58 pages • 1-hour read
Eldest
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Themes
The Complexities of Power and Morality
Throughout The Inheritance Cycle, Eragon and the other characters demonstrate many aspects of the complexities of power, leadership, and responsibility, and their journeys collectively convey a sense of nuanced morality. For example, while Eragon’s feats on the battlefield position him as a hero and savior, the narrative does not glorify his actions. At the beginning of the novel, Eragon asserts that “[i]f any honor existed in war, […] it was in fighting to protect others from harm” (2). Thus, despite his increasing skills and influence, Eragon often grapples with the moral consequences of his actions, and his relationship with Elva is particularly effective in illustrating the damage that even good intentions can inadvertently cause.
Oromis points out the many historical precedents proving that unchecked power can easily be corrupted, stating, “The Riders were supposed to guard against the failings of the different governments and races, yet who watched the watchers? It was that very problem that caused the Fall” (203). His focus on the effects of past history force Eragon to consider the long-term effects of his own actions in the tumultuous present, and the mentor stresses the dangers of wielding power in the absence of “moral direction” and also and argues that critical thinking and compassion are the best weapons to ensure an ethical use of power. Eragon’s emotional journey therefore demonstrates The Importance of Empathy even as characters like Roran, Nasuada, and Arya struggle to reconcile their own use of power with the moral implications of their choices.
Nasuada’s actions and reflections play a key role in Christopher Paolini’s implicit explorations of morality. For example, when the Varden lack crucial supplies, she briefly laments Orrin’s scruples in “refus[ing] to […] appropriate supplies from his countrymen without paying for them” (312) as Galbatorix would. Although she reflects that her ally’s moral behavior “makes [her] task harder,” she acknowledges that the temptation of immorality is an existential danger in and of itself, and she muses, “It would be so easy to cross that divide without noticing it” (312). In this moment, the Varden leader realizes that sacrificing her moral principles to benefit her cause would make her no better than with her exploitative, tyrannical enemy. Instead, she makes the more ethical choice and sacrifices the Varden’s comfort for the greater good. The narrative thereby suggests that power has an inherently corruptive effect unless its influence is restricted by appropriate checks and balances.
The Importance of Empathy
The narrative exemplifies the importance of empathy in building meaningful relationships and community, and the experiences of Eragon and Saphira are particularly representative of this idea. Not only does their growing bond represent a form of absolute empathy, given that they share both thoughts and feelings, but Eragon also explicitly grapples with key ethical dilemmas throughout the novel, and he soon learns that the only real way to resolve these issues is to learn to view conflicts from other perspectives and act accordingly. For example, when Eragon learns to read people’s minds, Oromis explains, “Dipping into the pool of minds […] is an invasion of privacy [but] this, above all else, will help you to understand what drives people. And understanding begets empathy and compassion” (349). In this way, Eragon’s innate magical abilities enhance his skills at statecraft and interpersonal relationships, and he grows wiser in his interactions as the novel unfolds.
At first, Eragon focuses on clear-cut situations as he begins to put his newfound skills to use; for example, he meditates in the forest and learns to feel the other creatures around him: an experience that leads him to abhor killing and stop eating meat. However, Eragon later finds that applying empathy to less morally neutral creatures is a far more difficult proposition. Although he is aware that “evil” is a subjective term, his prejudice against the Urgals prompts him to condemn them all. At one point, he even declares, “Urgals deserve to be wiped out, every last one of them. [Even their females and children] wouldn’t spare us, given the chance” (375). Only when he reads Nar Garzhvog’s thoughts in the novel’s climactic scenes does Eragon finally realize that his negative bias against the Urgals is preventing him from considering them fairly as a people and as individuals. In short, this crucial shift in Eragon’s mindset illustrates the importance of empathy, for only when he learns to appreciate the realities of the Urgals’ experiences does be become capable of working toward peace and cooperation.
However, within this philosophical framework, Elva’s curse represents an extreme and harmful version of empathy, for because she is doomed to feel everyone’s pain, her own empathy becomes self-destructive. Her curse therefore illustrates the consequences of engaging in excessive self-sacrifice, and Paolini uses this aspect of the narrative to suggest that compassion is a tool that must be wielded with restraint. As Oromis observes, “History provides us with numerous examples of people who were convinced that they were doing the right thing and committed terrible crimes because of it. […] [N]o one thinks of himself as a villain, and few make decisions they think are wrong” (350). Through the actions of these characters, the narrative highlights the importance of practicing empathy to build community, ensure peace, and fight oppression.
The Emotional Impact of Injury and Disability
Several characters in the novel struggle with life-altering injuries and disabilities that impact their sense of identity and their emotional journey. Eragon, most notably, experiences chronic pain and seizures in the aftermath of his fight with Durza. Throughout the novel, Eragon experiences increasing self-doubt as his injury severely impedes his physical abilities, and his fears cause him to flinch away from the functions of his own limbs. As he admits, “I’m afraid. […] Because nothing I do will prevent another attack. […] My own body has become the enemy” (152). Significantly, Roran’s experiences once again parallel Eragon’s to further reinforce the point. After his shoulder is injured by a Ra’zac, Roran muses that “[u]ntil that moment, he had not realized how closely his sense of identity was linked to the condition of his body” (256). These comments underline the novel’s broader use of injuries and disabilities as a characterization tool.
This theme is further developed as Eragon’s anguish over his physical disability begins to align with his lack of confidence in his own skills: an inhibition that prevents him from effectively preparing to fight more dangerous enemies. He even begins to personify his pain, labeling it “the Obliterator” because when he feels pain, “nothing else can exist (400), and he fears that it will rob him of “everything that makes [him] who [he is]” (401). His reflections on this topic render his internal pain into an external enemy, and he must first vanquish this emotional foe before he can rejoin the larger fight against Galbatorix.
When Eragon is eventually healed during the ritual of the Agaetí Blödhren, the disappearance of his pain likewise symbolizes his newfound confidence. When he notices that all of his scars have been erased by the dragons’ magic, he briefly “[misses] them” because he sees them “as a record of his life” (471), but he soon relinquishes this residual regret and embraces his new state of being as a far more powerful warrior. Ultimately, because his scars represent the waypoints of his transformation from a humble farm boy to a heroic Rider, he strongly associates them with his sense of identity, and their erasure therefore hints at his self-sacrifice as he embraces his new role as a leader and a warrior. Conversely, Oromis’s declining health positions him as a member of the older generation who must give way to a younger, healthier figurehead of their collective cause.
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