The Wave of Faith

"For there is a very strange peace in giving over your judgment to someone else, to saying to them, 'You lead and I will follow'" (174).
Robin Hobb's Assassin's Apprentice (1995)



Points for Reflection

Robin Hobb's Assassin's Apprentice (1995), chps. 7-12

  1. Why does Chade believe that the King should issue a royal edict concerning the new threat posed by the Outislanders?
  2. In this novel, which comes first and shapes the other--politics or geography?
  3. Does Fitz find any comfort in submission, or does he rage against attempts to lead him or shape his behavior?
  4. Is Fitz’s youth a positive good, a detriment, or something inbetween?
  5. Why does Chade ingest carris seed so often?
  6. Why does the presence of the Forged impact Fitz differently than it does Chade?
  7. Why have so few received training in use of the Skill in recent years?
  8. What factors explain Chade’s appearance?
  9. Chade has King Shrewd’s ear, but fails to convince him to have Fitz trained in the Skill.  Why?
  10. What empowers Chade to criticize Shrewd’s decisions?
  11. In which disguise does Chade successfully deceive even Fitz?
  12. How do Commoners react to Chade’s natural, undisguised appearance?
  13. Does Chade have everyone nailed? Does he understand well the motivations of those in Buckkeep?
  14. Does Queen Desire’s addiction incapacitate her?
  15. How aspects of the Fool so confound Fitz and others?
  16. Does what we learn of Galen before spending time with him cast him as a reliable friend to the Farseer family?
  17. Does Lady Patience appear to be “of no more substance” than “cobwebs and sea foam” (210), or has she changed from what Chade thought her when she first married Chivalry?
  18. How did Chivalry and Patience end up together, according to Chade?
  19. What shifts Patience’s attitude towards Fitz?
  20. What about Chivalry has made others think him standoffish?
  21. What little have we learned thus far about Prince Regal?
  22. Does Chade think highly of the man he serves?
  23. Why does Chade keep Prince Verity in the dark about the reason for Fitz’s joining the journey to visit Duke Kelvar, the man tasked with overseeing Neatbay in the Duch of Rippon?
  24. Is Verity at ease with those who serve under him?  Does he befriend and regale?
  25. Which of Fitz’s various abilities and skills help him problem-solve when visiting Duke Kelvar’s castle?
  26. Do Fitz and Burrich, no longer living together, understand one another well?
  27. Is the individual serving as the Hand of the King primarily a deliverer of death?
  28. How much autonomy does Fitz exercise when deployed as an assassin?
  29. With whom does Fitz feel more comfortable, and by whom more trusted?  Burrich or Chade?
  30. Is Fitz capable of deceiving Burrich?
  31. According to Chade, why did Fitz’s father never show affection for his illegitimate son?
  32. Does either Fitz or Molly behave in more forward fashion as their friendship grows?
  33. What does Patience achieve that Chade did not?
  34. Under what conditions does Fitz freely use the Wit?
  35. Does Fitz’s “questing” appear to be an offshoot of the Skill or the Wit?
  36. Does Fitz’s growing understanding of Molly’s motivations have much to do with his special abilities?
  37. Identify some of the “ruthless tactics” (203) used by the Red-Ship Raiders.


abstract image of sun in distant, its rays penetrating a bluish landscape in the foreground
map of Six Duchies

Dr. Paul Marchbanks
pmarchba@calpoly.edu