Aveline: You're making a name for yourself in the templars.
Carver: And you've changed yours, Aveline Hendyr. Let me know if you ever need him run out of town or something.
Aveline: (Laughs) I will do that, Carver.
Right, well, I'm so mad right now I think I need to step out and get some lunch lol
Thanks. So Cullen was tied in knots because he was attracted to a mage, not because he was attracted period.
Well, it's probably more that fraternization is hugely frowned upon. So mage or templar, closing the deal would be way against the rules, not being attracted per se.
OMG That's repulsive. Really? An awesome woman like Aveline took her weaselly little husband's name?!?! Get with the 21st century, BioWare. *disgusted*
Maybe she just WANTED to take her husband's name? Considering how big a deal opening her heart is for her when she asks Hawke to help with Donnic; I can see it as being plausible for her to want to take her spouse's name because of the symbolism of it. She's a person who values order and stability. Considering how her life has been uprooted many times, she may have just thought it was a nice way to ground herself. Or she just simply wanted to. If Thedas had a law against women keeping their name or if the people were biased against it, I could understand your reaction. But so far, that doesn't seem to be Thedas' case.
OMG That's repulsive. Really? An awesome woman like Aveline took her weaselly little husband's name?!?! Get with the 21st century, BioWare. *disgusted*
She loved Wesley, what's wrong with taking his name?
Right, well, I'm so mad right now I think I need to step out and get some lunch lol
Why is that? It doesn't make Aveline any less strong for wanting to take her husband's last name, she's kind of traditional like that. Remember the calamity of when she tried to give him Donnic a dowry to make her intention to court him known? 
Another part of the reason I figure why she took Wesley's name was because as much as she loved her father, Du Lac had a stigma attached to it twice over, in Ferelden her Orlesian ancestry likely was looked down upon and in Orlais, her name is disgraced due to her father's exile.
And as for the strange inconsistency with Ser Alrik, I figure it was because we already had a Ser Otto appear, the blind Templar we meet in the Denerim Alienage in Origins and the writer's didn't want to confuse the two... or because Alrik hates his first name... or because he's got few friends (I can't imagine why?) to be on first name terms with him... or simply because Alrik just sounds more sinister than Otto?
I think we might be having a culture clash. Where I live, it's extremely uncommon for a woman not to change her name upon marriage, even if they are otherwise fairly liberal.
And I have a feeling DG might be mixing up chastity, celibacy and continence.
Huh. Well, I learned something new today! I was wondering what the opposite of "incontinence" had to do with chastity!
Definition of CONTINENCE
1: self-restraint; especially : a refraining from sexual intercourse
2: the ability to retain a bodily discharge voluntarily <fecal continence>
And... yes, from all the discussions over the years, I think chastity and celibacy are used interchangeably around these parts.
Where I'm from, it's just a chance to get rid of crap surname, or help the husband's die out if it's really bad.
LOL I think there are lots of reasons and traditions for doing both IRL, keeping one's name or changing it, and we don't even know what the tradition is in Thedas. Regardless, it is what it is.
Sorry... DA:O Cullen doesn't have a mole...
I know. 
And complain, I will.
Where I'm from, it's just a chance to get rid of crap surname, or help the husband's die out if it's really bad.
For me, it was about denoting the change from one life to another. Frank and I discussed the name thing and he didn't want my family name because (truthfully) my family is mutha-frackin-crazy. lol! I mean, really, certifiably, brother's in jail, mom's a druggie, dad's a drunk, sister's a druggie who lost her kids, cops be getting called a couple times a year... crazy. So I couldn't really blame him. 
But he's the one who said it first: if I wanted to keep my name, he was fine with that. And this was before we discussed what he felt about my name so... *shrug* When I tried to call him out and say "But that's not what you'd prefer..." he just responded with "I prefer whatever makes you happy." So I thought about it. We even looked into if merging names would be possible. It's not legal to make a new family name if you have one unless you're going for a full name change, or some such - I dunno. I didn't want a hyphenated name and I decided I liked the symbolism of changing my name. It was about starting a new chapter in my life. I guess that's how I see Aveline's situation. Granted that means I'm probably projecting, but I've seen no indication that she was forced to take either of her husbands' names. Just like it doesn't seem all that taboo for a woman to be a VIP in Thedas and have partners but not be married. Like Hawke. 
I think we might be having a culture clash. Where I live, it's extremely uncommon for a woman not to change her name upon marriage, even if they are otherwise fairly liberal. It may be the same in Alberta.
Yes, that's the case in most of Canada.
Also, she changed her last name when she married Wesley as well.
Why would she hold on to Du Lac? It's the name of a disgraced noble family from a country she doesn't identify with.
Where I'm from, it's just a chance to get rid of crap surname, or help the husband's die out if it's really bad.
*raises hand* XD
Taking someone else's name could signify a new life, or could be for tradition - whatever. I personally don't see an issue with it, though I can understand why other people would. I think if a woman thinks about it, discusses it, the works, and it is her choice, then all power to her. It doesn't make her any less strong, or any less of a woman to take her husband's (or wife's) last name.
I know.
No mole? Oh wow, I just had a horrible thought... what if Cullen's dead and we've been infatuated with an imposter this entire time, someone like Uldred who was simply pretending to be our good Templar? Considering we first meet him in DA2 when someone is once again putting demons into people...
*Puts on his conspiracy tin-foil hat... reinforced with a hard hat to prevent things being thrown at him*
Why is that? It doesn't make Aveline any less strong for wanting to take her husband's last name, she's kind of traditional like that.
Traditional -- implies that it is traditional for a woman to take her husband's last name.
This is true on Earth (western civilization at least). Is it true on Thedas?
On Earth it is a patriarchal tradition; at least, that's where it stems from. It is a reminder that there was a time when women were considered the property of their fathers and their husbands.
Today, deciding to take a spouse's name is, of course, a personal decision. People may spend a lot of time thinking about whether they should or shouldn't, and why they should or shouldn't. Maybe for the benefit of children, or because a woman (or man) hates his/her own last name, etc. No judgment from this corner of the room, believe me.
But that the writers chose to set Thedas up as having the same patriarchal past as Earth western civilization, well, that's upsetting to me. They talk a big talk about women being equal in Thedas and having always been equal (or is this not true??), and then little things like this slip through. It hints at lazy writing, I think. Deciding on naming traditions should be a conscious decision by a writer. To just "borrow" the way we do things (and all the baggage that brings with it) is just, ugh, it's frustrating.
No mole? Oh wow, I just had a horrible thought... what if Cullen's dead and we've been infatuated with an imposter this entire time, someone like Uldred who was simply pretending to be our good Templar? Considering we first meet him in DA2 when someone is once again putting demons into people...
*Puts on his conspiracy tin-foil hat... reinforced with a hard hat to prevent things being thrown at him*
And he was right, all along, about the remaining mages being possessed! They took their time after the Warden left and finally managed to break him while he slept. When he rose again, he wasn't Cullen anymore. *snerk* 
And he's been busy seeding demons everywhere! 
*hides*
LOL I think there are lots of reasons and traditions for doing both IRL, keeping one's name or changing it, and we don't even know what the tradition is in Thedas. Regardless, it is what it is.
Right, there are definitely reasons why people do it IRL, but that's really not the issue here.
It's why the writers chose to do it in Thedas, too.
Personally, I think they did it without even thinking about it, which is kind of sad. It's thoughtless writing like that that results in instances like Tolkien, where all the "bad" people in LOTR hail from the south and hence have dark skin. Ooops.
Then again, you can kind of forgive Tolkien because it was the 50s (or whenever). Hello, BioWare, it's the 21st century. Think about these things before putting them down in canon!
If you want Thedas to have a patriarchal tradition, then okay, fine. Personally I consider that lazy writing; I wish just once I could enter a fantasy world where sexism against women wasn't the norm or part of history. Sigh. (Maybe that's why I love the asari )
Huh. Well, I learned something new today! I was wondering what the opposite of "incontinence" had to do with chastity!
Definition of CONTINENCE
1: self-restraint; especially : a refraining from sexual intercourse
2: the ability to retain a bodily discharge voluntarily <fecal continence>
LOL I saw that and thought the same thing; I love learning new things!
No mole? Oh wow, I just had a horrible thought... what if Cullen's dead and we've been infatuated with an imposter this entire time, someone like Uldred who was simply pretending to be our good Templar? Considering we first meet him in DA2 when someone is once again putting demons into people...
*Puts on his conspiracy tin-foil hat... reinforced with a hard hat to prevent things being thrown at him*
Cool your jets, starfighter, this ain't Once Upon a Time. 
However, I did kind of wonder that once.
And by once, I mean yesterday.
No mole? Oh wow, I just had a horrible thought... what if Cullen's dead and we've been infatuated with an imposter this entire time, someone like Uldred who was simply pretending to be our good Templar? Considering we first meet him in DA2 when someone is once again putting demons into people...
*Puts on his conspiracy tin-foil hat... reinforced with a hard hat to prevent things being thrown at him*
Not unfounded...
There's another Cullen imposter at the Gallows during the Last Straw before the real Cullen shows up with Meredith... coincidence...? 
But that the writers chose to set Thedas up as having the same patriarchal past as Earth western civilization, well, that's upsetting to me. They talk a big talk about women being equal in Thedas and having always been equal (or is this not true??), and then little things like this slip through. It hints at lazy writing, I think. Deciding on naming traditions should be a conscious decision by a writer. To just "borrow" the way we do things (and all the baggage that brings with it) is just, ugh, it's frustrating.
The world building is very inconsistent that way, TBH. Women and men are equal, except for the many times they're not. Like when they describe how odd Rowan is for being a knight. Or Alistair's comments about women in the Grey Wardens. That still bugs me.
Not unfounded...
There's another Cullen imposter at the Gallows during the Last Straw before the real Cullen shows up with Meredith... coincidence...?
That's probably Carroll; his obsession has leveled up. He transferred to Kirkwall to spy on be with his crush and does his hair exactly like Cullen.
Traditional -- implies that it is traditional for a woman to take her husband's last name.
This is true on Earth (western civilization at least). Is it true on Thedas?
On Earth it is a patriarchal tradition; at least, that's where it stems from. It is a reminder that there was a time when women were considered the property of their fathers and their husbands.
Today, deciding to take a spouse's name is, of course, a personal decision. People may spend a lot of time thinking about whether they should or shouldn't, and why they should or shouldn't. Maybe for the benefit of children, or because a woman (or man) hates his/her own last name, etc. No judgment from this corner of the room, believe me.
But that the writers chose to set Thedas up as having the same patriarchal past as Earth western civilization, well, that's upsetting to me. They talk a big talk about women being equal in Thedas and having always been equal (or is this not true??), and then little things like this slip through. It hints at lazy writing, I think. Deciding on naming traditions should be a conscious decision by a writer. To just "borrow" the way we do things (and all the baggage that brings with it) is just, ugh, it's frustrating.
I see your point. In Aveline's case, she was once Orlesian. And in Orlais, women weren't always equals. The story of Aveline the first woman chevalier was about a woman breaking through those barriers and changing things for women who wanted to compete in tournaments. So Orlais may very well have had that tradition for similar reasons. Orlais also ruled Ferelden for many decades so the practice may have been instituted in Ferelden then. And even though it has ugly roots, it could have evolved to mean something different by the time Dragon Age takes place. And our Aveline chose to observe the tradition for personal reasons. We just don't know that much about their marriage lore or what Aveline's reasons were.
Retour en haut