Dorian and Slavery - Powerful Opinions beneath the cut
I really don’t get where people think Dorian is “OK” with slavery, but that’s what I keep seeing whenever he and the topic are mentioned together. Do people not know that he diverts and uses humor and everything possible to keep his feelings protected?
I’ve done the conversation with him, and I reviewed it here.
That entire interaction reads to me that he’s not thrilled with it, and by drawing a comparison to systemic poverty he’s saying, “Look, you guys have your own problems to deal with, too,” as a diversion rather than saying, “What? You guys suck more than Tevinter because you’re hypocrites. You call people ‘free’ and leave them to die in a system from which their is no escape.” It’s a point of comparison and an inflammatory diversion.
Later, he tells Cole to go ask the Inquisitor what “a slave” is. When The Iron Bull asks him if he’s cold because he doesn’t have “enough slaves around” to keep his feet warm, Dorian doesn’t mention slaves at all and says he’s fine.
Then he has this very pointed interaction with Solas, who, because he’s Solas will not let him get away with diverting:
Solas: If you wish to make amends for past transgressions, free the slaves of all races who live in Tevinter today.
Dorian: I... don't know that I can do that.
He knows what a monumental problem slavery is in his country and he is not OK with it. If anything, his own understanding while he is in southern Thedas grows because he cannot hide his disapproval among the ranks of those who do approve. No one in Southern Thedas approves!
However, what I draw from all these interactions is that Dorian knows slavery is bad, Dorian is ashamed of this part of his country even as much as he loves Tevinter, but freeing the slaves is not his focus right now. But slavery is a huge, complex problem in any society:
How do you reinstate a population that has been held in servitude into freedom?
Without crippling them, and while making sure they are independently successful?
Look at Orana from DA2 and tell me that she was the ONLY slave in Tevinter with this mindset. What happens when you release all these people without a support system to get them back into independence?
These are a lot of big questions that are beyond the scope of this game, and beyond the scope of one, single Dorian Pavus, who more than once intimates that he is familiar with the nuance of trying to change society. It’s not a cop out for him to say, “I don’t think I can,” to Solas because it would be an overwhelming task.
He came to stop the Venatori, and, when he realized how much of a threat Corypheus was, to stop him, too. I think it’s very sensitive of Bioware to show a character going through the learning process about a problem about which they were once not aware. But saying that “Dorian is OK with slavery!” just because he doesn’t explicity say, “slavery is bad” ignores his character. He says “Slavery is bad” in a myriad of ways if you’re looking for them.
