Valentine Wiggin
Encyclopedia
Valentine Wiggin is a fictional character
in Orson Scott Card
's Ender's Game series of novels. She is the older sister of Ender Wiggin
.
, was too cruel. to be taken to the Battle School. The Fleet thought that the Wiggin family genius would be better used by a girl. However, Valentine is too empathic
and conciliatory for the Battle School program. Because of this, the I.F. requested that a Third (named Andrew, later nicknamed "Ender
") be conceived as a balance between the two extremes.
During her early years, Valentine serves as a friend and protector for Ender, whom Peter often torments because he is jealous of their close relationship. Afraid for her life as well as Ender's, Valentine claims during a confrontation with Peter that she had hidden a public record in the library that would be opened in the event of her death, stating that Peter had most likely murdered her, and that he would soon move against Ender. She taunts him by saying that it would not be enough to convict him of anything, but it would be a damaging enough record to keep him out of politics, a realm he wished desperately to enter.
While Ender is away in Battle School, Peter implores Valentine to "work with him". As young children, they write political commentary under pseudonyms ("Demosthenes
" for Valentine, and "Locke
" for Peter). The former would be demagogue who called for war with the country's coalition partners, especially Russia
, while the latter would be a mild intellectual who advocated diplomacy — a decision at odds with both writers' actual personalities. Demosthenes becomes extremely popular, whipping the public into a xenophobic
frenzy and moving the country closer and closer to war. During this time, Valentine recognizes that Peter is trying to manipulate her for his own purposes, though Valentine realizes that she is manipulating him as well. While his powers of manipulation could create fear to be used to his advantage, she could truly persuade others to her point of view; she knows she can use this power on Peter.
After Ender's victory over the Buggers, Valentine chooses to go on the first colonization ship to leave Earth. After her departure, Valentine revives her "Demosthenes" identity, but writes as a historian, chronicling different cultures on different planets. Under the Demosthenes pseudonym, Valentine develops the four-tiered Hierarchy of Exclusion.
Physically, Valentine has been described as a redhead. She was born two years after Peter and two years before Ender. However, the relativistic effects of interstellar travel render moot the question of how old she is in comparison to Ender or Peter.
During the two-year transit (subjective time) to their new home, as well as the colony's first years there, Valentine pens a complete multi-volume history of the wars against the Formics, with the final book centering primarily around the now-legendary Ender Wiggin and including the text of The Hive Queen by the Speaker for the Dead
. Hegemon Peter The Great, now in his 70s, contacts his siblings after reading said history; out of these conversations come The Hegemon, which is appended in later editions of Demosthenes' history. Thereafter, Valentine begins to follow her brother Andrew (no longer using "Ender" as his nickname) in his travels. Their first stop is the colony of Ganges, after Hyrum Graff requests them to help quell an uprising.
Valentine and Andrew travel various worlds over the next 3,000 years until she falls in love with Jakt, a fisherman on the colony world of Trondheim. She decides, rather to her surprise, to marry him, while Andrew finally separates from her to voyage to Lusitania. The voyage takes 22 years, so that Andrew is 36 and Valentine 60 when he arrives. However, after Lusitania's revolt, Valentine uproots her family (consisting of herself, Jakt, and her children — different paragraphs in different books describe her as having either six, five or three of them) and joins them there; their voyage takes 30 years as they make several hops in the wrong direction to discourage pursuit, more than equalizing the age difference between them.
Valentine offers what help she can to the colonists of Lusitania, generally doubling Ender's role as a voice of reason. She also revives the original Demosthenes persona, writing inflammatory, passionate diatribes against Starways Congress' current plan of uprooting Lusitania and possibly exterminating the Pequeninos
. After arriving in Lusitania, Valentine meets Young Valentine, whom was created by Andrew's experimental trip with Jane. She remarks that Young Valentine was more beautiful than she herself was when she was her age. Valentine witnessed Andrew's "death" when he could no longer support the three bodies using his mind.
After Andrew's funeral, she witnesses the weddings of, respectively, Jane
and Miro and Peter and Si Wang-mu
. As of Children of the Mind
, which takes place some time during the 3rd millennium, she is the only remaining Wiggin still alive.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
's Ender's Game series of novels. She is the older sister of Ender Wiggin
Ender Wiggin
Andrew "Ender" Wiggin is a fictional character from Orson Scott Card's science fiction story Ender's Game and its sequels , as well as in the first part of the spin-off series, Ender's Shadow...
.
Biography
The second child in the Wiggin family, she was born when the Fleet requested of the Wiggin parents that a girl be conceived because they decided that her brother, PeterPeter Wiggin
Peter Wiggin is a fictional character in the science fiction novel Ender's Game and its sequels, written by Orson Scott Card. He has appeared in the novels Ender's Game, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Giant, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind and in an upcoming short story to...
, was too cruel. to be taken to the Battle School. The Fleet thought that the Wiggin family genius would be better used by a girl. However, Valentine is too empathic
Empathy
Empathy is the capacity to recognize and, to some extent, share feelings that are being experienced by another sapient or semi-sapient being. Someone may need to have a certain amount of empathy before they are able to feel compassion. The English word was coined in 1909 by E.B...
and conciliatory for the Battle School program. Because of this, the I.F. requested that a Third (named Andrew, later nicknamed "Ender
Ender Wiggin
Andrew "Ender" Wiggin is a fictional character from Orson Scott Card's science fiction story Ender's Game and its sequels , as well as in the first part of the spin-off series, Ender's Shadow...
") be conceived as a balance between the two extremes.
During her early years, Valentine serves as a friend and protector for Ender, whom Peter often torments because he is jealous of their close relationship. Afraid for her life as well as Ender's, Valentine claims during a confrontation with Peter that she had hidden a public record in the library that would be opened in the event of her death, stating that Peter had most likely murdered her, and that he would soon move against Ender. She taunts him by saying that it would not be enough to convict him of anything, but it would be a damaging enough record to keep him out of politics, a realm he wished desperately to enter.
While Ender is away in Battle School, Peter implores Valentine to "work with him". As young children, they write political commentary under pseudonyms ("Demosthenes
Demosthenes
Demosthenes was a prominent Greek statesman and orator of ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide an insight into the politics and culture of ancient Greece during the 4th century BC. Demosthenes learned rhetoric by...
" for Valentine, and "Locke
John Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
" for Peter). The former would be demagogue who called for war with the country's coalition partners, especially Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, while the latter would be a mild intellectual who advocated diplomacy — a decision at odds with both writers' actual personalities. Demosthenes becomes extremely popular, whipping the public into a xenophobic
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
frenzy and moving the country closer and closer to war. During this time, Valentine recognizes that Peter is trying to manipulate her for his own purposes, though Valentine realizes that she is manipulating him as well. While his powers of manipulation could create fear to be used to his advantage, she could truly persuade others to her point of view; she knows she can use this power on Peter.
After Ender's victory over the Buggers, Valentine chooses to go on the first colonization ship to leave Earth. After her departure, Valentine revives her "Demosthenes" identity, but writes as a historian, chronicling different cultures on different planets. Under the Demosthenes pseudonym, Valentine develops the four-tiered Hierarchy of Exclusion.
Physically, Valentine has been described as a redhead. She was born two years after Peter and two years before Ender. However, the relativistic effects of interstellar travel render moot the question of how old she is in comparison to Ender or Peter.
During the two-year transit (subjective time) to their new home, as well as the colony's first years there, Valentine pens a complete multi-volume history of the wars against the Formics, with the final book centering primarily around the now-legendary Ender Wiggin and including the text of The Hive Queen by the Speaker for the Dead
Speaker for the Dead
Speaker for the Dead is a science fiction novel by Orson Scott Card and an indirect sequel to the novel Ender's Game. This book takes place around the year 5270, some 3,000 years after the events in Ender's Game...
. Hegemon Peter The Great, now in his 70s, contacts his siblings after reading said history; out of these conversations come The Hegemon, which is appended in later editions of Demosthenes' history. Thereafter, Valentine begins to follow her brother Andrew (no longer using "Ender" as his nickname) in his travels. Their first stop is the colony of Ganges, after Hyrum Graff requests them to help quell an uprising.
Valentine and Andrew travel various worlds over the next 3,000 years until she falls in love with Jakt, a fisherman on the colony world of Trondheim. She decides, rather to her surprise, to marry him, while Andrew finally separates from her to voyage to Lusitania. The voyage takes 22 years, so that Andrew is 36 and Valentine 60 when he arrives. However, after Lusitania's revolt, Valentine uproots her family (consisting of herself, Jakt, and her children — different paragraphs in different books describe her as having either six, five or three of them) and joins them there; their voyage takes 30 years as they make several hops in the wrong direction to discourage pursuit, more than equalizing the age difference between them.
Valentine offers what help she can to the colonists of Lusitania, generally doubling Ender's role as a voice of reason. She also revives the original Demosthenes persona, writing inflammatory, passionate diatribes against Starways Congress' current plan of uprooting Lusitania and possibly exterminating the Pequeninos
Pequeninos
The Pequeninos , or piggies, are a fictional alien species in the Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card. They are first introduced in the book Speaker for the Dead. The Pequeninos are written as forest-dwelling and technologically primitive, but incredibly intelligent, able to learn languages...
. After arriving in Lusitania, Valentine meets Young Valentine, whom was created by Andrew's experimental trip with Jane. She remarks that Young Valentine was more beautiful than she herself was when she was her age. Valentine witnessed Andrew's "death" when he could no longer support the three bodies using his mind.
After Andrew's funeral, she witnesses the weddings of, respectively, Jane
Jane (Ender's Game)
Jane is a fictional character in Orson Scott Card's Ender series. She is an artificial sentience thought to exist within the ansible network by which spaceships and planets communicate instantly across galactic distances. She has appeared in the novels Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children...
and Miro and Peter and Si Wang-mu
Si Wang-mu
Si Wang-mu is a major character in the science fiction novels Xenocide and Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card. She is named after the Chinese goddess Xi Wangmu, the Royal Mother of the West.-Childhood:...
. As of Children of the Mind
Children of the Mind
Children of the Mind is the fourth book of Orson Scott Card's popular Ender's Game series of science fiction novels that focus on the character Ender Wiggin...
, which takes place some time during the 3rd millennium, she is the only remaining Wiggin still alive.