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<blockquote data-quote="Steampunkette" data-source="post: 8572725" data-attributes="member: 6796468"><p>Riddle of Steel is a materialistic answer to a consistent philosophical question Conan is asked, or asks himself, through the books. Which is the value of a man, no matter what his strength or skill or efforts, compared to the steel he holds which might last far longer, be reformed to task, and thoughtlessly, willlessly, perform great and terrible deeds.</p><p></p><p>Granted, this question is never directly posed in this manner, but it's posed.</p><p></p><p>And the answer is just as existential as the OP discusses: Man, like Steel, is reforged. We are not one person from cradle to grave, but dozens of people to countless others. Conan the Barbarian. the Destroyer. The Pirate. The King. Like the steel he is reforged into something new each time. Sometimes by his will, sometimes by the will of others.</p><p></p><p>In the Movie the Riddle is a bit different, but the answer is the same.</p><p></p><p>Conan's Father explains that Steel is dependable. It does not betray you. It is ever at your side and is what you need it to be. While Thulsa Doom takes the opposite position. Flesh is stronger because what is steel without the hand that wields it, and a conqueror may become a God when he realizes that truth.</p><p></p><p>Conan's brutal answer is a synthesis that lays the lie of both sides bare. That a man with a will and steel can accomplish great and terrible deeds. That we are not inflexible steel or commandable flesh, as if there were some great difference in which you can trust. His father's sword was wielded against him, as was his love for Valeria, and neither destroyed him.</p><p></p><p>Only reforged him.</p><p></p><p>And with the shattered remnant of his father's blade, he killed Thulsa Doom. But a lot of people forget that after he tosses the head down the grand staircase, he holds out his father's sword and lets it fall, too. He is discarding both the argument of Flesh and Steel in that moment.</p><p></p><p>As far as ancient and provincial goes: Sure. Could be. And maybe all the magic and demons are made up, too, with an unreliable narrator. But the story loses a lot once you apply that perspective to it, I find. Better to just take it as it is. Accept that Conan, and his predecessor Kull, were powerful individuals who did great and terrible things and -fought- against great and terrible evils.</p><p></p><p>More fun that way.</p><p></p><p>Also of note: The southernmost portion of Aquilonia is Poitain, a French inspired region with knights in shining armor. And they had a LOT of animosity toward the Picts (Native Americans) to the West and the Zingarans (Spanish Sailors) to the South. Because anchoring any aspect of Conan's existence into a single time period of Earth would imply there was, y'know... logic to Howard's weirdness. Add in the Aliens, spaceships, elder gods, and the "Strange Sciences" of the snake-people who existed before the Dinosaurs...</p><p></p><p>Yeah. Just weird!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Steampunkette, post: 8572725, member: 6796468"] Riddle of Steel is a materialistic answer to a consistent philosophical question Conan is asked, or asks himself, through the books. Which is the value of a man, no matter what his strength or skill or efforts, compared to the steel he holds which might last far longer, be reformed to task, and thoughtlessly, willlessly, perform great and terrible deeds. Granted, this question is never directly posed in this manner, but it's posed. And the answer is just as existential as the OP discusses: Man, like Steel, is reforged. We are not one person from cradle to grave, but dozens of people to countless others. Conan the Barbarian. the Destroyer. The Pirate. The King. Like the steel he is reforged into something new each time. Sometimes by his will, sometimes by the will of others. In the Movie the Riddle is a bit different, but the answer is the same. Conan's Father explains that Steel is dependable. It does not betray you. It is ever at your side and is what you need it to be. While Thulsa Doom takes the opposite position. Flesh is stronger because what is steel without the hand that wields it, and a conqueror may become a God when he realizes that truth. Conan's brutal answer is a synthesis that lays the lie of both sides bare. That a man with a will and steel can accomplish great and terrible deeds. That we are not inflexible steel or commandable flesh, as if there were some great difference in which you can trust. His father's sword was wielded against him, as was his love for Valeria, and neither destroyed him. Only reforged him. And with the shattered remnant of his father's blade, he killed Thulsa Doom. But a lot of people forget that after he tosses the head down the grand staircase, he holds out his father's sword and lets it fall, too. He is discarding both the argument of Flesh and Steel in that moment. As far as ancient and provincial goes: Sure. Could be. And maybe all the magic and demons are made up, too, with an unreliable narrator. But the story loses a lot once you apply that perspective to it, I find. Better to just take it as it is. Accept that Conan, and his predecessor Kull, were powerful individuals who did great and terrible things and -fought- against great and terrible evils. More fun that way. Also of note: The southernmost portion of Aquilonia is Poitain, a French inspired region with knights in shining armor. And they had a LOT of animosity toward the Picts (Native Americans) to the West and the Zingarans (Spanish Sailors) to the South. Because anchoring any aspect of Conan's existence into a single time period of Earth would imply there was, y'know... logic to Howard's weirdness. Add in the Aliens, spaceships, elder gods, and the "Strange Sciences" of the snake-people who existed before the Dinosaurs... Yeah. Just weird! [/QUOTE]
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