This Daedric quest features only one moral dilemma, so for
the sake of brevity, I’ll cut straight to it:
I had been wary of dealing with Clavicus ViIe from the
beginning, and refused to make any sort of deal with him for fear of being
Tamriel’s next Faust. When the time came
to make a choice, I chose to spare Barbas.
He had been loyal to his master despite Vile’s dreadful behavior, and he
had proven to be a faithful and brave companion during our brief adventure. There
was no way I was going to turn on him now.
Even though Barbas was himself a Daedra, he seemed to be a decent sort,
even if his best friend was a particularly nasty Daedric Prince. Furthermore, it seemed that doing the
opposite of what Vile wanted would be the safest course of action, so I
reunited Barbas and his master, relinquished the Rueful Axe, and obtained
Vile’s Masque.
 |
| His master's voice? |
I’ve mentioned Kant in this blog before, and I think that a
Kantian moral lens might be instructive here.
My intention was to perform a favor for a being in need: Barbas. According to my reading of Kant, the fact
that Barbas’s friend is the Elder Scrolls version of Mephistopheles should not
enter into my decision, nor should the possibility that reuniting the two might
have damaging consequences for someone else down the line. Still, I feel as though I have once again
been manipulated by the Daedra.
Do remember though that Barbas was Vile's conscience. While reuniting those two may have made Vile more powerful than before, doing so has also served to make him less actively malevolent. A daedric prince is a hard thing to kill, and such a thing isn't possible at any point in Skyrim anyway, so pacifying them is often the best we can do.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see this blog back.
Thanks! I see your point, but it just seemed to me that Vile was more limited, and therefore less dangerous, without Barbas.
ReplyDeleteActually, I believe, though I'm not 100% positive, that his eagerness to give you the axe and have you kill Barbas, is because he gains all his power back without having the conscience of Barbas. So the best outcome for the mortal world is to give Vile the axe. I realize the Dragonborn can't necessarily know that, but Vile's untrustworthy and cutesy tone is enough for me to go against his obvious wishes.
DeleteDoggies are cute (well, I actually don't consider dogs to be particularly cute, but their model in Skyrim certainly is), and that's why I instinctively shuddered away from killing Barbas or from not fulfilling his request.
ReplyDeleteI wonder whether I would have the same reaction if Barbas took the form of a Scamp, as he does in Morrowind. Cuteness plays an important role in such moments (although Barbas does appear to prefer his canine form to other ones).
Good question, and I would add the humor angle as well. Barbas is one of the few truly funny characters in Skyrim, which goes a long way to getting on my good side.
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