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ALL BOOKS SPOILERS AHEAD!

So I've just started re-reading Fool's Assassin and I'm a bit intrigued by the different relationships between Fitz, Molly and all their combined children. I thought I would explore the different relationships here and see if anybody has any thoughts!

Fitz & Nettle - Ok so first off, I had hoped that we would see a warmer relationship between these two in this new trilogy. Obviously Fitz is never going to take Burrich's place but I felt that their relationship had barely changed in the ten years that passed since Fool's Fate. Fitz was obviously important to Nettle as Shadow Wolf, but it seems like she still harbours a grudge against him for robbing her of Burrich as her biological father. Surely, if Molly can forgive Fitz for staying away then so can Nettle? Fitz, in turn, seems to have little impact on her life and seems to have given up on developing more of a relationship with her than he already has, maybe this is more because the focus of Fool's Assassin is Bee's story not Nettle's. But anyway, such are my thoughts.

Fitz & Burrich/Molly's sons - We don't really get to know any of Burrich's sons that well (except maybe Swift), and again it really seems like Fitz is a bit distanced from them or at least doesn't have a close relationship with any of them. Maybe this is just because they didn't get much air time in this book because they don't live with Fitz anymore, but still, he has been on the scene for them for 10-13 years, that's a pretty substantial amount of time to develop from 'mum's boyfriend' to 'second dad'. Especially for the younger ones.

Fitz & Hap - Here's another one. I would regard Hap as Fitz's pretty-much son. Ok so he was 8 when Fitz took him in, not exactly a baby, but still, raising a kid from the age of 8 pretty much makes him your child in my opinion, yet Fitz refers to him as his 'foster-boy' or something along those lines several times in Tawny Man. He does try to act like a father and guide Hap in the TM trilogy, and he refers to him visiting in Fool's Assassin, so he does seem to have a good relationship with Hap; but it seems like Hap doesn't really regard him as his father so much as a dear friend/guardian.

Fitz & Bee - Fitz can't really complain here, he got what he always wanted, a biological child with Molly that he can raise from birth. However, due to her differences and apparent dislike of Fitz (due to his loud Skilling), he doesn't seem to put in much of an effort with her and gives up very easily, he seems more baffled by her than anything - until Molly dies and then he finally steps up and they develop a close relationship. So this ends up being the most solid relationship he has with a child.

Fitz & Dutiful - Apart from Bee, Fitz seems to have the warmest relationship with Dutiful, even-though he always feels that Dutiful is truly Verity's son not his. So his uncle/nephew type relationship with Dutiful is closer than his Step-dad/Step-child relationships with any of Burrich's sons or for that matter with Nettle or Hap. I think there's a lot to consider in that one.

Other thoughts: It seems to me that Fitz is really only interested in Molly by Fool's Assassin and doesn't really try too hard with any of his kids/stepkids - until Molly dies and he steps up for Bee. Molly seems to have a really good relationship with Nettle and Bee and I presume with her sons as well, though they seem more distant, and like they don't make much effort to keep in touch/look after their mother. I'm not sure if this is because people lost contact more in those days because there wasn't much long distance communication or if it's just that the boys aren't major characters in this story. I thought it was really sad how Nettle (and Fitz) lost faith in Molly and assumed she was going senile when she became pregnant with Bee. I also think it's really weird that Nettle thinks she has the right to take Bee away from Fitz! Nettle barely made any effort with Bee, and pretty much dismissed her as a baby when she saw how different she was.

Ok, so that was a pretty long rant, but I just think all the different relationships are interesting and haven't developed they way I would have expected them to; I would be interested to hear anybody else's thoughts on the subject!

If I recall correctly Fitz didn't get his memories back until the end of Tawny Man Trilogy, I think that played a major factor with how Fitz partake those relationships. Realistically it is very hard to change a relationship once it's set in a certain way for a period of time.

I hadn't considered that, and it's a really good point. I've finished re-reading it now and my perspective has changed, I think my initial assessment was a bit harsh. Although I still would have liked Nettle and Fitz to be closer, and I do think that Hobb is making a point about children growing up and living their own lives and somewhat forgetting about their parents.

I agree that Fitz's attitude towards his cubs is really complicated. It seems that for a long time he always wanted to have children - I think there's a bit somewhere in the Tawny Man books where Jinna remarks that Fitz reacts very strongly to her contraceptive charm because subconsciously he's hoping or expecting that their coming together will create new life (as opposed to just being a bit of fun). I also think that the way things went with Nettle in the very beginning messed up Fitz (even more that he was already messed up ) - she was a child Fitz would have wanted to have in his life from the very beginning, and he never had that. And the same broken pattern seems to have repeated over and over again - he was raising other people's children, they were already older when he met them etc - and the one he finally had from the start with Molly didn't seemingly want anything to do with him at first!

Bear in mind that Fitz's experience of parenting is strictly limited.

1. His mother abandons him at 6 and he has extraordinarily limited memories of her. The lack of memory is extremely unusual at that age, so much so that the only persuasive explanations would be magic or some kind of trauma.

2. The next woman to take an interest is Patience and it is far too late for her to be a formative influence in his life.

3. Burrich tries but his obsession with the Wit takes him dangerously close to abuse. The conversation in Fool's Fate where Burrich finally admits to having a Wit partner and using the Wit but trying to stop Fitz using the Wit recalls the kind of explanations that abusive parents offer to courts every day.

4. Chade and Shrewd are also presented as adoptive parents but subject Fitz to constant and extreme emotional manipulation.

5. Fitz cannot have a relationship with Nettle until the events of Tawny Man and his relationship with Dutiful is complicated by the circumstances of Dutiful's conception.

The wonder is not that Fitz is somewhat distant with children but that he does not run screaming down the road when they approach.

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