowledge it, I reckon that part resonates strongly.

I dunno, I liked her. So often "good" characters in fiction end up willfully ignorant, and I find it refreshing when good is not soft or dumb, haha, which I felt she hit well. Plus she seemed humble in some ways to me, like deferring to Zara, confident in the stuff she could back up. And Earthseed resonated with me.

EDIT: I can also see her frankness as potentially coming across as abrasive, but I do also wonder if that and her confidence/arrogance would be seen as less unlikable in a male protagonist, haha. Gender can definitely be a factor in mary sue discourse/judgements.

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Sorry_Library_7086 t1_jcsvaeh wrote

I have also only read Sower, but I think the importance of Lauren as our protagonist AND narrator can’t be understated.

Everything we are told about her and the world is her opinion, voice, best recollection. I don’t think she is necessarily an unreliable narrator, but she does minimise her faults and maximise the ill actions of others in her narration (particularly regarding Keith for example). I think this adds to her humanity, rather than detracting from it.

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Phanton97 t1_jctbmge wrote

That is a really good point. We shouldn't forget that we are supposed to read her diary. As others mentioned, I think Parable of Talent really adds to her character, since we get the perspectives of other people, like her daughter, who sees her mother in a much different way.

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