The third Geralt's wish was to be with Yennefer. The first one was intended to be an exorcism to get rid of genie, yet the genie obeyed him to leave Dandelion alone.
My first thought was: "He wished that Yennefer loves him." But then I thought: "That's not possible", as depicted in many fanatasy literature. True love cannot be wished.
But then again The Witcher books take a very straight, a very authentic and modern-day approach in some areas, even magic. Sorceresses and sorceres seem to be (medical) scientists, too. They certainly know that "love" is nothing more than body chemistry. And they know how to influence that.
But then again The Witcher books take a very straight, a very authentic and modern-day approach in some areas, even magic. Sorceresses and sorceres seem to be (medical) scientists, too. They certainly know that "love" is nothing more than body chemistry. And they know how to influence that.
Maybe because love is love, powerful and wild enough to not be tamed by any magical force possible. Clearly she doesn't know about Lesbomancy spell!Teamsleeper said:
Frankly speaking, I guess, her doubts may came from the little animosity between them (one would say it was sexual tension), like she didn't believe they could fall in love with each other with their strong personalities and the lack of mutual history together. Good she was proven wrong! He loves her despite her past imperfections, which - thanks to magic - are non existential. There was a spark of chemistry between them, definitely something bigger on Geralt's side. I suppose, it's a love at first sight, that was cemented by genie's spell and them living together for some time later.
He fell in love with her because she managed to "tame" him, he fell in love with her strong, stubborn will, with the fact she made her own rules in life, with her appearance of a beauty and her cold, angry eyes of an ugly girl. Besides, Geralt's last wish was never explained, we can assume it's about love or protection of his beloved but we don't really know. A hint is given by reverend Krepp but it's very vague. We're not supposed, as readers, to know what Geralt's exact wish is about. And that is the thing that makes the story so romantic and moving.
Have you ever fallen in love, Reaper004?Reaper004 said:
That's how it happens in rl too
Btw, after read "A shard of ice" I also wondered the same.
btw, I look forward to reading the "non canonic" tale of Geralt's and Yennefer's wedding, which Sapkowski wrote as a wedding gift for some friends. Hopefully it will be translated before the end of the century.
I'm sure the third wish was intentionally left vague so that we could fill in the blanks ourselves
My view was that Geralt was mainly trying to save Yennefer's life when he made the wish (not trying to make her love him). Personally I think it would have made the most sense to simply wish for the genie to never kill Yennefer, but from the other conversations in the story I get the impression that instead Geralt wished for him and Yennefer to spend their lives together (phrased in such a way that the genie would let them both live rather than killing them on the spot).
My view was that Geralt was mainly trying to save Yennefer's life when he made the wish (not trying to make her love him). Personally I think it would have made the most sense to simply wish for the genie to never kill Yennefer, but from the other conversations in the story I get the impression that instead Geralt wished for him and Yennefer to spend their lives together (phrased in such a way that the genie would let them both live rather than killing them on the spot
).WardDragon said:I'm sure the third wish was intentionally left vague so that we could fill in the blanks ourselves
My view was that Geralt was mainly trying to save Yennefer's life when he made the wish (not trying to make her love him). Personally I think it would have made the most sense to simply wish for the genie to never kill Yennefer, but from the other conversations in the story I get the impression that instead Geralt wished for him and Yennefer to spend their lives together (phrased in such a way that the genie would let them both live rather than killing them on the spot
That's a brilliant solution. Genies are know to alter the wishes to the disadvantage of the wishers. If Geralt said something like "I wish for us to spend our lives together" then the Genie messed with that I'm sure. Rather then uniting them in endless love - as Geralt intended - he also added some fighting and hating to spice things up. Well and that's what happened.
GODzilla said:That's a brilliant solution. Genies are know to alter the wishes to the disadvantage of the wishers. If Geralt said something like "I wish for us to spend our lives together" then the Genie messed with that I'm sure. Rather then uniting them in endless love - as Geralt intended - he also added some fighting and hating to spice things up. Well and that's what happened.
Indeed
That definitely makes the most sense to me. I hadn't even thought of the fighting as part of the wish (I wasn't too familiar with their relationship since I haven't read everything yet) but now that you mention it I think you're right.NabuchodonozorI said:
Wish 1, Dandelion would shut his mouth (not sure about this one)
Wish 2, Guard exploding
Wish 3, Yennefer would fall in love with him
yayodeanno said:
No, it was obvious that Geralt was raving for her and she was not ugly. She was just natural with aspect that don't define beauty but that was nonetheless charming and intriguing. It was obvious that this description was made because Geralt was trying to find excuse for fighting his desire.
They were hating each other but he fell for her because she is probably the only strong willed person who could stood against him...
A bit of a necropost, but people still read this, as it's one of only a few conversations about it online, so here goes.
BOOK SPOILERS AHEAD:
I'm a bit shocked that nobody here seems to know what Geralt's first wish was, especially since it was pointed out so explicitly in the book. It wasn't for the djinn to 'leave Dandelion alone' or for him to 'shut his mouth', as others have suggested. To quote the book, the rough translation of what he commanded the djinn to do while holding the sigil was "get out of here and go fuck yourself". He didn't know that's what he was commanding it to do, because he didn't speak the language, but that's what he commanded the djinn to do and that's exactly what it did (although we were spared from seeing it fulfill the second part of the command). The book is very, very clear that this was what the wish was; the sigil heated up right after he said that, showing that it had activated, and most importantly, Geralt insisted that the priest translate the command even though it was improper to ask because at that point he knew that it was he who had wished, and that it was that particular phrase, so he had to know its translation to verify (and indeed, it was true). Check pages 280 and 330 of the standard paperback edition.
So, wish 1, to the djinn; "Get out of here and go fuck yourself".
Everyone knows what wish 2 was, poor sadistic guard. Bald people always suffer. One of the last acceptable discriminations, really.
As for wish 3: yayodeanno definitely had it right when he said that we cannot know for sure what it was. That's part of what makes Sapkowski such a great writer: leaving certain things to the imagination. There are, however a few things that people seem to think that it was that it COULD NOT have been, given the evidence:
a) For Geralt and Yennefer to have a baby together. This is sort of clever, since the djinn after fulfilling this wish wouldn't be able to kill them, at least not for awhile, and whatever his wish was certainly had the effect of preventing the djinn from killing them. It is, however, simply untrue. First off, Sapkowski explicitly denied that this was the wish in an interview, which is enough to settle it, but anyone could have come to that conclusion by knowing who Geralt is: he would absolutely never force his (physically impossible) offspring on a woman without asking for her consent, even if it would save her life. He is not that sort of man, and if you don't agree with that statement you have clearly not read the book.
For Yennefer to fall in love with Geralt. This is very popular, but entirely impossible for it to have been what he wished, for two reasons. The first is, as stated above, that Geralt would never force his love on someone else. That would directly conflict with the code of conduct and morality which is the centerpiece of the book. The second is that this would do absolutely nothing in protecting either of them from the djinn, which at that point was out for Yennefer's blood and possibly Geralt's as well. Had he wished that (essentially amounting to rape of the mind, incidentally, which we know he wouldn't do), the djinn would have granted it and then happily killed her (and possibly him). Therefore, the popular "for Yennefer to love me" wish cannot possibly be correct.
c) For Yennefer to forget that she had ever been a hunchback. I suppose a few people think this because it was on his mind shortly before he made the wish, but it's impossible for the reasons above: it would not have prevented the djinn from killing them, and mind-controlling Yennefer would have been a reprehensible act (although she did do it to him). Beyond these, however, are two infallible additional reasons: 1) she remembers that she was one just fine in a future book (sorry, very minor spoiler there) and 2) she wouldn't have known what his wish was, having had to forget it because the very wish would have reminded her of it, and yet she does remember. So four(!) reasons that could not have been it.
All we can know is that Geralt's Last Wish, whatever it was, had the effect of both protecting them from the djinn and "binding their fates" together, as the priest suggested. Remember, also, Yennefer's reaction to it: that it was something so powerful that she doubted that there was any Force in Nature that could grant it, but that if there was, that Geralt had condemned himself to her.
Given Sapkowski's fondness for fairy tales and all of these things, I like to think that Geralt's wish was for both of them to live happily ever after. But as long as your guess abides by the rules and exceptions listed above, then it's every bit as good (or better) than mine. Peace.
BOOK SPOILERS AHEAD:
I'm a bit shocked that nobody here seems to know what Geralt's first wish was, especially since it was pointed out so explicitly in the book. It wasn't for the djinn to 'leave Dandelion alone' or for him to 'shut his mouth', as others have suggested. To quote the book, the rough translation of what he commanded the djinn to do while holding the sigil was "get out of here and go fuck yourself". He didn't know that's what he was commanding it to do, because he didn't speak the language, but that's what he commanded the djinn to do and that's exactly what it did (although we were spared from seeing it fulfill the second part of the command). The book is very, very clear that this was what the wish was; the sigil heated up right after he said that, showing that it had activated, and most importantly, Geralt insisted that the priest translate the command even though it was improper to ask because at that point he knew that it was he who had wished, and that it was that particular phrase, so he had to know its translation to verify (and indeed, it was true). Check pages 280 and 330 of the standard paperback edition.
So, wish 1, to the djinn; "Get out of here and go fuck yourself".
Everyone knows what wish 2 was, poor sadistic guard. Bald people always suffer. One of the last acceptable discriminations, really.
As for wish 3: yayodeanno definitely had it right when he said that we cannot know for sure what it was. That's part of what makes Sapkowski such a great writer: leaving certain things to the imagination. There are, however a few things that people seem to think that it was that it COULD NOT have been, given the evidence:
a) For Geralt and Yennefer to have a baby together. This is sort of clever, since the djinn after fulfilling this wish wouldn't be able to kill them, at least not for awhile, and whatever his wish was certainly had the effect of preventing the djinn from killing them. It is, however, simply untrue. First off, Sapkowski explicitly denied that this was the wish in an interview, which is enough to settle it, but anyone could have come to that conclusion by knowing who Geralt is: he would absolutely never force his (physically impossible) offspring on a woman without asking for her consent, even if it would save her life. He is not that sort of man, and if you don't agree with that statement you have clearly not read the book.
For Yennefer to fall in love with Geralt. This is very popular, but entirely impossible for it to have been what he wished, for two reasons. The first is, as stated above, that Geralt would never force his love on someone else. That would directly conflict with the code of conduct and morality which is the centerpiece of the book. The second is that this would do absolutely nothing in protecting either of them from the djinn, which at that point was out for Yennefer's blood and possibly Geralt's as well. Had he wished that (essentially amounting to rape of the mind, incidentally, which we know he wouldn't do), the djinn would have granted it and then happily killed her (and possibly him). Therefore, the popular "for Yennefer to love me" wish cannot possibly be correct.c) For Yennefer to forget that she had ever been a hunchback. I suppose a few people think this because it was on his mind shortly before he made the wish, but it's impossible for the reasons above: it would not have prevented the djinn from killing them, and mind-controlling Yennefer would have been a reprehensible act (although she did do it to him). Beyond these, however, are two infallible additional reasons: 1) she remembers that she was one just fine in a future book (sorry, very minor spoiler there) and 2) she wouldn't have known what his wish was, having had to forget it because the very wish would have reminded her of it, and yet she does remember. So four(!) reasons that could not have been it.
All we can know is that Geralt's Last Wish, whatever it was, had the effect of both protecting them from the djinn and "binding their fates" together, as the priest suggested. Remember, also, Yennefer's reaction to it: that it was something so powerful that she doubted that there was any Force in Nature that could grant it, but that if there was, that Geralt had condemned himself to her.
Given Sapkowski's fondness for fairy tales and all of these things, I like to think that Geralt's wish was for both of them to live happily ever after. But as long as your guess abides by the rules and exceptions listed above, then it's every bit as good (or better) than mine. Peace.