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« on: July 15, 2010, 06:29:31 AM »
I think that Vivenna's people, the Idrians, agree with you - Their society is based on it, in fact.
I'd like to play devil's advocate here: I'm not 100% sure I was comfortable with Awakening and breath-transfer, but the jury's still out.
In the meantime, consider the analogies given: Organ donation may be seen as immoral as it leaves the donor less whole. However, it allows someone else to live. Presumably, and in a lot of cases, it allows someone the donor cares about deeply to live - which is much the way that many people who sell their breath to the Returned feel. Jewels was an example of this: A drab, yes, but she took pride in it.
To use the other example, I've seen prostitution used as an example as well, but isn't that circumstantial as well? consider the following example:
a wife and her ten children transfer their breath to her husband so that he might become an Awakener, and do great things. In fact, she gathers her extended family and convinces them all to invest in him, to help him represent their family in honor and yadda yadda yadda. He goes on to use that breath to do great things, and bring happiness to his family. Is his whole family whoring themselves out to him, or is it a sign of trust and love?
Furthermore, if the breath is transferred to an Awakener on a deathbed, in the manner Vivenna received hers? When she couldn't have refused it? Is that immoral?
Muddy is the issue indeed.
Yoda must move on to another topic now...one more lighthearted perhaps.