Shadows of Self

“’How did you kill Peret the Black?’ They stared at each other a moment. ‘Well…’ Waxillium started. ‘Oh hell. You caught him on the crapper, didn’t you?’ Waxillium grinned at her. ‘Yeah.’”

This is one instance of the type of humor that prevails in the Wax and Wayne series. Life is more lighthearted in this series than in the original Mistborn trilogy, and the characters regularly make quips like this. This demonstrates Wax’s charismatic character.

“She kept looking at the body. ‘I’ve done plenty of things in Joe’s name I wish I hadn’t, but as far as I know, I never shot a man who didn’t deserve it. Killing you…well, seems like it would have been killing what you stood for too. Ya know?’”

Lessie speaks these lines, and it is unclear whether they are truthful or part of her larger act in trying to get close to Wax to act as a bodyguard. Her attitude here, focusing on only shooting men who deserve it, and valuing what Wax stands for, attracts Wax to her further. This suggests there is a moral center to this novel, similar to the moral center at the heart of many Western works.

“Long shadows stretched from the statues of the Ascendant Warrior and the Last Emperor in the green park where, according to fanciful legend, their corpses had been discovered following the Great Catacendre and the Final Ascension.”

Winsting Innate’s observations of this park and heritage site on Scadrial reveal the ways that the events of the original Mistborn trilogy have already become mythology by the time of the Wax and Wayne series. Unlike Sanderson’s other series so far, the Mistborn series allows the reader to see the events that later become part of legend and religion. This reveals the ways that people mythologize their history.

“‘I have known you for an entire year now, Lord Waxillium,’ Steris said. ‘I can accept you for who you are, but I am under no illusions. Something will happen at our wedding. A villain will burst in, guns firing. Or we’ll discover explosives in the altar. Or Father Bin will inexplicably turn out to be an old enemy and attempt to murder you instead of performing the ceremony. It will happen. I’m merely trying to prepare for it.’”

Steris does not have much of a role in Shadows of Self, but her few moments reveal the ways that her and Wax’s relationship is growing. She is observant, particularly of Wax, and her blunt honesty combined with humor here reflect more of the series’ sense of humor. It also characterizes the chaos of the series’ happenings.

“What’s wrong with you lately? […] One would almost think you’d made some horrible life decision that you regret deep down. Wonder what it could be.”

Marasi’s words reveal an unspoken tension between her and Wax related to Wax’s engagement to Steris. Marasi has been attracted to Wax for some time, and she resents that he will marry Steris for their contract (and Steris’ money, to save his House). This speaks to the class-based tensions and questions of inherited rank within the novel.

“Put on a man’s hat, surround your mind with his way of thinking, and it changed you.”

This quote reveals one aspect of Wayne’s perspective on life, in particular his deep, although often hidden, empathy for others. His empathy and his skill with accents allow him to “inhabit” his disguises, making them nearly as successful as that of kandra, who can literally replicate the bodies of those they ingest. He can often feel the emotions of those he observes.

“Being a lawman, particularly out in the Roughs, had required Waxillium to teach himself a wide variety of skills. He was part detective, part enforcer, part leader, part scientist.”

Marasi’s observations reveal an element of Wax’s personality and identity. Without the resources of the big city, Wax had to become self-reliant in the Roughs. He is as effective and skilled as he is, overshadowing all others (including Marasi, in her view), because he had to learn so many skills to be effective away from ‘civilization.’

“His hand trembled as he drew the stick gun, but otherwise it was a right good stick figure.”

This relatively lighthearted moment reveals Wayne’s psychological aversion to guns due to his remorse over past sins. He has long known that he cannot hold a gun, but even this small act of drawing a gun makes him tremble. This quote also demonstrates Wayne’s empathy, revealing the profound guilt he feels for killing a girl’s father.

“So many people—and here, in the Fourth Octant, a frightening percentage of them were his responsibility. To begin with he paid their wages, or oversaw those who did; on the solvency of his house rested the financial stability of thousands upon thousands. But that was only part of it; because through his seat in the Senate, he represented any who worked for him, or who lived on properties he owned.”

In his role as the lord of House Ladrian, Wax feels immense pressure, something he had pretended to escape out in the Roughs. He appreciated the simplicity of Roughs life, but he now must accept his responsibility for those whose livelihoods and homes depend upon him. This quote demonstrates Wax’s feelings for law and justice.

“Mirabell’s Rules, Marasi thought, nodding to herself. Mirabell had been a statistician and psychologist in the third century who had studied why some people worked harder than others. Turned out a man or woman was much more likely to do good work if they were invested – if they felt ownership of what they did and could see that it mattered. Her personal studies proved that crime went down when people had a sense of identity with and ownership of their community.”

During her education, Marasi was interested in statistics, and she regularly uses statistics to either help Wax in his investigations or come up with solutions for problems she sees in the city. She struggles with her self-worth, but her mind for statistics regularly helps others. She is not respected for her skills, however, as she is a woman, and this contributes to her lower self-esteem.

“She is a member of the Third Generation, and you should know better than to assume everyone dangerous to be a male.”

Sanderson’s novels often challenge gender roles in overt and in subtle ways. Harmony here reminds Wax of his troubling tendency to assume dangerous people are male, challenging Wax to think more openly. Wax’s sexist beliefs are often exposed in this novel.

“We have reached an era of modernism, both louder and more silent at the same time. You watch. Where once kings and warriors shaped the world, now quiet men in offices will do the same—and do it far, far more effectively.”

Wax’s Uncle Edwarn tried to instill his values into Wax at a young age, introducing Wax to the power that he could claim as a House lord and owner of a bank. Edwarn’s words here reveal the ways that the world is changing. With industrialization, in the modern world, power takes on new forms or simply shape shifts to appear different although it is the same.

“I think I knew, deep down, that I couldn’t change anything in Elendel. It was too big, the men in suits too crafty. Out in the Roughs, one man with a gun meant something. Here, it’s hard to see him as anything other than a relic.”

Wax struggles to understand his identity in Elendel. He spent 20 years establishing who he was in the Roughs, and he misses the simplicity of how he could handle conflict back then. He feels lost in the city, struggling to solve the subtle, complex problems of the city.

“They simply presume to know me when they do not. Understanding social conventions is not the same as condoning them.”

Steris’s comment to Wax reveals another element of her personality that Wax had not yet uncovered. He and many people have judged her according to her surface-level behavior, but she reveals herself to be much more than what Wax has seen. In this novel, Steris begins to use her skill in observing society to help Wax with his investigations.

“You are like a lion. Most days you’re only partially present, with me. Lounging, half asleep. You do what you must, you fulfill the needs of the house, but you don’t thrive. Then the prey appears. You wake. The burst of speed, the fury and power; the pounding, pulsing, rush of the hunt. This is the real you, Waxillium Ladrian.”

Steris reveals just how well she has come to know Wax. Her observations reveal that she knows the true Wax well, because she can see the differences in his behavior when he is investigating versus when he is disengaged with life. This becomes an important part of Wax’s discovery of his identity when away from the Roughs, something he will pursue in the next Wax and Wayne novels.

“Wax stepped down from the bar and turned on his steel bubble. It wasn’t something he’d always been able to do, and he wasn’t entirely certain how he did it. Oh, the basic mechanics were obvious: he burned steel, then Pushed lightly outward from himself in all directions at once. But how had he learned to exempt metal he himself carried? He still didn’t know. It was just something that had happened, over time.”

This moment reveals one of the ways that the world of Scadrial has evolved since the time of the original trilogy. As society progresses, so too does the understanding of Allomantic and Feruchemical powers. Wax and Wayne in particular have discovered through many fights how they can use their powers in different ways. Wax’s steel bubble is something that the characters of the original trilogy did not even know was possible.

“‘I know you enjoy witty conversation,’ she said, ‘so I prepared earlier, writing myself a list of things I could say that you would find engaging.’”

Steris again reveals new aspects of her personality, including her interest in pleasing Wax. This moment also reveals that she does not have much self-confidence; she does not believe Wax when he calls this part of her “genuine.” This again demonstrates issues of gender in the novel, as Steris feels pressured to please Wax and appear presentable to him as a wife. She essentially serves as a piece of “property” to be given to him under their contractual marriage, and he does not think often of her, while she frequently demonstrates her desire to please.

“‘Wax,’ Wayne interrupted […] ‘Check your pulse, mate.’ […] ‘Sometimes,’ Wayne said, ‘Wax forgets he’s a person and starts thinkin’ he’s a rock instead.’ ‘It’s Wayne speak,’ Wax said […] ‘For times when he thinks I should be a little more empathetic.’ ‘You can be single-minded, mate.’”

Wax reveals one of his flaws, and Wayne reveals his emotional intelligence. MeLaan has told Wax that the kandra want to handle Paalm herself, and that they do not want her to be killed. However, Wax is fixated on justice to the point of becoming angry with MeLaan. He cannot understand coming from a people who are so few that they would not want to lose one of their numbers.

“‘Thing is, I don’t think many of my brothers and sisters will be of use. They’re timid about hurting others, particularly after what TenSoon was forced to do during the Remarked Duplicity. And beyond that, they can be an…inconsistent group.’ ‘They’re God’s servants,’ Wax said. ‘Yes,’ MeLaan replied, ‘and they’ve had centuries upon centuries to refine their eccentricities. Getting older does not tend to make you more normal, let me tell you.’”

MeLaan helps bridge the gap of knowledge in what humans know about kandra. She also reveals that even the kandra have evolved, becoming more eccentric rather than what people might except of servants of a god. This quote demonstrates MeLaan’s intelligence and observation skills.

“Soothing parlors […] were places where the downhearted could seek a different kind of relief, in the form of an Allomancer who—for a small fee—would wipe away their emotions for a time and leave them numb.”

Wax’s observations reveal another way that the use of Allomancy has evolved in the remade Scadrial. As society becomes more capitalist, even Allomancers monetize their abilities, creating Soothing parlors or Rioting parlors reminiscent of opium and other substance dens in the real world. This demonstrates more of the problems capitalism and a deeply divided society have caused.

“VISITORS from other WORLDS […] Sauvage saw a hunched figure by the pool. ‘Just a shadow, really,’ she said. ‘Piercing eyes, and a face like some otherworldly beast from one of those hideous pulp stories.’”

This quote comes from one of the few newspaper-style inserts between chapters. The inserts reveal current events in Elendel and abroad, providing some context. This particular column foreshadows another race in Scadrial that the people of Elendel and the surrounding areas have yet to meet.

“Rich folks, they had this code. All of them know it, and they used it like a new language to weed out everyone who didn’t belong. Regular folk, they called something after what it was.”

Wayne’s interest in language gives him a unique perspective on social differences. With this insight, Wayne is able to recognize that Paalm has taken over as Governor Innate before anyone else, because he hears her make a mistake with the accent. The quote also demonstrates the ability of those being oppressed to see through the false appearances of power and seeming respectability.

“We are the thieves and miscreants of this day who will someday be hailed as heroes. The men and women who will change the world.”

Edwarn’s words reveal that he still believes himself to be in the right, despite the despicable actions he and the Set have taken. The Set believes that they are changing the world for the better, and they see themselves as being like Kelsier’s crew from the original Mistborn trilogy. Even though Wax and his friends have defeated Paalm, they will still have to deal with the Set.