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It isn't necessarily that there was a point to her dying at that particular time. The stories recognize that you don't get to fix everything yet, and not all the deaths are to a purpose. (Cf. one of the ones that didn't get time-patched in The Book of Night with Moon, though that one was a rather different situation. More abrupt, no direct rescue effort -- though the wizard hurt worst by it thought of making a retroactive attempt.)
I'm tempted to say that the point of her dying was a literary one, but I know that isn't satisfactory in terms of the fictional world's setup. *g*
I think, most likely, there was a problem with saving her due to the methods involved up to that point. Not Kit's, not Nita's desire to save her, but the deal Nita had grown willing to make. I remember arguing with someone over Lord of the Rings -- they suggested that (particularly the way the scene was depicted in the movie) Elrond should have just shoved Isildur into the lava instead of letting him walk away with the One Ring; my response was that Elrond knew perfectly well that he lived in a universe where the means you took to an end mattered and murdering a friend to destroy the ring would, one way or another, have had repercussions worse than letting him walk away. Now, you may take issue with this on the grounds that there is enough further war in Tolkien to cast doubt on whether a murder would indeed have such an effect, but whether that example is a good one or not, the means of accomplishing something has been established in YW as having a decided effect on its outcome. Sometimes killing or memory wipes or other such things may be necessary, but you don't do them lightly or without reason.
...In short (too late, huh?), I do not have a definitive answer about Mrs. Callahan's decision, though I suspect that having held the glede her vision of herself may have been clearer than usual. Another literary example that a friend pointed out -- that of Digory's mother in The Magician's Nephew -- clears it up for me somewhat emotionally; there was, literally, fruit from the tree of life involved, and it would have saved her life whether he had stolen it or been given it legitimately... but if it had been stolen, even though she would have been innocent, the effects would have been very much like the ones Mrs. Callahan described. I am not sure the situation is properly analogous, since in fact what worked was the glede that Kit got quite legitimately.
I can still understand feeling uncomfortable with the end of Dilemma, actually, and I'm not sure drawing in other references to explain it is a legitimate method, even if I see echoes of them in other parts of the series. *g* Still, I have another question -- would you have felt entirely comfortable, morally and thematically, with the story if Mrs. Callahan's life had been saved and Nita's bargain with the Lone One had been erased without trace, despite its influence?
(Actually I'm still a little uncertain how that last bit worked too. I'm considering the possibility the Lone Power lied to Nita about her having made the bargain already and it became true when she internalized that, but I find the idea of Mrs. Callahan being able to overrule that personal Choice, even in her own personal universe, a little disconcerting. Though it wasn't that alone, but Nita reclaiming an earlier version of her name and self... um, this belongs in some other topic, doesn't it.)
I'm tempted to say that the point of her dying was a literary one, but I know that isn't satisfactory in terms of the fictional world's setup. *g*
I think, most likely, there was a problem with saving her due to the methods involved up to that point. Not Kit's, not Nita's desire to save her, but the deal Nita had grown willing to make. I remember arguing with someone over Lord of the Rings -- they suggested that (particularly the way the scene was depicted in the movie) Elrond should have just shoved Isildur into the lava instead of letting him walk away with the One Ring; my response was that Elrond knew perfectly well that he lived in a universe where the means you took to an end mattered and murdering a friend to destroy the ring would, one way or another, have had repercussions worse than letting him walk away. Now, you may take issue with this on the grounds that there is enough further war in Tolkien to cast doubt on whether a murder would indeed have such an effect, but whether that example is a good one or not, the means of accomplishing something has been established in YW as having a decided effect on its outcome. Sometimes killing or memory wipes or other such things may be necessary, but you don't do them lightly or without reason.
...In short (too late, huh?), I do not have a definitive answer about Mrs. Callahan's decision, though I suspect that having held the glede her vision of herself may have been clearer than usual. Another literary example that a friend pointed out -- that of Digory's mother in The Magician's Nephew -- clears it up for me somewhat emotionally; there was, literally, fruit from the tree of life involved, and it would have saved her life whether he had stolen it or been given it legitimately... but if it had been stolen, even though she would have been innocent, the effects would have been very much like the ones Mrs. Callahan described. I am not sure the situation is properly analogous, since in fact what worked was the glede that Kit got quite legitimately.
I can still understand feeling uncomfortable with the end of Dilemma, actually, and I'm not sure drawing in other references to explain it is a legitimate method, even if I see echoes of them in other parts of the series. *g* Still, I have another question -- would you have felt entirely comfortable, morally and thematically, with the story if Mrs. Callahan's life had been saved and Nita's bargain with the Lone One had been erased without trace, despite its influence?
(Actually I'm still a little uncertain how that last bit worked too. I'm considering the possibility the Lone Power lied to Nita about her having made the bargain already and it became true when she internalized that, but I find the idea of Mrs. Callahan being able to overrule that personal Choice, even in her own personal universe, a little disconcerting. Though it wasn't that alone, but Nita reclaiming an earlier version of her name and self... um, this belongs in some other topic, doesn't it.)
hahahaha.
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