TLC Forum

Hey! I wasn't sure if this was the right place to put this post, but it specifically involves HHB.

I'm writing a Narnia fanfiction which Aravis co-stars in with Edmund, Susan, Cor, and Corin. I have a possible subplot that might involve her father, the younger Kidrash Tarkaan, and was curious to hear your opinions on the man.

All I have been able to find out about him is:
1) He is Aravis's father.
2) He had at least two sons; one older than Aravis who died in battle. The second was too young to matter during HHB.
3) He married Aravis's mother and then remarried another woman who disliked Aravis.

Can you remember anything else that is said about him in canon? And if not, what is your general opinion or feels about him? What do you think his character is like?

Thanks!

I don't like him. He wanted Aravis to marry a very old man who looked like an ape.

Oo! Digging into a character! *rubs hands in anticipation*

I think one of the best ways to get to know this Kidrash would be to ask yourself, What does he want most in the world? In other words, what is his desire? That desire will provide his motives which will influence his actions.
Maybe he wants everyone to respect him? That would definitely give him a harsh demeanor. And marrying his daughter to a powerful man would certainly earn him the respect he craves.
Or perhaps he is a weak-willed man who is trying to please everyone at once-- including his peers and his very scary wife.
Maybe he is so focused on living a life of pleasure for himself (gambling, playing a sport, whatever Calormenes do) that he lets his wife handle everything. Or maybe he does that because he's a workaholic (sort of opposite of a pleasure-seeker).

Since C.S. Lewis didn't say a whole lot about the Tarkaan, and since this is your fanfic, you can have lots of fun bringing this character to life.

My personal opinion of the Tarkaan was that his wife was in complete control of him and therefore he did whatever she said. Any man who loved his daughter wouldn't arrange /that/ marriage.

He could've arranged that marriage for money too. You could make him a greedy, fat man only thinking about money and women.

Esprit, I think both of your first two suggestions would go well together in a strange way, if narniagirl wanted to make him a more complex character, even though at first glance the traits of wanting everyone to respect him and being a weak-willed man might seem to contradict each other. Think about it; if he is under his wife's thumb and lets her rule the roost at home, that would make him demand more respect from his contemporaries outside the home, and also behave like a bully towards those he sees as being still under his control....like his daughter.

I think he may have in a way wanted what was best for his daughter, but he had never taken the time to get to know her and know what she wanted in life. Remember from most Calormene's perspective it was a very advantageous match. It would make her ridiculously rich and influential. Lasaraleen was shocked she ran away from it. And Aravis did pretend to be happy about it. I do think that greed and listening to his wife's advice influenced him, but I also like to imagine that he regretted it after she ran away. He was looking all over for her in Tashbaan and if his motive was only selfish I think he would have been too embarrassed to let it be widely known that he was searching for her.

Then again, Swanwhite, in a culture where young brides are basically treated as a commodity, if Aravis's father had been in negotiations with the Grand Vizier about giving his daughter in marriage and he stood to gain great wealth for himself through the marriage, he might have had to make some very expensive compensations for failing to hand over the goods (in this case, his daughter). But, I like to think that you're right and he did feel some love for her and regretted it after she ran away. Actually....a reunion between father and daughter sounds like a good idea for a fanfic! If it was set in the new Narnia after TLB, it would be possible for the brother who was killed in battle to join in the happy family reunion as well....

And again, Swan beats me to the punch. I'm personally of the belief that he at least wanted to do some good by her. And while his wife convinced him to give Aravis in marriage to Ahoshta, he might have resisted it at first. I rather doubt the conversation ran like this: "Hey, honey, Ahoshta would be a great match for your daughter?" "Oh? How so?" "Well, see, he's going to be Grand Vizier and he practically sleeps on a bed of gold and anyway, he's looking for a wife..." "Hmm, you're right, this is an amazing idea." My impression is that this was a slow drip of constant poison. Hints here and there. Points made were appropriate. "Oh, honey, speaking of politics, Ahoshta's going to be a great man in society." "Did you hear about his new residence?" "Wouldn't it be grand to be family with someone close to the Tisroc (may-he-live-forever)? Someone like, I dunno, the Grand Vizier?"
I also like to think that Kidrash had a hand in Aravis' riding and knowledge of weapons and all those things Las thought scandalous, though she could have just picked up all of it from her brother. I read a story when I was younger of a girl whose mother died when she was young and so she was raised by her father who taught her all of those "unladylike" things. Perhaps that story has influenced the way I think of Kidrash. *shrugs*
But then, of course, yes, he did agree to marry Aravis off to a horrible man. The advantageous aspects were most certainly part of it (after all, the match would have to appeal to him!). Perhaps he assumed Aravis would see it in the same light, especially if a lot of young tarkeenas where a bunch of Lasaraleens and/or merely accepted their role in the social/caste order. Or perhaps he didn't care.
I don't know. I suppose I sort of see him as a less nice and more grandiose version of Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof (assuming there's at least a few people here who know what I'm talking about, heehee). For example, Tevye hated Lazer Wolf but recognized that Lazer had wealth and therefore position to offer Tevye's eldest daughter and agreed to the match (thankfully, he went back on that word because, like Aravis, the daughter was not keen on marrying a man older than her father (and she had pledged her heart to a poor tailor)).

I like the fiddler on the roof comparison.

I like to imagine that somehow in later years there could be a reconciliation between Aravis and her Father. Perhaps the Tisroc desiring peace with Archenland would support Kidrash making peace with his daughter and think Aravis would forgive him.