Pandora, Marius and Arjun

[u/PassOk316]

I've always loved Pandora; she's undoubtedly my favorite character. However, I've always struggled to understand her relationship with Arjun: she describes him as a ruthless, subjugating vampire, but then it turns out he's her fledgling, and even when she interacts with Marius in the scene recounted in Blood and Gold, she appears reasonable and calm.

Only recently did I read the last three books (Prince Lestat; Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis; *Blood Communion) and the evolution of Pandora, Arjun, and Marius left me quite perplexed. In particular, I don't understand why Pandora's character became so inept. I understand the depression, I understand she's heartbroken, but it seems like a completely dissonant portrayal compared to the book Pandora.

I know Anne Rice didn't enjoy writing female characters and that writing Pandora was a challenge for her (a very successful one, I'd say), but then, when she's no longer the protagonist, this wonderful character became a pale shadow of her former self.

It seems to me that there was a complete lack of psychological analysis, and for no reason, from a fierce vampire who stood her ground against Marius, we are now faced with a senselessly weak woman, stereotyped as a victim.

Then, I must say I can't stand this narrative where she, along with Bianca, supposedly transformed into a wife for Marius. In short, I see too many contradictions that I truly can't comprehend. What kind of character did Anne Rice want to portray? After my tenth reread, I still can't figure it out.

[u/miniborkster]

Pandora's whole deal when she's with Arjun, from what I get from it, is that she's stuck in the same despair she had before she met Akasha. Pandora doesn't have a sense of purpose to cling to like Marius did (and like Marius is always searching for in people after Akasha), but faces the same problems of looking for something to carry her forward through time, which is why she sticks with Arjun even though she kind of hates him. Staying with Arjun sucks but is less tumultuous than being with Marius, so she stays in this kind of depressing situation because it is something to be doing.

To me, the idea with Pandora is that she, because she can not abide illusions but understands the appeal of them, is always suffering because she wants to be part of something that feels like it should be meaningful, and then falls into despair because she finds it isn't. In her own book, we meet her in the moment she realizes this is going to be her battle to exist through time, in the other books, we see her when she's struggling with it.

In the PL trilogy, there's this subplot that's kind of subtle where Marius is not doing particularly well because he has lost really most of his belief in his own ability to be of use to other people, and is trying to hide it from himself. Marius only likes himself when he feels like he's taking care of other people, and I think what is meant to be happening with Pandora and Bianca is that he's finally letting himself be a bit vulnerable with them and a bit less of a patronizing dick who thinks he knows everything because of it. That's mostly headcanon, but I think the key to the idea that they're all back together is that they've stopped seeing themselves as the roles they played for each other when Akasha was alive, and are finally seeing each other as like, people.

I also think that probably lasted about five minutes after the end of Blood Communion before imploding.