KKC Theory Wiki

Auri's True Name Means Gold-Bearing, Not 'Sunny'

plausible symbolism · popularity 108 · 1 source thread

Kvothe's sleeping mind named Auri for gold and light, with 'auriferous' meaning gold-bearing fitting her burden.

About: Auri

Also involves: Kvothe, Elodin, Naming, The Slow Regard of Silent Things

The theory§

Kvothe gives Auri her name believing it means 'sunny' in Siaru, but Elodin corrects him: 'sunny' is leviriet in Siaru. Despite the error Elodin judges the name lovely and fitting, and invites Kvothe to study Naming, for the name came not from Kvothe's reasoning but from his sleeping mind, the seat of true naming. The theory traces what the name actually evokes: aurora, the rare lights that, like Auri's companion Foxen, most often shine green; au and aurum, gold and 'to shine,' matching her golden hair and the 'shining piece of gold' described as living always inside her; and auriferous, meaning gold-bearing. Read this way, Kvothe's sleeping mind named the heavy burden Auri carries as the one who tends the proper turning of the world. The pattern echoes his naming of his horse, whom he wrongly thought he had named for 'first night': each time Kvothe names truly, his waking translation is slightly wrong.

Evidence§

  • Kvothe gives her the name "Auri" believing it means Sunny in Siaru. But that's not quite right according to Elodin … “Sunny is leviriet in Siaru.”
    Sets up the puzzle: Kvothe's translation is wrong, so the name's real meaning is open. — u/TheLastSock
  • First "Aurora", which are beautiful lights that can be seen at night in the sky. As a wonderful coincidence, they are most often seen as green, the same as the light Auri carries called foxen.
    First reading: Auri evokes aurora, whose green matches Foxen's light. — u/TheLastSock
  • "Au" is the symbol for gold, derived from the latin Aurum or Aureat "gold-colored" which also means "to shine"! Here we have the word Kvothe's sleeping mind gave him.
    Core claim: Au/aurum ties the name to gold and shining. — u/TheLastSock
  • The Pale golden light caught in her pale golden hair. Auri grinned at herself in the mirror. She looked like the sun. … Her name was Auri, and it was a shining piece of gold inside her all the time.
    Textual evidence: golden hair and shining gold inside her support the gold reading. — u/TheLastSock
  • Finally her name fits perfectly into **auri**ferious. Which means "containing gold" or "gold bearing" a combination of "Aurum" (gold) and "fer" or bearing. How kind of Kvothe, to take away that which she has to bear
    Climax of the chain: auriferous means gold-bearing, naming the burden Auri carries. — u/TheLastSock
  • She was so tired of being all herself. The only one that tended to the proper turning of the world.
    Shows the heavy burden the gold-bearing name describes. — u/TheLastSock
  • Auri's little green light is Foxfire, I'm pretty sure. With that name, it has to be right?
    Comment refines the aurora/green-light point by identifying Foxen as foxfire. — u/PoisonTheOgres
  • You missed one. In Greek mythology, an _aura_ is an air or cloud nymph.
    Comment adds an alternative etymology for the name. — u/Draculinary
  • I feel like this is all already in the text, so I am having a hard time finding what the theory is you're posting about.
    CounterCounter: questions whether the reading is a real theory or just restating the text. — u/scathfuath

Book refs: WMF, SRoST

Tier reasoning§

tier holds: grounded in the text's explicit gold imagery

Contributors§

Source threads§