Words of Radiance: Chapter 45

Progression of the Chapter:
Shallan observes a "chicken", and is overwhelmed by a fair with five hundred people in the same place; as she accompanies her father, she reflects on her life as it is these days; Lord Davar is patronized by someone of his own rank, which is naturally infuriating; Shallan slips away at an implicit dismissal, and sets off on the business of helping her family in the ways she can: she smuggles a note from Eylita to Balat to set up a tryst, thus extricating him from the axehound fights with which he has an unhealthy fascination; when she returns to her father, she finds him speaking with a stranger, who reacts oddly to her presence; the "messenger" slips something into his own drink; Lord Davar declares that Helaran is officially disinherited, and changes the remaining brothers’ titles; he asks Shallan to speak to Wikim, who is refusing to leave the carriage; she does so, presenting him with a distraction in the form of math problems; as she leaves in despair, she comes across the stranger again; he tosses a lot of cryptic questions and comments around, but then turns her to look at Wikim, who is actually smiling as he works on the maths she left him; the stranger tells a story, and gently guides Shallan into some inadvertent Lightweaving.
Quote of the Chapter:
At this point in her progression, Shallan can't accept the truth of her negated memories. She’s not ready to fully remember these things. But this does reveal that clearly that before her mother died, Shallan was definitely using Stormlight and seeing Cryptics.
Commentary:
Once again, a glimpse of the abject brokenness of the Davar family is revealed. Lin, who is so subject to fits of anger, though Shallan can "remember a time when she’d rarely, if ever, seen him angry." Balat, who "hadn’t acquired this fascination with death until Mother had left them." Wikim, who has given in to the despair and is actively preparing for his own suicide. Jushu, who in his twin’s estimation, "will destroy himself. It’s only a matter of time." Malise, who "spends one night in two weeping." Shallan, who is trying so hard to fix them, to bring them back from the brink of their various self-destructive activities, recognizing that they’re all trying, but they’re all unraveling anyway.
Shallan can't help wanting to fix things, wanting to help people who really don’t want to be helped, unable to just shrug it off and let them do their own thing because that thing is clearly leading them down to despair and destruction. Its in her nature to deny the reality of situations.
Even so, Lin did try to protect his beloved daughter; he was forcibly prevented and had to watch as she protected herself against all odds, and in so doing condemned herself. But she was only condemned if anyone knew, and so he protected her a different way: not with his body or his knife, but with his silence and at the cost of his reputation, his family, and his sanity. What moment was it that opened him to Odium's influence?
For all the misery of the family, though, in this chapter there are glimpses of hope. Balat leaves the axehound fights for the sake of a walk with Eylita, Lin has the self-awareness to ask Shallan to speak to Wikim on his behalf rather than risking what he might do in his current mental state, and Wikim develops an interest in Shallan’s gift of math problems despite himself. And Shallan ... Shallan actually does a Lightweaving – probably her first in two-and-a-half years.
For the reader, though not necessarily for Shallan, the most encouraging part is her conversation with Hoid. Typically cryptic, but gentle and encouraging. And hopeful.
Stormwatch:
Three-and-a-half years ago, Shallan was a little over 14 years old; this is two-and-a-half years after the first flashback to Words of Radiance: Chapter 10.
Sprenspotting:
The first mention of a spren is a windspren who darts through a merchant’s enclosure, making objects stick together. Is this a common trait of windspren, or does it mean there’s a "young" honorspren hanging around?
Here is learned a common behavior of spren: when people are in a crowd, even though emotions are high, spren are rare. Why would that be?
Finally, there’s Hoid's question to Shallan.
All Creatures Shelled and Feathered:
Chickens! If the reader hasn't already done so, reread the first page or so of this chapter now. A parakeet (or something similar to one, anyway) is described from the perspective of someone who’s never seen a bird before, up close and personal. This one has even been taught to speak a little, which makes Shallan call it a Voidbringer: an animal that speaks.
There is an assortment of local flora: jella trees, breechtrees (which apparently produce cotton) and shum, whatever that is. Also, fauna: along with the axehounds in the fights, there’s a mink slinking around in the shadows. Shallan is surprised to see the mink, expecting all those in the area to have been trapped by now. And it’s not long after this that she finds Hoid up in the tree. Was he Lightweaving himself into an illusion of a mink? Tricky business, that.
Ars Arcanum:
It’s fascinating to watch Hoid gently but persistently maneuver Shallan into Lightweaving, once he realizes what she is. Too polite (or too innocent) to just walk away from him, she has to get annoyed with his stories and questions before she unintentionally reaches beyond her mental blocks to create the Illusion for herself of her ideal Beauty.
Haven’t We Met Somewhere Before?
Hello, Hoid! Carrying a metals vial around everywhere now, are you? Was he disguised as the mink? Was that a Yolen-style Lightweaving, or a Rosharan Lightweaving, or some kind of Scadrial (i.e., Allomantic power)?
Heraldic Symbolism:
Vedeledev and the Joker are both obvious, though there may be deeper meanings. Shallan is trying her hardest to heal her family by any means available, and Hoid is all over it. The chapter title is unambiguous, to say the least.
Just Sayin':
A couple of goodies this week, aside from the chickens. The parakeet (or parrot) calls itself "Jek-son-of-none" which was, IIRC, the original name of Szeth. There’s a new term here for the time just opposite the Weeping: it’s called midpeace and is apparently another time when there are no Highstorms. However, peruse Shallan's thought on freedom: as valuable as an emerald broam, and as rare as a larkin.
- Paraphrased from Alice Arneson