Glare report 10/27/04: Research Woot! Rolf's backstory

[pegkerr]

I found out a Cool Thing today reading Icy Pleasures which, like the fish in the ice block, gives me the feeling that I am onto something real, something true. Something that will resonate, will give me something meaty to chew on, thematically. It has to do with the stories surrounding the first ice palaces. I discovered an earlier story than the one that I knew, a much more sinister story that perhaps changes things. It certainly gives the events of my book more gravitas. (Anyway, I hope it does.) I read in Ice Palaces by Fred Anderes the story of "the first well-documented ice palace," built in the winter of 1739-1740 by Empress Anna of Russia, niece of Peter the Great. She built it because she was pissed at a courtier in her court, Prince Mikhail Golitsin, and decided to punish him this way: she ordered him to marry an incredibly ugly woman vastly below him in class, a servant, and then she built a fabulous ice palace and forced the couple to spend their wedding night there. On a bed of ice. You understand: a transparent building, just to complete the humiliation.

Now: here's the spoiler: when I was plot-noodling with Lois McMaster Bujold, it was her idea that this courtier was Rolf. Something as a result of what Empress Anna did to him, he accidently stumbled upon a way of magically extending his life, using the magic of the ice palace. I have not worked out the details at all. Lois suggested that Rolf has been regenerating himself through history since then, somehow using power in succeeding ice palaces. But another piece fell into place today, reading Icy Pleasures.

It seems that there's another, older legend, which was reported in newspapers in 1867. A tale is recounted at that time that Peter the Great in 1720 got pissed at a courtier in his court, because the courtier asked permission to marry a beautiful woman of the court, and when mocked by Peter the Great for it, the courtier made the mistake of turning his caustic wit on the emperor. The emperor repaid him with the woman of his desires and an ice palace, complete with furnishings and chandeliers--only to seal him and his bride up in their nuptial chamber. The tale ends with the luminous tomb gradually giving way to sun and soot "until even the emperor could no longer bear to look at its congealed and blackened features."

This presents a timing problem: if Rolf was involved in the 1720 ice palace, he couldn't be Prince Golitsin. Golitsin was older than 19. However, maybe I can get away with fudging or simply not mentioning the dates. I had already written the scene where Jack tells Solveig the story of Empress Anna's palace. But I think Rolf might tell the story of Peter the Great's palace at the climax of the book. It is getting at something at the heart of the magic, involving blood guilt, life sacrifice, which is part of what Rolf is up to with Solveig and Ingrid, and I won't get into the details now, because I've spoiled you enough already, thank you, by telling you this. The triangle in this older legend is replicated in the triangle between Rolf, Solveig and Jack. I think of the legend of the Frost King (one of the origins for this book), leaning forward and whispering to the girl "Are you warm, maiden? Are you warm?" as he's freezing her to death.

Yes. Perhaps I'm getting closer to the magical reason why those fish are frozen into the cornerstones of all the ice palaces.

Comments

[peacockharpy.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's amazing! I love it! Heart of ice, indeed...

[hermione-like.livejournal.com]

I think that sounds really cool. :D

[aome.livejournal.com]

I had no idea there was so much lore about ice palaces. How fascinating!


You were thinking of titles awhile back. If Rolf has been regenerating himself via ice palace, I'm guessing that means he can't go too long without one (ie, if there were some delay in building a palace, or an interval without one, his 'immortality' would be in jeopardy?). Anyway - looking at that legend of the palace that melted around the doomed/entombed pair, IF that's sort of the start for Rolf, I didn't know if 'melt(ing)' could be part of the title, if it would have relevence. Melting of Solveig's heart, melting (solving) the mystery, perhaps melting of the ice palace tied to Rolf's demise?

Am rambling on something I don't know enough about. Feel free to ignore. I need to go look; have you been Memory-ing your book-plot thoughts? I'd like to go back to some of the earlier ones and brush up on some of the beginning core thoughts.

[wintercreek]

Just a shot in the dark that this will be of any use to you, but is it possibe that Solveig is somehow related to Peter the Great and Anna? Some kind of family legacy of building ice palaces? A generations-old feud? Perhaps Solveig breaks the chain by choosing the heart of flesh over the heart of ice displayed by her ancestors?

I can't remember much of what you've told us about Solveig beyond her architecture and connection to winter magic, so forgive me if this is way off. College senior cramming for comprehensive exams.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I don't see why you couldn't have Russians. It's not like our lovely wonderful liberal ideal Minnesota hasn't been invaded by hordes of suburban Republicans from God-knows-where, after all.

Not That I'm Bitter Or Anything.

K.

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

Oooooh, shiny.

[chamisa.livejournal.com]

and I won't get into the details now, because I've spoiled you enough already, thank you, by telling you this.

I do feel spoiled, actually. :-) Really, I feel privileged to have this insight into what it's like to write a novel. To work at it. To figure it out how to get from A to B to C. To figure out what happens next.

Thank you for sharing this with us!

[trinker.livejournal.com]

Oooooh.

[malinaldarose.livejournal.com]

Wow. Just...wow.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Yes, I have been adding posts on the ice palace book to memories. Here is the list.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Now there's an interesting idea! I will throw it into the hopper and mull over it. Actually, it's funny, the woman architect I'm been speaking with is a Russian immigrant.

I had planned on making Solveig pretty much pure Norwedian--Agnes is a Professor of Nordic Studies. But the original fairy tale "The Frost King" is Russian. It's certainly reasonable to assume that a Russian or two could have snuck into Solveig's family tree.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

*pats* I hope you and I survive past election day, babe. I think the stress is getting to both of us.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Yeah. *snerk* I love your icon!

Have you ever heard this album? I've been listening to it a lot as I contemplate the fish.

[sraun]

Maybe Rolf is both? Could the first story have aged him prematurely, and he learned the magical trick there but couldn't do anything about it? Then he set himself up in the second story so he could use the revitalization / immortality thing he'd learned in the first?

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Maybe it could be related to the way he got older after not pulling off murdering Ingrid before...

Maybe the secret is that if you spend the night unprotected in an ice-palace, you will get magical powers and age twenty years in a night, but if you simultaneously sacrifice an unborn child of your own conception, you don't age and live x years at the age you are now?