(SPOILER) Should Thomas Covenant have been punished?

[Edena_of_Neith]

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Ok, I am presuming you have read Lord Foul's Bane, the first book of the First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.
If you have not, you will think this question ludicrious, and the answer will seem blatantly obvious.

Thomas Covenant committed the crime of rape.
Thomas Covenant raped Lena, daughter of Trell and Atiarian.
This was rape in the most violent and brutal sense of the word.
Lena conceived because of this rape.
Lena, went insane permanently, because of this rape.
Lena's child, Elena, was permanently harmed by the legacy of this rape. Since she became High Lord, that had grave consequences.

What punishment was Covenant due for this crime?
When should he have been punished?
Where should he have been punished?
If you do not think Covenant was due punishment for this crime, why not?

(REMEMBER that Covenant could not bequeath the White Gold Ring to anyone else. That was a breaking of the Law, as Carreol Wildwood specifically pointed out.
Perhaps the White Gold Ring could have been taken by force. However, remember that Covenant WAS the White Gold, so there is some question as to whether anyone else could have employed the Wild Magic.)

(For those who have not read the First Chronicles, but who have insisted on reading this post, Thomas Covenant WAS NOT PUNISHED AT ALL for his crime, even though everyone in authority knew he had committed the act, and there was prima facia evidence of the crime on hand.)

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

By the way, my answer to the above question is a resounding YES.

Expediency, Oaths of Peace, and the fundamental nature of the Unbeliever as widely understood are not acceptable reasons for tolerating such behavior.

What punishment?

Slow torture. Mutilation. Then death.

 

[Vhane]

I've never disliked a protagonist so much as I disliked Thomas Covenant...

I don't think they could have punished him (although he deserved it)

1) They would have killed him and doomed the Land

2) He would have killed them all in his uncontrolled White Fire rage had they tried to punish him.

Mostly I dont think the people of the Land could punish him... it wasn't to bad till his very messed up yet powerful daughter came on to him...

Man those were good books, might have some rereading ahead.

 

[Umbran]

Okay, I'll play Devil's Advocate for a moment...

You seem to strongly focus on what Covenant deserves. I don't see how what he deserves is an issue. What good would be served in punishing Covenant?

Would it return Lena's sanity? No. Would it repair any of the harm that results from his criminal act? No. Would it make Covenant a better person? No. So, what's the point?

I dislike the character as much as anyone else. But, punishing him would yield no positive results. Causing pain to no purpose isn't something we should aspire to as "justice".

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

I think that was the general feeling among the Lords.
What is the point? What is the point of retribution? What, for that matter, is the point of justice?
That was their attitude.

Yet, if they had punished Covenant, he would have had a different attitude totally when he arrived in The Land the second time (being imprisoned, or tortured, or executed, tends to change one's outlook.)
The events between him and Elena would have gone differently.
Elena, would not have been killed by Kevin and the Seventh Ward would not have been lost.
The Law of Death would not have been broken, and the Staff of Law would thus not have been destroyed.
The Sunbane would not have come upon the Land, and Lord Foul (if banished the first time) could not have returned.
And, ultimately, Thomas Covenant would have lived, instead of dying.

They could have punished him, even under the restrictions of his summoning.
His summons ended with the death of Drool Rockworm. He was required to return to waking (or, to our world, depending on which view one takes) in the exact shape he arrived in the Land in.
He could have been imprisoned. He could have been tortured, then cured with hurtloam (although I will admit that I cannot envision the Lords doing such a thing.) If killed in the Land, his quick resurrection - in the Land - was a guaranteed thing, for he had return to his own world, or wake up, in the shape he entered the Land in, and this had to occur upon the death of Drool Rockworm.
The Lords could have dealt with Drool Rockworm on their own.
The Lords, could have kept the Illearth Stone out of Lord Foul's hands by leaving it with Drool Rockworm, a less dangerous foe.
Thomas Covenant, could have spent a lot of time in prison, without much time passing in his waking world - the time distortion ratio was enormous, being around 360 to 1 (that is, 6 hours in the Land to 1 minute of waking time in our world.)

 

[Storm Raven]

Yet, if they had punished Covenant, he would have had a different attitude totally when he arrived in The Land the second time (being imprisoned, or tortured, or executed, tends to change one's outlook.)

Yes, and they would have been different people, they would have been corrputed by their desire for retribution. They would have been pushed to Lord Foul's camp by their changed attitudes.

The events between him and Elena would have gone differently.

There is no evidence of this. Elena may have desired retirbution against the Council for punishing her father, despite his actions. Children often still love their parents no matter the harm. She could have gone to lord Foul to begin with, and shortcut the process bybwhich she became his thrall, becoming a servant to begin with.

Elena, would not have been killed by Kevin and the Seventh Ward would not have been lost.

Once again, there is no evidence of this.

The Law of Death would not have been broken, and the Staff of Law would thus not have been destroyed.

Or, it would have been broken in some other way, like by being held by Drool in perpetuity, or by being taken by a traitorous Elena to Lord Foul.

The Sunbane would not have come upon the Land, and Lord Foul (if banished the first time) could not have returned.

Hard to tell, since no one knew the secret of how to truly banish Lord Foul until late in the sixth book.

And, ultimately, Thomas Covenant would have lived, instead of dying.

Unlikely. Covenant had to die to banich Lord Foul. His acceptance of his fate was what allowed Lord Foul to be banished.

 

[Umbran]

Yet, if they had punished Covenant, he would have had a different attitude totally when he arrived in The Land the second time (being imprisoned, or tortured, or executed, tends to change one's outlook.)

Maybe yes, maybe no. Remember that he didn't believe in the reality of the place. To him, it would not be "real punishment", because he didn't commit a real crime.

Maybe punishment would make him into a new man, but probably not. Humans have been trying to punish criminals into reforming for millennia. Funny, but it doesn't seem to work. We still have repeat criminals. Negative reinforcement isn't a particuarly good reformation tool, if you hadn't noticed. But that's verging on politics...

Punishment may have only strengthened his fundamental disbelief in the reality of The Land, making him even worse, rather than better.

We can play the "what if" game ad infinitum.

 

[Dinkeldog]

Hey, everyone.

 

[Zub]

It's all delusional

It didn't really occur. The whole set of stories is a re-occuring delusion he has. Or am I wrong? Was it ever established that that these events were real? I'm going on memory here, I haven't read the books for over 15 years probably, but didn't each book occur while he was suffering some real life trauma?

 

[JRRNeiklot]

First off, a case could easily be made for his temporary insanity. He had just awakened in a strange world, and then experienced the re-awakening of feelings he had not experienced in a LONG time. I think in a lawful society, a temperorary insanity verdict could have been easily reached. Also, had they executed him, it could have meant the end of their world, so perhaps they were justified in not punishing him.

For myself, I'm rather chaotic, and I say hang the bastard.