KKC Theory Wiki

The Edema Ruh Have a Dark Origin That Mirrors Kvothe's Downfall

plausible symbolism · popularity 287 · 1 source thread

A forgotten founding transgression of the Edema Ruh foreshadows Kvothe's own terrible deeds as an unreliable narrator.

About: Edema Ruh, Kvothe

Also involves: Felurian, Laurian, Chronicler

The theory§

This theory turns Kvothe's reliability as a narrator against his own portrait of the Edema Ruh. Kvothe insists with absolute certainty that the Ruh are honest and would never lie, cheat, or steal, yet across his own account he does all three, learning vice on the streets of Tarbean and excelling at it. Because he was a child when he knew his troupe and lost them to slaughter, his memory of the Ruh is idealized and never subjected to the critical lens he applies to every other reputation in his story. The theory proposes that the Ruh's universal ill repute points to a real founding transgression in their history, a thing so widely known it goes unspoken, in the same way Kvothe and Felurian agree some stories are too obvious to bother telling. It predicts Kvothe's own catastrophic fall will mirror or re-enact that suppressed origin, the Ruh's hidden sin recurring in their most famous son. A strong counter notes that nearly everyone who has actually dealt with the Ruh, such as tinkers and Viari, reacts to them warmly, and that Kvothe's bad behavior is plainly circumstantial.

Evidence§

  • I was always so ready to accept them as an unfairly demonised group, but on a lark started considering the opposite.
    OP's framing: invert the assumption that the Ruh are merely victims of prejudice. — u/ZeroTheStoryteller
  • His experience growing up could be misremembered, naively skewed through the eyes of a child or romanticised to protect his parents memory. Any interaction we see where the Ruh is discussed could be highly biased.
    Core premise: Kvothe is an unreliable narrator about his troupe. — u/ZeroTheStoryteller
  • Reputation is a theme … This lense is never turned onto the Edema Ruh. No lore, or core stories. Just painted by him as unjustified bigotry
    Kvothe analyzes every reputation except his own people's. — u/ZeroTheStoryteller
  • When Kvothe and Felurian share stories there's mention of some things being too obvious to share. … What if there is some core Edema Ruh myth or backstory that everyone knows?
    Proposes a universally-known, unspoken Ruh origin story. — u/ZeroTheStoryteller
  • there is some grain of truth, some terrible transgression by One of the Ruh. I think Kvothe's downfall, his terrible deeds, will mimic the Edema Ruh story.
    The theory's prediction: Kvothe's fall re-enacts a founding transgression. — u/ZeroTheStoryteller
  • He also does all the things he staunchly insists that the Ruh would never do. He lies, he cheats, and he steals…
    Adds evidence: Kvothe embodies the vices he claims the Ruh lack. — u/BigTimmyG
  • It would be a huge betrayal to find out they were brigands and thieves. Also, he does everything the Ruh are accused of with little or no self reflection
    Refines: he loved family as a child without truly knowing them. — u/luckydrunk_7
  • To add to this Kvothe himself says to Wil and Sim at stone bridge that there is always some amount of truth to stereotypes
    Supports a grain of truth behind the Ruh's reputation, in Kvothe's own words. — u/Frydog42
  • Kvothe learned his thieving behavior on the streets of Tarbean. … He had to become an urchin in order to learn vice.
    CounterCounter: his vices are circumstantial, learned in Tarbean, not Ruh inheritance. — u/ayegreenguy
  • the people who are confirmed to have actually known them seem to remember them respectfully, or at least with indifference.
    CounterCounter: tinkers and Viari who actually dealt with the Ruh react warmly. — u/LordOfMoria92

Book refs: NOTW, WMF

Tier reasoning§

no change

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