Rothfussians discussion

My friend recently began reading Kingkiller and i've had a blast talking with him about it... today during lunch we started talking about the numbers that keep popping up. he wants to, on his second read, begin marking all references to the numbers 3 and 7.

we already know that 7 is more or less a Lucky number, though we're not sure how that pertains to the chandrian... but you have the 7 words to make a woman love you, (I'm pretty sure) he reclaimed his lute from the pawn shop in vintas on the 7th day...

the number 3 seems to be certainty and promise. we have the "I'm telling you 3 times..." the 3 days of the story, and Kvothe stating he'll return from the Fae in 3 days.


anything else you lot can think of??

A silence of three parts.

At some point both Bast and Kvothe say "I'm telling you three times"

There are seven types of magic in the four corners.

If i remember this correctly, swearing to something or telling some one something three times, is like their way of swearing an oath on the Bible, it's an utter assurance of honesty

Thus when swearing to something 3 times, it's a solemn oath, indicating when Kvothe swore to denna 3x he would not seek to find her patron the three things he swore (his music his magic and his good left hand) bam, the oath is sworn and when he discovers her patron, he loses those things (last part is conjecture form theories on this board)

Kenneth wrote: "There are seven types of magic in the four corners."

Eight. Plus two Faen magicks.

Saying a thing three times is an old fairy tale trope that is supposed to indicate absolute truth. Often clever humans get fairies to swear an oath three times to ensure there will be no trickery.

Interestingly enough we see this again in the urban legend that if you ask someone you suspect to be an undercover police officer if they are a cop 3 times then they legally have to reveal themselves to you. They don't, and I find it interesting that this particular story trope has lived on in our world in this way.

Brandon wrote: "Saying a thing three times is an old fairy tale trope that is supposed to indicate absolute truth. Often clever humans get fairies to swear an oath three times to ensure there will be no trickery. ..."

You just reminded my of the Candyman. Wasn't it that you'd say 'Candyman' three times in the mirror, and that would make him come?

Yes. That particular reference (and Beetlejuice) evokes the rule of 3 and the power of names at the same time. at least sort of.

what about 7? it's called a Lucky number... yet the chandrien are 7 in number... any thoughts on this?

7 is a number of power in folklore and mythology across time. God created the earth in 7 days. Snow White and the 7 dwarves. 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. There are 14 Valar in Tolkien's the Silmarillion: 7 men and 7 women. Sauron gave 7 rings to the dwarf lords in their halls of stone. George R.R. Martin: 7 Gods, 7 Kingdoms.

LoL. sorry. I'm more wondering about the other mentions of 7 and 3 within the kingkiller series! I'm betting I didn't actually mention that in the initial post

I don't think it has any particular significance besides being a device in literature. I think Rothfuss uses the number intentionally, but I don't think it is meant to drive the plot in any way.

we're more looking for the fun of it, and for finding relations and coincidences... I know we're not going to unrave the conclusion of the story this why... we just thought it was a fun think to look at and ponder about

sorry. you asked for opinions of significance of these things and I was simply voicing mine.