Truepurple:
The only thing her and past thorfinn have in common is their desire for revenge for the death of a father. Everything else couldn't be more different.
Past thorfinn really was a heartless mindless killing machine. She clearly has a heart and a mind.
Heart:
She would not risk killing the baby, even for her revenge. She clearly doesn't even want to kill his adult friends, probably a bluff with the poison. Past thorfin wouldn't hesitate even for a second, to slaughter a whole group like his, baby and all.
Mind:
She shows a quick sharp mind the way she roped them in, and with the (probably fake) poison. Past thorfin was a idiot, who did everything his target of revenge asked of him, like he was rewarding the person who killed his father, instead of revenging on him. Even when he got permission to fight him, I bet his revenge target liked that too, the combat keeping him sharp. If you didn't know better, Past thorfinn and his revenge target could have been seen as best friends and beloved comrades in arms of vicious ruthless killers.Even the nature of their target of revenge is different. Thorfinns target for revenge was a awful asshole to near the very end and deserved/needed to be killed a thousand times over, over the decade/s or whatever (and Thorfinn was no different for a long time too) Her target of revenge, thorfinn, has had a radical change of heart/mind and personality. I don't blame her for doubting it, even with evidence otherwise. Thorfinn is like his polar opposite of his past self.
RedRuM:
I feel like you're missing my point here and that you're focusing on their differences instead of their major similarity. I'm talking about the characters' motivations, their driving force, their essence. Nearly all the things you say about Thorfinn were motivated by his grief and rage over his father's death. I'd go as far as to say that those emotions were what defined his character and were the source of almost all his actions up until Askeladd's death. Now we have a character that has those exact same emotions stemming from the exact same circumstances (the murder of their fathers), that is driven to kill Thorfinn like Thorfinn was driven to kill Askeladd. Yes they approach things differently and have led different lives but that doesn't change this huge similarity between them right now.
The point I am making is that the driving force behind Thorfinn's actions in the past is the same as the driving force behind this woman's actions right now, and this will allow Thorfinn to reflect on his past self. I see this fight as a fight between Thorfinn and past Thorfinn so that's why it has a lot of meaning to me. He not only has to face a victim of his past violence, he has to face someone who has a huge similarity to his past self.
"their essence"
Their essence is not that of revenge, this point is shared between them, not letting it define them. But Hild managed this alot better then Thorfinn of the past did.
Nearly all the things you say about Thorfinn were motivated by his grief and rage over his father's death.
I'd go as far as to say that those emotions were what defined his character and were the source of almost all his actions up until Askeladd's death.
No, that was all Thorfinn and not revenge. Revenge would have been trying to kill Askeladd by any means necessary, or at least trying to hinder him. Not becoming Askeladds life long trusted companion, helping him has he kills the multitudes.
Thorfinn must have really hated his father to give his killer such aid and assistance, such dedicated soulless labor of mass murder on the cheap.
The point I am making is that the driving force behind Thorfinn's actions in the past is the same as the driving force behind this woman's actions right now
Hatred of the father to the point where you become loyal companion to his killer? No, that is not the case with Hild.
he has to face someone who has a huge similarity to his past self
Nope, a small similarity to his past self. Having your father killed is not all there is to a person. You brush off the major differences between them that I carefully outlines as though they were almost nothing. As though it doesn't matter that she kept her mind and heart, and didn't slaughter many multitudes, and he lost his mind and heart, and did slaughter the multitudes.
Alternate reality scenario where Hild becomes like Past thorfinn.
One neighbour talking to another,
"Say, did you hear that Hild took up with this Thorfinn, becoming his trusted lackey and is ruthlessly and mercilessly wiping out whole towns?"
"Yeah, grief will do funny things to you, it's good that she she's letting it out."
Since in RedRuMs eyes it's nearly the same as her living quietly, helping villages deal with dangerous beasts, saving lives, and not wanting to hurt anyone but her target of revenge. Either way, it's like Thorfinn looking at his past self, according to RedRums.
Edited by truepurple, 31 May 2015 - 01:01 PM.