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Summary
The Edge of the World
The village of Lower Posada, which is in the Valley of Flowers, hires Geralt and Dandelion to investigate a devil that that is stealing grain. The town elder of Lower Posada, Dhun, and the freemen Nettly, describe a number of things that the devil has done, from devouring the crops to fouling a well to chasing local girls. Dhun asks for Geralt’s help but tells him that he doesn’t want him to kill the creature. Dandelion points out to Geralt that devils don’t exist and asks why they’re looking into it. Geralt tells Dandelion that he can’t resist seeing something that doesn’t exist. Geralt and Dandelion find the devil’s hiding spot in a thicket of hemp and hops, two plants that repel magic. The creature is intelligent and physically short with goat’s horns, a beard, cloven hoofs, and a tail. The creature chases them from the field.
Dhun and Nettly introduce Geralt and Dandelion to a woman named Lille. Lille does not speak when Geralt asks her about the creature. After Lille leaves, Dhun and Nettly admit that she is a prophetess and has given orders not to kill the creature. Geralt tells them that the creature is a sylvan, a rare, intelligent creature that he is not allowed to kill according to his code. Geralt visits the sylvan again and tries to convince him to leave the area. The sylvan refuses, so Geralt tries to trick him in order for Dandelion trap him. They are ambushed before they can accomplish this and Geralt is knocked unconscious.
Geralt awakens to find that he and Dandelion are tied up on the forest floor. Around them are a group of elves and the sylvan, who is named Torque. Torque explains to an elf how to use various seeds. Geralt sees that the elves are full-blooded Aen Seidhe, who were the people that lived in the Valley before humans settled there. When the elves see that Geralt and Dandelion are awake, one named Toruviel kicks them and calls them names. After she destroys Dandelion’s lute, Geralt knocks her down and headbutts her before the other elves pull them apart. The clearing goes quiet when another elf, Filavandrel, rides in. Geralt figures out that Torque was stealing seeds from the humans in the Valley to teach the elves about farming. Torque says that he did so because the elves were starving in the mountains they were exiled to when humans moved to the Valley.
Geralt argues that the elves will die out if they won’t live with humans, but Filavandrel dismisses this concern. He calls himself Filavandrel of the Edge of the World because his people have been pushed to the edge of the world. When Filavandrel tells Geralt and Dandelion that he must kill them, Torque stands in the way. Suddenly, Lille enters the glade. She has transformed from a skinny peasant girl into The Queen of the Fields, a beautiful woman decorated in garlands of flowers, herbs, and vegetation. Filavandrel kneels before her. Though he cannot hear them speaking, Geralt senses that Lille and the elves are communicating. Filavandrel asks her to go with the elves because they will not survive without her love. Lille shakes her head and indicates that the elves should go to the mountains. Before the elves leave, Toruviel gives Dandelion another lute.
Geralt, Dandelion, and Torque leave the Valley together. While camping, Torque talks about how he will act differently in his new territory, though he refuses to reveal all of his tricks. Geralt reads an excerpt from an ancient book he got from the villagers about the Queen of the Fields. Dandelion begins to write a ballad about their experience but he confesses that he wants to leave the elves out of it because he doesn’t want to give humans an excuse to seek them out.
Analysis
The elves that were pushed out of the Valley are an example of the effects of displacement. When farmers and other humans moved in, the elves were forced to uproot their entire way of life, which has put them in danger. This has left them poor, desperate, and full of hatred for the Valley’s colonizers. Even though they were only moved to the mountain nearby, they were cut off from everything that had once been theirs. The mountain feels so remote to Filavandrel that he refers to it as “the edge of the world.” The elves feel such a profound sense of loss that they blame all humans for their suffering. The elves try to kill Geralt and Dandelion for revenge, even though Gerald and Dandelion have nothing to do with the elves’ displacement. The elves hate humans so much that they refuse to live near them. They are willing to move to a remote area and learn how to survive in a new region. There is a risk the elves will die in their new environment, but they prefer this to living near the human colonizers.
Geralt states that one purpose of mythical monsters is to justify human failings. This is a key insight into the novel’s message about monstrosity. Early in the chapter, Geralt and Dandelion talk about how some monsters don’t actually exist, but are made up by people. Geralt explains people invent certain types of monsters to make themselves feel less monstrous when they do evil or harmful things. These mythical monsters allow people to measure their own misdeeds against monsters’ inhumane actions. This allows people to see themselves as less monstrous, relative to the monster they made up. People may also tell stories that make real monsters seem more harmful than they actually are. This makes humans seem more humane by comparison.
The people of Lower Posada have a distinct accent that is carried through in the dialogue of this chapter. This is a sign that Geralt and Dandelion are a great distance from the temple, Cintra, or anywhere else Geralt has visited before. The dialogue in this section uses different spelling to convey the Posadan accent. For example, Dhun and Nettly call Torque a deovel, which Dandelion translates as devil. While they are talking about the same thing, the Posadans pronounce it differently. Torque’s dialogue is also distinct because he uses phrases from the Old Language. The elves also have their own language, but they also speak so humans can understand. Through the dialogue, the narrative creates a sense of place by harnessing the language of the region. There are also regional differences in how the characters interpret the situation. Geralt and Dandelion don’t believe devils exist, while the Posadans are sure the deovel is real. Between the difference in language and context, communication between Geralt, Dandelion, the elves, Torque and the Posadans is difficult.
This chapter stresses the importance of agriculture to the world of The Last Wish. Throughout the book, plants are important symbols, but nowhere are they more present than in “The Edge of the World.” As the elves move to a new region, they need to learn farming techniques to survive. Torque, who is neither human nor elf, attempts to teach the elves farming, and it seems that Lille is helping him by protecting him from the villagers. Interestingly, the elves have no agricultural knowledge. This serves as a reminder that agriculture is an invention that non-human people may not have. In this chapter and the rest of the book, farm life is a central part of civilization. When Lille refuses to leave with the elves, their fate seems to be sealed. As a living metaphor for agriculture, her decision suggests that they will fail.
Torque’s hideout in the field is notable because it’s made from plants that are commonly associated with intoxication. Geralt remarks that Torque is clever for finding a place that is surrounded by hemp and hops because those plants can protect him from magic and render most spells useless. Although both plants can be used for other purposes, hemp is part of the cannabis family and hops are predominantly used in the making of beer. While only a brief observation on Geralt’s part, this points to an interesting reversal of a common literary device. Often, intoxication allows for a person to access special abilities or experience extraordinary things. Drugs and alcohol are often used as plot devices because they can put characters at risk or make them behave in unlikely ways. Here, the hemp and hops have the opposite effect, keeping Torque safe and making his surroundings more mundane.
