Post by Holly Snow on Nov 20, 2016 17:00:50 GMT -5
Something I wonder about is how much Windclan affected Crowfeather in Nightcloud's relationship. They are a lot more strict socially than the other clans and that could have played a detrimental role in their lives and according to the guides, they did.
From what the erins have said at one point Crowfeather and Nightcloud liked each other. Not love, but there was respect. Both were respected warriors and they had similar attitudes. When their relationship began they probably thought things would work out since they had compatible interests. However this fell apart not long after Breezepelt's birth. The Sight shows that Crowfeather is not a capable father. He does love Breezepelt, but he doesn't know how to show it. Because of this he comes off as abusive, and his actions only get worse as the series progresses. Nightcloud, whenever she has dialogue is shown to be very protective of Breezepelt and hates how Crowfeather treats him and thus is brittle towards Crowfeather. By the time we see Nightcloud in The sight, the romance between Nightcloud and Crowfeather is dead because of this. Both are shown at one point to be nurturing, which we never really see again in the series. Breezepelt inherited his parents bad attitude, and like his half siblings, is naturally depressive. Thus he needs more parental support than the average child and he suffers from the lack. So much so that no one in Windclan likes him except Heathertail.
One may wonder, why didn't Crowfeather distance himself from his family if he wasn't happy? Why didn't Nightcloud do the same? Most of what we see of clan culture is through Thunderclan's point of view and in Thunderclan relationships ending and fathers not sticking around to raise the kits wasn't considered abnormal. Due to the erins not planning, the original arc is full of mothers with unspecified mates. In Bluestar's prophecy no one said much about Stormtail being a distant father except Goosefeather and in Power of Three Spiderleg being distant with his family isn't extremely bothersome either. If we except the guides as canon, its possible that Crowfeather and Nightcloud couldn't leave each other because Windclan's culture is different than Thunderclan's. Thunderclan let go of their anger at Leafpool and Graystripe when they left for love and broke the code. They weren't ostracized. The guides say that Breezepelt grew distrustful of Crowfeather because Windclan spoke of the rumors of his affair with Leafpool. Nightcloud was responsible for confirming everything Breezepelt already thought about Crowfeather. For years Windclan gossiped about Crowfeather behind his back and held a grudge against him. Crowfeather was probably aware of this and so was Nightcloud. If they left each other formally its possible Crowfeather would have been ostracized to a greater degree if he left Nightcloud because he would be burning his proof of loyalty. Furthermore, where would Crowfeather or Nightcloud go go? In our world when you are separated you leave the home or you sleep in separate bedrooms than your partner. There is no avoiding your exmate in clan though ad there is little solace when your entire clan seems to hate you. Nightcloud also had loyalty to prove. She was in the revolt against Onestar, which Onestar probably wasn't likely to forgive given his personality. She could have faced ostracization as well.
If we accept this as true, perhaps Crowfeather and Nightcloud's ongoing unhappy relationship makes sense. Doing anything else would have been social suicide, due to Windclan's uncanny ability to hold a grudge.
From what the erins have said at one point Crowfeather and Nightcloud liked each other. Not love, but there was respect. Both were respected warriors and they had similar attitudes. When their relationship began they probably thought things would work out since they had compatible interests. However this fell apart not long after Breezepelt's birth. The Sight shows that Crowfeather is not a capable father. He does love Breezepelt, but he doesn't know how to show it. Because of this he comes off as abusive, and his actions only get worse as the series progresses. Nightcloud, whenever she has dialogue is shown to be very protective of Breezepelt and hates how Crowfeather treats him and thus is brittle towards Crowfeather. By the time we see Nightcloud in The sight, the romance between Nightcloud and Crowfeather is dead because of this. Both are shown at one point to be nurturing, which we never really see again in the series. Breezepelt inherited his parents bad attitude, and like his half siblings, is naturally depressive. Thus he needs more parental support than the average child and he suffers from the lack. So much so that no one in Windclan likes him except Heathertail.
One may wonder, why didn't Crowfeather distance himself from his family if he wasn't happy? Why didn't Nightcloud do the same? Most of what we see of clan culture is through Thunderclan's point of view and in Thunderclan relationships ending and fathers not sticking around to raise the kits wasn't considered abnormal. Due to the erins not planning, the original arc is full of mothers with unspecified mates. In Bluestar's prophecy no one said much about Stormtail being a distant father except Goosefeather and in Power of Three Spiderleg being distant with his family isn't extremely bothersome either. If we except the guides as canon, its possible that Crowfeather and Nightcloud couldn't leave each other because Windclan's culture is different than Thunderclan's. Thunderclan let go of their anger at Leafpool and Graystripe when they left for love and broke the code. They weren't ostracized. The guides say that Breezepelt grew distrustful of Crowfeather because Windclan spoke of the rumors of his affair with Leafpool. Nightcloud was responsible for confirming everything Breezepelt already thought about Crowfeather. For years Windclan gossiped about Crowfeather behind his back and held a grudge against him. Crowfeather was probably aware of this and so was Nightcloud. If they left each other formally its possible Crowfeather would have been ostracized to a greater degree if he left Nightcloud because he would be burning his proof of loyalty. Furthermore, where would Crowfeather or Nightcloud go go? In our world when you are separated you leave the home or you sleep in separate bedrooms than your partner. There is no avoiding your exmate in clan though ad there is little solace when your entire clan seems to hate you. Nightcloud also had loyalty to prove. She was in the revolt against Onestar, which Onestar probably wasn't likely to forgive given his personality. She could have faced ostracization as well.
If we accept this as true, perhaps Crowfeather and Nightcloud's ongoing unhappy relationship makes sense. Doing anything else would have been social suicide, due to Windclan's uncanny ability to hold a grudge.
