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Felurian's Twilight Butterflies Are Her Fae Servants in Glamour

plausible identity · popularity 115 · 1 source thread

The butterflies in Felurian's glade are glamoured Fae servants, explaining the food and care Kvothe cannot account for.

About: Felurian

Also involves: Kvothe, The Fae, The Cthaeh, Felurian's Butterflies, The Sithe

The theory§

Kvothe recalls eating in Felurian's twilight glade but cannot for his life remember where the food came from, finding it equally impossible that servants intruded on her privacy or that Felurian baked her own bread. This theory resolves the gap by proposing that the twilight butterflies ever-present around her are Fae servants concealed by glamour. It draws on the saturation of butterfly imagery in the Felurian episode, including her butterfly-patterned eyelids and a butterfly described as curious why 'its mistress' had gone still, together with Felurian's demonstrated command over insects, such as the moths she calls in the dark. Because Kvothe, fresh from learning glamour from Felurian herself, would likely detect a disguise, the servants are presumed to be hidden in a form he would never think to question. Extensions speculate the butterflies are tied to the Sithe, or function as a kind of antimeme that dulls the Cthaeh's malevolent intellect when they flutter about its tree.

Evidence§

  • I can remember our eating. What I can not remember is where the food came from. … The thought of servants intruding on the privacy of her twilight glade seems impossible to me, but so is the thought of Felurian baking her own bread.
    OP's core gap: the food's origin is unaccountable, motivating a hidden-servant explanation. — u/Chaxum
  • It could be hes made to forget some bits intentionally or it could be the servants are ever present around them in Glamor.
    OP states the core thesis: servants are present but concealed by glamour. — u/Chaxum
  • Her closed eyelids were patterned like a butterfly's wings … As her eyes moved gently in sleep the pattern shifted as if the butterfly fanned its wings.
    Saturating butterfly imagery tying Felurian's identity to butterflies. — u/Chaxum
  • I can still remember her sitting naked among the cushions, twilight colored butterflies dancing in the air between us.
    Butterflies are the only other living things present in the glade. — u/Chaxum
  • One of them landed on Felurian's hand brushing its wings once, twice as if curious why its **mistress** was so sudden still.
    Butterflies attend and respond to Felurian as their 'mistress', implying servitude. — u/Chaxum
  • She does seem to have at least some control over nature/insects - she was also able to command the moths in the dark. … We should probably assume at least _some_ variant of your theory is right
    Comment adds supporting evidence: Felurian commands insects, and Fae stay hidden. — u/groovedoc16
  • is it possible they maybe little fae antimemes, to distract and weaken his cognito hazard abilities? Sweetness, ignorance, and carelessness would definitely put a malicious intellect like his at bay.
    Comment extends theory: butterflies as antimemes dulling the Cthaeh. — u/lotouelodii
  • Kvothe also says he remembers Felurian in the glow of lamp light yet doesn't remember any lamps, the smell of wax or soot. So it's more than just the appearance of food that's strange, the whole glade could be an illusion or some other strange magic could be happening.
    CounterOP's own counter: the gaps may reflect broader illusion, not specifically servants. — u/Chaxum

Book refs: WMF

Tier reasoning§

tier kept: plausible; memory gap and 'mistress' quote are a reasonable fit

Contributors§

Source threads§