Within the swirling Mist (IC) > Biographies
The Rider's Dilemma - Katja Vinter
PlatointheCave:
Amidst mundane measurements and sketches of outfits favoured by Nova Vaasan nobility are snatches of theory scribbled in the margins of this tailor's book.
--- Quote ---The Rider's Dilemma:
Doctor Gregorian Illhousen conceptualised the duality of mortal minds in the Rider's Dilemma. Imagine a man seeking to hunt a great and dangerous beast. He must select a dependable steed from the stables for his task. He goes seeking a horse of great strength and speed but sees nearby an enormous plains cat sleeping in the sun. Surely, the cat would kill the man were he to try and ride it. He should ride a horse. He should choose the dependable option. But the promise of the speed, the power, of the cat entices him. He knows it is dangerous, but he cannot help but think: "what if?"
This is the great temptation. The shadow to all minds. The promise of giving in to our wildest and darkest desires is a call that only the fear of punishment keeps us from responding to. Certainly, to abandon the horse in favour of the cat would lead one only to ruin. But a life of denial, of temperance, is just as shallow.
What if there is a harmony to be found somewhere in the shadow of the mind?
What chance would the great beasts we hunt have then?
--- End quote ---
--- Quote ---Reflections of the Shadow:
Understanding the shadow of any woman's mind is a difficult thing. Each one is loathe to express their base desires openly. Each fears judgement just as the hunter fears the claws of the cat. It is common for alienists to use dreams, pattern interpretation, skull measurements and hypnotism to seek the dark subconscious. But the shadow has many reflections in the most mundane of things.
I believe that presentation is one such reflection. The many choices - great and small - made by the waking mind in how to present oneself are influenced by the shadow. It is in how a woman wishes to be seen that the shadow is reflected.
In coats modelled after storied rogues is a yearning to roam free. In conformity there is something sinful to hide.
I will need more storied clients.
--- End quote ---
PlatointheCave:
Sketches of a cheerful human woman in a travelling scholar's attire.
--- Quote ---The Rebel Shadow:
Is a free spirit born or made?
This client's shadow is an anxious thing, hungry for personal discovery but fearful of control in all forms. The client had chosen to clothe themselves in a heavy, elaborate coat with gold trim. An imperious and gaudy thing that speaks of a desire to be recognised by one's peers. Over compensation suggests a deep rooted anxiety that I believe can be traced to the client's overbearing mother. The unpleasant control exerted over the client has caused them to seek to escape any outside influence on their actions. This extends, curiously, to concerns about their own blood and heritage.
Of course, rejecting a part of the self will only lead to a struggle with the shadow that the ego can never win. The client must must confront what they are now, before they can develop into what they hope to become. A more understated and functional outfit that presents the image of a capable and earnest scholar, free of gaudiness, is much more fitting. Resolution of subconscious anxieties about heritage is more complex.
Hypnotherapy could reach whatever self the blood induces, perhaps?
--- End quote ---
A set of spectacles with a tint are sketched. No face is sketched to accompany them, save a grinning mouth.
--- Quote ---The Awoken Shadow:
An unusual client. The shadow itself has awoken; an outburst following some great pain. Though the client is in some outward denial about the nature of this awakening, it is clear that their development will be intimately tied to the wounded shadow. Will their power grow as they find peace with their suffering? I dare to hope it is so, but find myself in doubt. This power is a manifestation of the shadow, and so I think it will grow only with the shadow's influence. Without an outlet and careful handling, I fear the client is destined for outburst.
This creation is derived from an object held dear by the client. They seek to present a bold face to the world, hiding their wounds from all in the hopes that they can deny them entirely. The client must confront what pains them but I believe at this time they are in a transitive state. If their pain is confronted, their performance becomes less a facade and more a new self.
It is my hope that transforming this heirloom will ease the client's own transition.
This client is full of potential. I hope to see it met.
--- End quote ---
PlatointheCave:
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PlatointheCave:
Sketches of a woman's suit. Crosses have been drawn on spots in the lining with annotations in gnomish next to each.
--- Quote ---Guilt and the Shadow:
Doctor Majvor postulates that the reaction of the shadow to stress is proportional to the magnitude and period of the stress imposed. Put in simpler terms: those that grow up in a state of prolonged suffering have the most powerfully reactive shadows. Typically this reaction is one of spite, cruelty and violence. This client is unusual in that their suffering as an outsider has manifested as a subconscious guilt due to the suffering the circumstances of their birth induced. This has left them with a strong sense of obligation to others driven by the shadow's desire for absolution. The client also has a sense of self that is developing in reaction to the unjust imposition of identity from others. For the moment the client is clearly finding her footing but once she has set a path for herself, I do not believe anyone will be capable of breaking her will.
This client gives me hope for myself and our future. Hope that the repression of the lash need not always lead to cruel outburst. To impose any sort of definition on a client such as this would be to put her desire to define herself at odds with my tastes. A puzzle, to be sure. I think it best to focus on utility in all aspects of design; let Vinter's definition of this woman not be imposition, but the enabling of her Ego.
I must also note some excitement about the validation of my theories. The shadow can be awoken, made manifest.
Such possibilities.
--- End quote ---
PlatointheCave:
Sketches of a man in upper class Barovian garb. The man in all sketches stands straight and rigid.
--- Quote ---The Repressed Shadow:
This client is not noteworthy for his eccentricity. In fact, he is far from an unusual man. Though he is from a different world (allegedly) he has lived a life of duty, not because he chose it, but because he was offered no alternatives. He was not forced into the life he led directly, but he certainly never found an opportunity to define himself. He - like so many others - has lived a life defined by his "betters". This has required the absolute repression of the shadow. He does not dream, though he still feels a deep longing to be greater than the world has allowed him. His needs, desires and aspirations have been buried. In a way, he is much the same as so many who toil in my homeland. Longing for more, but fearing the consequences of trying.
Why, then, have I selected such a common subject? On some level, I suppose it is sympathy. He reminds me of so many others, lost to repression. Lost to shadow or living a hollow life. But he is also the greatest test of my theories to date. Does this man, long in denial, have in him a hidden potential? Will the release of his shadow from repression make of him a greater man than he thought possible? In my own dreams he flounders in inky black waters. I fear he will be dragged under.
But I hope I am wrong.
His commission is refined and of local cut, that he may grow accustomed to this new world as he finds his way both within and without.
--- End quote ---
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