Between the three characters of Damaya, Syenite, and Essun, we can
see a development of her internalizing her 'evilness'. From the start, the
reader is introduced to a world where the orogenes are assumed evil at birth.
This is obviously not a true statement, but among the people in their society,
this is just fact to them. This assumption of evil causes the different people
in the Stillness to separate into the good and the evil. From the introduction
of Damaya, we can see how her parents treat her due to this belief "'is
there a toilet in here? asks the child-buyer, in a tone of polite curiosity,'
Did you give her a bucket?'" (Jemisin 27). They automatically assumed that
because of her power that she is not a real human, that she does not need to
live in a space that meets basic human needs. Damaya is told right from the
start that she does not deserve to be treated as a real person, that she is an animal
and should be ignored.
Later, as Syenite, she
discovers more about how corrupt their society is and how they mistreat the
orogenes based on this belief of evil. During her mission with Alabaster when
they find the child at the node, Syenite sees this belief in action "drug
away the infections and so forth, keep him alive enough to function, and you've
got the one thing even the Fulcrum can't provide: a reliable, harmless,
completely beneficial source of orogeny" (142). It is at this moment when
Syenite finally starts to understand how the only way that orogenes can be seen
as neutral, not evil, is to put them in such a sedated state that they are
barely alive.
As Essun, we can see how this
knowledge and abuse has affect how she acts as an adult. Essun's main goal is
to just stay hidden and act as if she is not an 'evil orogene'. This results in
her eventually using her power and causing mass destruction "these people
killed Uche. Their hate, their fear, their unprovoked violence. They. Killed
your son" (58). Everything comes to a head and then she just loses it,
which only confirms some peoples' beliefs that orogenes are evil. They
constantly say that she is evil and should be hated. Over time this became so
ingrained in her that she eventually became what they always said she was.
I found this topic interesting, as it touches on not necessarily the specific opinions of Damaya, Syenite, and Essun but rather the more external perspectives of the orogenes' evil nature. This post discusses how the character internalizes the viewpoint of her society, allowing it to impact her own self-worth. The journey our character goes through, slowly undertaking this viewpoint into her own perspective. As Damaya, she notes that "it makes no sense for Damaya to be judged by the behavior of children who share nothing save the curse of orogeny" (193) but we see this change as she tells herself and others that they are nothing but orogenes. She views-or at least attempts to view- herself and her orogene peers as less than human. I like how this post touches on Syenite's slow realization that it is not necessarily the orogenes who are evil, but rather the way society treats them is the true monster. However, as is described in this post, Essun continues to respond based on the years of abuse and mistreatment as an orogene. Overall, being constantly told one is less than will leave lasting impacts, regardless of any attempts to downplay the mistreatment and societal abuse.
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